is a selection of

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

s and

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From t ...

s widely beloved in Japan, sponsored by the

Agency for Cultural Affairs The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture. The agency's budget for FY 2018 rose to ¥107.7 billion. Overview The ag ...

and the Parents-Teachers Association of Japan. A poll was held in 2006 choosing the songs from a list of 895. The results were announced in 2007. Although it is called a compilation of 100 songs, the list actually includes 101 songs. The idea for the compilation came from famed psychologist and agency chief

Hayao Kawai (1928–2007) was a Japanese Jungian psychologist who has been described as "the founder of Japanese Analytical and Clinical Psychology". He introduced the sandplay therapy concept to Japanese psychology. He participated in Eranos from 1982. ...

, with an aim to prevent

juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person ...

and to combat the "weakening" of Japan's shared cultural heritage. The agency released a CD and a songbook with printed melodies for all 101 songs to be used in public schools. The ''

Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...

'' used this list to compile a list of 15 most endangered children's songs.

. 「歌い継いでいきたい童謡・唱歌ランキング」 March 20, 2010. The composer and lyricist for several songs published by the

Japanese Ministry of Education The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community. ...

in the early 1900s are unknown. The songs are numbered by the Japanese syllabary in

gojūon In the Japanese language, the is a traditional system ordering kana characters by their component phonemes, roughly analogous to alphabetical order Alphabetical order is a system whereby character strings are placed in order based on the ...

ordering.

References

External links

.
親子で歌いつごう日本の歌百選
. Retrieved 2 July 2008. {{Authority control Lists of musical works Japanese music-related lists Japanese songs