Japanese Songs Series Stamps Issue Four

This post is about the Japanese Song Series Stamps issue four. The “Japanese Song Issue” is a series of postage stamps that Japan created between 1979 and 1981. The stamps feature children’s songs (or folk songs) and each have a few notes from the start of the song. The design of each stamp is colorful and fun, to appeal to children. Make sure to visit my main page about the series to learn more. Also check out this excellent post by Richard Scott Morel, Curator, Philatelic Collections of the British Library about this series.

This post is about the fourth set of two stamps (called series four). The release of the series was on March 21, 1980, the first day of spring. That is appropriate as both stamps feature songs about spring.

Haru no Ogawa (Rivulets of Spring)

The Japanese folk song Haru no Ogawa “Rivulets of Spring” is by Takano Tatsuyuki. The song may be about the Kōbone River in Yoyogi neighborhood in the northern part of Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. The composer is known to take long walks along this scenic river. Sadly, this river is gone as the City as overtaken what was a wilderness area.

The stamp depicts a picturesque village in springtime with blossoming trees. There are mountains in the background and what must be a meandering river cuts through the scene (to me it looks like a road). At the top of the stamp are the opening four measures of the song, just like appears on all the stamps in this series. The design of the stamp is by M. Anno.

Here are the lyrics in both Japanese and English:

Haru no ogawa wa sarasara iku yo, The stream in springtime flows peacefully,
Kishi no sumire ya renge no hana ni, it whispers to the violets and milk vetches on the shore,
sugata yasashiku iro utsukushiku, to have gentle shapes and beautiful colors,
sake yo sake yo to sasayaki nagara. it whispers to them, “bloom, bloom.”

Haru no ogawa wa sarasara iku yo, The stream in springtime flows peacefully,
Ebi ya medaka ya kobuna no mure ni, it whispers to the group of shrimp, medaka, and small carp,
kyo mo ichi-nichi hinata de oyogi, to swim all day in the sunlight,
asobe asobe to sasyaki nagara it whispers to them, “play, play.”

Here is a rather beautiful arrangement of this song for lute and two harps:

Sakura, Sakura (Cherry Blossoms)

One of the most famous songs of Japan is the song Sakura, Sakura or “Cherry Blossoms.” Internationally, the song often represents the entire country of Japan. It has been popular since the Meiji period (1868 to 1912), though it is not known who wrote it. The postage stamp features a young girl in a beautiful kimono with her hand raised towards the trees. Behind her, cherry trees in blossom are all around. The first few measures of the song run along the bottom of the stamp. The stamp is the design of K. Morita.

Since 1941, the official lyrics in use by the Ministry of Education are:

Sakura sakura Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
noyama mo sato mo In fields, mountains and villages
mi-watasu kagiri As far as the eye can see.
kasumi ka kumo ka Is it mist, or clouds?
asahi ni niou Fragrant in the rising sun.
sakura sakura Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
hana zakari Flowers in full bloom

sakura sakura Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
yayoi no sora wa Across the spring sky,
mi-watasu kagiri As far as the eye can see.
kasumi ka kumo ka Is it mist, or clouds?
nioi zo izuru Fragrant in the air.
izaya izaya Come now, come now,
mini yukan Let’s go and see them

Here is a wonderful rendition on a traditional Japanese koto: