Daisyfield.com Archive of Japanese Traditional Music

Below you will find public-domain transcriptions of traditional Japanese songs. We include here all 28 songs from a wonderful book published in Japan in 1892, Japanese Popular Music, by Y. Nagai and K. Kobatake. We also include the song "Miyasan" from an 1891 edition of this book, and 16 additional songs that appeared in an 1895 collection by Y. Nagai and K. Obata.

Some other songs on this page come from the work of Rudolf Dittrich, who published piano arrangements of 16 Japanese folk songs in 1894-95.

Ten of the tunes on this web page appear in Giacomo Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly. For a list of these songs and where they appear in the opera, see Japanese Songs in Puccini's Madama Butterfly on this website.

Each song is available for viewing or printing as sheet music in Finale music notation (.mus) and in Adobe Acrobat format (.pdf).

Listen to a song by clicking on the MIDI (.mid) link or MP3 (.mp3) link for that song.

For computer music notation specialists, we also provide MusicXML (.xml) renderings.

Nagai and Kobatake Songs (1892)
Song Title		View or Listen	Date Posted
Asaku-Tomo		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Dodoitsu		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Doteo-Toruwa		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Echigo-Jishi	越後獅子	mus pdf mid xml about	2006-05-13
Fuku-Ju-So		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Gonbe ga Tanemaku		mus pdf mid xml about	2005-09-01
Gosho no Oniwa		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Horete-Kayouni		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Inshu-Inaba		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Iyo-Bushi		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Kappore		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Kappore-Honen		mus pdf mid xml about	2005-09-01
Kayo-kami		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Kosunoto		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Kuro-Kami		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Miyasan	宮さん々々	mus pdf mid xml about	2006-04-16
Murasaki		mus pdf mid xml	2006-04-23
Na no Ha		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
O Edo-Nihonbashi	お江戸日本橋	mus pdf mid xml about	2005-09-01
Oki no Taisen		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Otsue-Bushi		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Riukiu-Bushi		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Sakura-Miyotote		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Sedo no Danbatake		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Suiryo-Bushi	推量節	mus pdf mid xml about	2005-09-01
Takai-Yama	高い山	mus pdf mid mp3 xml about	2006-11-07
Toka-Ebisu		mus pdf mid xml	2008-06-09
Ukiyo-Bushi		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Waga-Koiwa		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01
Yube-Yonda		mus pdf mid xml	2005-09-01

Nagai and Obata Songs (1895)
Song Title	View or Listen	Date Posted
Banzai-Bushi	mus pdf mid mp3 xml	2008-06-09
Chidori Meimei	mus pdf mid mp3 xml	2008-06-09
Doujan	mus pdf mid mp3 xml	2008-06-09
Kazoe-Uta	mus pdf mid mp3 xml	2008-06-09
Koito-Utatote	mus pdf mid mp3 xml about	2008-06-09
Konpira-Fune	mus pdf mid mp3 xml	2008-06-09
Nisshin Danpan	mus pdf mid mp3 xml	2008-06-09
Noue-Bushi	mus pdf mid mp3 xml	2008-06-09
Saakorasa	mus pdf mid mp3 xml	2008-06-09
Shashari	mus pdf mid mp3 xml	2008-06-09
Shigin-Cho, Nanagon Zeku	mus pdf mid mp3 xml	2008-06-09
Soushi-Bushi	mus pdf mid mp3 xml	2008-06-09
Sukesan-Komamono	mus pdf mid mp3 xml	2008-06-09
Ume-ga-e	mus pdf mid mp3 xml	2008-06-09
Umewa Saitaka	mus pdf mid mp3 xml	2008-06-09
Yanreso Hoi	mus pdf mid mp3 xml	2008-06-09

Rudolf Dittrich Piano Arrangements of Japanese Songs
Song Title		View or Listen	Date Posted
Dokkoisho		mus pdf mid mp3 xml about	2007-03-18
Ha-Uta	端唄	mus pdf mid mp3 xml about	2006-09-24
Jizuki-Uta		mus pdf mid mp3 xml about	2007-01-31
Koito-Utatote		mus pdf mid mp3 xml about	2008-07-14
Kon-In No Uta (Medeta)		mus pdf mid mp3 xml about	2006-11-14
Matsuri-Bayashi	祭囃子	mus pdf mid mp3 xml about	2007-01-31
Sakura	さくら	mus pdf mid mp3 xml about	2006-09-24

Other Japanese Songs
Song Title		View or Listen	Date Posted
Kimigayo	君が代	mus pdf mid mp3 xml about	2006-09-24
Sakura (no accompaniment)	さくら	mus pdf mid mp3 xml about	2006-09-24

About the files

I have encoded each work as a Finale music notation file (.mus), using Finale 2005 or Finale 2007, from MakeMusic.com. Then, using the .mus file as input, I have used Finale and other software to automatically produce pdf, midi, mp3, and xml versions.

The "Date Posted" column shows the date that I posted the current file version on this website; this date changes when I post a revised or corrected version of a file.

Viewing, Printing, and Listening

You can download a free, limited version of the Finale program, Finale Notepad, from MakeMusic.com. Using Finale Notepad, you can open the .mus files, print them, and play the music through your computer's speakers. (You can even make edits to the music in Finale Notepad; however, serious work requires the full version of Finale.)

You can also print the .pdf files, and this will give better results than printing from within Finale Notepad. If your computer's speakers are turned on, you can play the .mid (MIDI) files inside your browser rather than using Finale Notepad to play the music. Just click on the link labeled "mid" to play the midi file.

Acknowledgments

I thank Toshie Miyake for help with this project, including Romaji renderings and English translations of song titles in the 1895 collection by Nagai and Obata.
Thanks also to Gillian Shearwater for several corrections to song titles.
The song "Miyasan" was not included in Nagai and Kobatake's 1892 edition, but was included in an 1891 edition. My transcription of this song is based on a photocopy of "Miyasan" in Hara, Kunio, Puccini's Use of Japanese Melodies in Madama Butterfly, Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2003. [Large pdf file, 3MB]. I thank Kunio Hara for permitting me to use his photocopy.
The Finale transcription here of "Echigo-Jishi" contains a wonderful enhancement added by Michael Good and Karen Tanaka at the company Recordare. They have inserted the Japanese title and Japanese lyric for this song, using the original words from Nagai and Kobatake. I thank Recordare for letting me include their improved transcription in the Daisyfield Music Archive. So far, this is the only song posted on the Daisyfield website complete with its Japanese words. See also the Recordare website, where "Echigo-Jishi" is posted as an example of a MusicXML rendering of a work with Japanese lyrics, along with other interesting MusicXML applications.
Pagoda photo - Microsoft Office clipart collection.

Public Domain

All of the Japanese songs on this page are in the public domain. Copyright on the original song publications has expired, and I donate to the public domain my transcriptions of these songs.

(However, some works appearing elsewhere in the Daisyfield.com website are copyright.)

Tom Potter

DaisyField.com Archive of Japanese Traditional Music

Sheet music and audio files

About the files

Viewing, Printing, and Listening

Acknowledgments

Public Domain