KITE ◊ JOB

I had a cassette of this Japanese folk song at my Obachan’s house when I was little. I vividly remember listening to it and singing along with the tape. This song has stuck in my mind throughout the years, although I’ve never really known what it was about. I used to sing it to my close friends on their birthdays and pretend it was a birthday song…it’s not!

The song is entitled “Shojoji no tanuki bayashi” in english roughly meaning “Raccoon Dogs Dancing at Shojoji Temple.” The only explaination I can find for the song, makes little sense to me: “In Japan, we believe (especially when we are small) that the raccoon dog plays the belly drum with their front legs while standing on their hind legs. Shoujou-ji Temple is famous for the tradition of the raccoon dog belly drum. However, this song is not a traditional one.”

Whatever the meaning, this song will always conjure up nostalgic feelings for me. It reminds me of watching episodes of COPS with Obachan (definitely too young for that, but we’d sing the theme song together), sitting in front of the sliding glass door in her bedroom putting on makeup with her, and somehow it reminds me of eating way too many Cool Ranch Doritos.