Shabondama (シャボン玉, lit. 'Soap Bubbles') is a 1922 Japanese nursery rhyme (warabe uta) composed by Shinpei Nakayama with lyrics written by Ujō Noguchi. It is widely taught in Japanese nursery schools and kindergartens as a simple melody; it is also sometimes used in elementary school moral education courses, where students learn that it is a meditation on the death of a child.
Noguchi's daughter Midori died at the age of just 7 days in 1908. In the Meiji period, the infant mortality rate was quite high, with about 20–30 percent of children dying before reaching schooling age. It was common to have many children to aim for success of the household, but Noguchi was divorced and thus mourned the loss of his only child for a long time.
It is widely believed that Noguchi wrote this poem upon seeing the girls in his village play with bubbles, being reminded of the brief existence of his daughter. However, other than the above facts, the direct inspiration for the song is unknown.[1][2]
The melody of the song is a modification of the Christian hymn "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know". It is used as the melody for departing trains in Yumoto Station, Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture.
- ^ "「しゃぼん玉」は娘の死を歌っているってウソ？ 「赤い靴」の女の子は実在した？ 『唱歌・童謡120の真実』". ダ・ヴィンチニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-12-01.
- ^ 竹内, 貴久雄 (2017). 『唱歌・童謡120の真実』. 東京: ヤマハミュージックメディア. ISBN 978-4636910643.