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I am looking for a certain folk song.

skanthan

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8 Nov 2013
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Konnichi wa! Watashi no o-namae wa Skanthan desu.

About 22 years ago, I heard a song which was supposedly an English translation of a traditional Japanese folk song. The words in English are as follows:

Look into the rose! Look into the rose!
For the beauty of the earth lies in one petal.

I saw the words in a book from a music class and was sung during a play based on the folktale, "The Stonecutter.". Unfortunately, I cannot find the original Japanese lyrics anywhere. I hope someone familiar with the above translation and the original Japanese words will be able to help me.

Doumo arigatou gozaimasu!
 
The song you are looking for is called, "Sakura Sakura". I used to sing this song when I was in elementary school, and the words above are the English "translation". If you search for " Sakura Sakura", the Wikipedia page contains the music and the Japanese words. Let me know how it goes!
 
Nine months later....let's hope he enabled email notifications.
 
The song you are looking for is called, "Sakura Sakura". I used to sing this song when I was in elementary school, and the words above are the English "translation". If you search for " Sakura Sakura", the Wikipedia page contains the music and the Japanese words. Let me know how it goes!
"Sakura" means cherry blossoms and rose is "bara". Hmmm...

Sakura Sakura - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
The song you are looking for is called, "Sakura Sakura". I used to sing this song when I was in elementary school, and the words above are the English "translation". If you search for " Sakura Sakura", the Wikipedia page contains the music and the Japanese words. Let me know how it goes!

No. That's not the song I am looking for. `Sakura, Sakura" was also sung in the play I mentioned earlier. But the one I am looking for is titled in English as "Look Into The Rose".
 
"Sakura" means cherry blossoms and rose is "bara". Hmmm...

Sakura Sakura - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Do you know of any traditional Japanese folk song which would give a meaning along the lines of the lyrics I posted in the beginning of this thread if it were translated into English?

Kind of strange that the music book I saw "Look Into The Rose" in had it in English translation rather than in the original Japanese lyrics while "Sakura, Sakura" was shown in the original Japanese.
 
Sorry but I can't think of any song that fits the lyrics. Isn't there any hint other than the lyrics, for instance the melody or something?
 
Here are the koto tabs for the song I am enquiring about. I figured it out on a Virtual Koto. The url for the virtual koto is as follows: O-Koto Culture of Japan Play the melody on the virtual koto by moving your cursor over the strings of the virtual koto and it will be clear.

九八七六五 九八七六五 五五六六七六五四六六五五
 
Hmm. Could it be possible that it is not actually a Japanese song, but an English song set to Japanese sounding music? The music book I saw this song in indicates that it is or is based on a Japanese folk song. But, I don't know. I hope that someone familiar with that melody will know more in that regard.
 
All I can say is that that is at least not a well-known song (even if that's a Japanese song).
 
I listened to what you have on that other site which you posted the link for, once I figured out how to do it.

I didn't recognize it, but I can ask a few other folks when I head back into the country.

But I am also wondering if there isn't some music college here in Japan where you could approach some teacher and get him/her interested in the question. In fact, I might be able to check it out in that manner myself, if you don't have any way to easily do it yourself. But I'm not sure when I can get around to doing it. Might be a couple of weeks.
 
I listened to what you have on that other site which you posted the link for, once I figured out how to do it.

I didn't recognize it, but I can ask a few other folks when I head back into the country.

But I am also wondering if there isn't some music college here in Japan where you could approach some teacher and get him/her interested in the question. In fact, I might be able to check it out in that manner myself, if you don't have any way to easily do it yourself. But I'm not sure when I can get around to doing it. Might be a couple of weeks.

I had asked a few Japanese people here in Canada about that song and the melody in the past and they did not recognize it. I am thinking that this is a not very well known song or it is a very old one which not many people know anymore. If I would have been in Japan at different points over a log period of time, I may have gotten to know more about that song. But whatever the origin is or if whether or not such a song ever existed, I do know that the melody is a very beautiful one. It sounds so peaceful.
 
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