ANTA GATA DOKO SA
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Kanji
Anta Gata Doko Sa is sung in
Kumamoto dialect. Children often sing it
while playing kemari - a medieval form of football which origins from the Heian
era. The song's origins seem to old. Higo was an old province which is part of
Kumamoto prefecture today. In Senba, a village back then, now part of Kumamoto
City, there is no mountain, but a hill. It's said tanuki were living there and
the people back then used to hunt them.
The tanuki has been part of Japanese folklores for ages. You can find Tanuki
statues at Japanese temples or restaurants, especially at noodle shops. They
wear big hats and carry bottles of sake in one hand, and an empty purse in the
other hand. They always have a big belly and show humorously large testicles,
typically hanging down to the floor of ground. At the Senba station in Kumamoto
- near the Senba bridge - there is a tanuki statue representing the song. The
melody is often played there.
