TŌRYANSE
TŌRYANSE
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English -
Kanji
Tōryanse Tōryanse
is one of the most popular songs in
Japan because its melody is playing by every traffic light at pedestrian
crossings. While playing it tells you it's safe to cross until it stops.
The song's origin is unknown. It's said it came from the Miyoshino Shrine in
Kawagoe (Saitama prefecture) or Sugawara Shrine in Odawara (Kanagawa prefecture)
because they are shrines dedicated to the mentioned Tenjin-sama. It was first
reported wrongly that Ujō
Noguchi (1883-1945) also wrote this song but he only introduced this song in
1920 in a magazine where it gained more popularity.
The song is also used for a children's play. Two children are facing each other,
linking their hands and raising them high to make an arch. The other children
have to walk underneath them in a line and back round again in a circle. The
child who happens to be under the arch when the song is finished is caught by
the arch.
