VOX POPULI: An 18th-century Rousseau tune immortalized as a children's song
Nearly every Japanese person likely recalls singing this classic children's song, a nursery rhyme that playfully guides little hands to open and close, clap and move into different positions.
The melody, surprisingly, is believed to have been composed by the 18th-century French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), best known for 'The Social Contract.' Over time, the tune has traveled the world, taking on new lyrics and meanings in various cultures.
While watching the Chinese film 'Gone with the Boat,' now showing in Tokyo and other cities across Japan, I was struck to learn that the familiar children's song is sung in China as a lullaby.
The film centers on a daughter and son as they grapple with the emotional weight of saying goodbye to their elderly mother, recently diagnosed with a brain disease. One especially poignant scene lingers in my memory: The daughter softly sings the lullaby by her mother's bedside.
'The boat is small/ The waves are high/ But I'll row gently/ Bobbing and drifting'
The melody is the same, yet the Chinese lyrics are strikingly different. Curious why director Chen Xiaoyu, 30, chose to include this tune in his debut feature, I sent an inquiry—and received a prompt reply.
'A child in a cradle seems as if they are in a boat, and it is the waves that rock them.'
Set in Jiangnan, the director's hometown and a region south of the Yangtze River renowned for its interwoven canals and waterways, the film gently evokes memories of a life surrounded by boats.
Chen explained that the song, deeply rooted in local culture, serves as a vessel for recalling those quiet, water-bound rhythms of daily life.
In his book 'Musunde Hiraite Ko' ('Thoughts on Musunde Hiraite'), Japanese musicologist and educator Bin Ebisawa, former president of the Kunitachi College of Music, traces the song's curious journey.
According to his research, the melody is thought to have entered Japan during the Meiji Era (1868-1912) as a Christian hymn, and was even adapted at one point as a military song.
Why has this tune, reshaped countless times, continued to resonate across generations? Its enduring appeal remains something of a mystery.
Having traveled so far, it seems to carry with it a faint fragrance of nostalgia. And when I hum it softly, as one might a lullaby—ah, this version, too, is beautiful. For a moment, I am quietly moved by the subtle strangeness of its charm.
—The Asahi Shimbun, June 16
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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
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