Tōryanse
Traditional Japanese song
title: "Tōryanse" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["japanese-songs", "songs-in-japanese", "japanese-children's-songs", "year-of-song-unknown", "songs-with-unknown-songwriters"] description: "Traditional Japanese song" topic_path: "geography/japan" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tōryanse" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Traditional Japanese song ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/通りゃんせ-Tooryanse-Let-Me-Pass-2.ogg" caption="Tōryanse played at a crosswalk"] ::
"Tōryanse" is the name of a traditional Japanese children's tune (warabe uta). It is a common choice for music played by traffic lights in Japan when it is safe to cross. Tōryanse can be heard in many forms of popular culture, such as at crosswalks in anime.
Lyrics
The words to the song are: ::data[format=table]
| こわいながらも | Kowai nagara mo | It's scary, but |
|---|---|---|
| :: |
Tune
{ \relative d' { \key d \minor \tempo 4 = 120 \time 4/4 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"koto" a'2 a4 g4| a4 a8 g8 e4 r4| bes'4 bes8 bes8 d4 bes8 a8| bes8 a8 g8 g8 a4 r4| bes4 bes4. d8 bes8 a8| bes8 a8 g8 g8 a4 r4| f4. f8 a4 f8 e8| f8 e8 d8 d8 e4 r4| f8 f4 f8 a8 a8 f8 e8| f8 e8 d8 d8 e4 r4| bes'8 bes bes bes d d bes a| bes a g g a4. r8| f8 f f f f a f e| f e d d e2\fermata| r8 a a a a a a g| a a a g d d e4| r8 d e f g a bes a| bes4 d4 e8 d8 bes4| a4 a8 g8 a2\fermata \bar "|." } \addlyrics { とお りゃん せ とお りゃ ん せ こ こ は ど こ の ほ そ み ち じゃ てん じん さ ま の ほ そ み ち じゃ ちっ と とお し て く だ しゃ ん せ ご よう の な い も の と お しゃ せ ぬ こ の こ の な な つ の お い わ い に お ふ だ を お さ め に ま い り ま す い き は よ い よ い か え り は こ わ い こ わ い な が ら も と お りゃ ん せ とお りゃ ん せ } }
Explanation
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/山角天神「通りゃんせ」.jpg" caption="The Monument of Tōryanse in Yamakaku Shrine"] ::
There are many theories to the origin of the song, but all agree that it is a portrayal of an exchange between a civilian and a guard manning some sort of a checkpoint – at Kawagoe Castle according to one theory. In the old days when infant mortality was high, people celebrated when a child survived to reach the age of 7 (as well as 3 and 5; see Shichi-Go-San), and ordinary people were only allowed to visit the shrine within the castle compound for special occasions.
This particular warabe uta is sung as part of a traditional game where two children facing each other link their hands to form an arch 'checkpoint', and the remaining children walk through underneath in a line (and back round again in circles). The child who happens to be under the arch when the song finishes is then 'caught', not unlike the Anglophone game "London Bridge Is Falling Down".
The tune being played at Japanese pedestrian crossings is an analogy to this game, i.e., it is safe to cross until the music stops.
References
References
- This sentence is ambiguous and controversial. See [http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E8%A1%8C%E3%81%8D%E3%81%AF%E3%82%88%E3%81%84%E3%82%88%E3%81%84%E5%B8%B0%E3%82%8A%E3%81%AF%E3%81%93%E3%82%8F%E3%81%84 実用日本語表現辞典]. The word kowai can be 強い "hard/difficult" as well. cf. 手強い（てごわい）
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::