Sōran Bushi

The story

"Sōran Bushi" is one of the best-known traditional songs and dances (min'yō) of Japan. It is a sea shanty, said to have been first sung by the fishermen of Hokkaido. Shouted calls punctuate it at regular intervals; in the past such calls were used to spur the fishermen on as they worked.

The version most people know today is much more recent. In 1988 Takio Ito recorded "Takio no Sōran Bushi", a modernised version of the old song with a faster rhythm and more modern music and words. In 1991 Wakkanai Minami Junior High School created a song and dance called "Nanchū Sōran" on Ito's song and text, with choreography by the Butoh dancer Jushō Kasuga that acts out ocean waves, fishermen dragging nets, pulling ropes and lifting loads onto their shoulders.

The school received an honourable mention at the national convention of the Folk Song and Dance Awards in 1992, and the next year the Grand Prix of the Prime Minister of Japan. The song and dance became known across the country, and the dance is now taught in many Japanese schools as part of the curriculum.

What it says

A fishermen's working song, its rhythm and calls keeping the crew together as they haul in their catch. The mood is vigorous and rousing.

The words

The words of this song are in the public domain, but no free, reliable edition of them has been found yet to import them from, and the Institute never types a song’s words from memory. “What it says” above tells what they are about.