Otemoyan is a Japanese folk song (min'yo

Min'yo

is a genre of traditional Japanese music. The term is a translation of the German word "Volkslied" and has only been in use during the twentieth century...

) from Kumamoto Prefecture

Kumamoto Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto.- History :Historically the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system...

. It is played by mass performers dancing in the streets of Kumamoto in the summer. It is usually accompanied by shamisen

Shamisen

The , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...

, taiko

Taiko

means "drum" in Japanese . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming...

 drums and other percussion, and the Japanese used has a southern Kumamoto accent. (See Kumamoto-ben.)

Origin

Originally, it was a song played during drinking parties with geisha

Geisha

, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...

 girls. Several hypothesis have been formulated on the origin of the name and the most creditable one among them is that Otemoyan was a girl named Chimo Tominaga (1868-1935) who really lived near the present Kumamoto Station. The writer/composer was Ine Nagata, a teacher of Shamisen

Shamisen

The , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...

 and Japanese dances. This song made a debut in records made by Akasaka Koume in 1935. The oldest reference of this song is in 5 Pairs of Shoes

5 Pairs of Shoes

5 Pairs of Shoes was a series of essays of travel literature written by Yosano Tekkan, and following 4 students, named Mokutaro Kinoshita, Kitahara Hakushu, Hirano Banri and Yoshii Isamu published in 1907 in a Tokyo newspaper...

, a book published in 1907 by five promising men of letters , Tekkan Yosano

Tekkan Yosano

was the pen-name of Yosano Hiroshi, a Japanese author and poet active in late Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japan. His wife was fellow author Yosano Akiko. Kaoru Yosano, cabinet minister and politician is his grandson.-Early life:...

, Mokutaro Kinoshita (pen-name of ), Kitahara Hakushu

Kitahara Hakushu

is the pen-name of ', a Japanese tanka poet active during the Taishō and Shōwa periods of Japan. He is regarded as one of the most popular and important poets in modern Japanese literature.-Early life:...

, Hirano Banri and Yoshii Isamu

Yoshii Isamu

was a Japanese tanka poet and playwright writer active in Taishō and Shōwa period Japan. Attracted to European romanticism in his youth, his later works were more subdued.-Early life:Yoshii Isamu was born in the elite Takanawa district Tokyo...

 who visited Kumamoto at that time.

Meaning

The song is about Chimo, a young maiden in the Meiji

Meiji

Meiji may refer to:* Meiji Restoration, the revolution that ushered in the Meiji period* Meiji period - the period in Japanese history when the Meiji Emperor reigned...

 period, who is in love with a man with smallpox scars on his face. They just got married but she hesitates to hold an open wedding ceremony due to possible comments made by the townspeople about her new husband's look. Anyhow, she is still charmed by him regardless of his look.

1st Stanza

Japanese:

おてもやん　あんたこの頃嫁

入りしたではないかいな

嫁入りしたことぁしたばってん

ご亭どんが　ぐじゃっぺだるけん

まだ杯ゃせんじゃった

ぐじゃっぺ＝菊目石状態。痘瘡の跡。

村役　鳶役　肝煎りどん

あん人たちの　おらすけんで

あとはどうなときゃなろたい

川端町っちゃん　きゃめぐろ

春日ぼうぶりゃどんたちゃ

尻ひっぱって　花盛り　花盛り

ピーチクパーチク雲雀の子

げんぱく茄子のいがいなどん

Romaji:

Otemoyan anta konogoro

Yomeiri shita dewa naikaina

Yomeiri shita kot'a shita batten

Goteidon ga gujappe daruken

mada sakazukya senjatta

(gujappe: kikumeishi jotai. toso no ato. )

Murayaku tobiyaku kimoiridon

An' hitotachi no orasukende

Ato wa dou nato kya narotai

Kawabatamachan kya meguro

Kasuga bou burya dontacha

Shiri hippatte hanazakari hanasakari

Piichiku paachiku hibari no ko

Genpaku nasubi no i ga ina don

Translation:

Miss Otemo

Weren't you married just recently?

As a matter of fact, I was. However,

Since my husband's face is all pockmarked,

We haven't had a proper ceremony.

(gujappe: pockmarks due to small pox)

Our village is replete with busybodies.

If those people found out.

What would become of us, I wonder?

Let's go to Kawabata Town.

There are many ripe pumpkins

And heaps of flowers in the fields.

Chirpetty tweet-tweet, the skylarks sing

The eggplants show their thorny branches.

2nd Stanza

Japanese:


一つ山越え

も一つ山超え　あの山越えて

私ゃあんたに惚れちょるばい

惚れちょるばってん　言われんたい

追々彼岸も近まれば

若者衆も寄らすけん

くまんどんのよじょもん詣りに

ゆるゆる話をきゃあしゅうたい

男振りには惚れんばな

煙草入れの銀金具が

それもそもそも因縁たい。

アカチャカベッチャカ

チャカチャカチャー

Romaji:

Hitotsu yama koe

Mo hitotsu yama koe, ano yama koete

'Atash'a anta ni horechorubai

Horechoru batten iwarentai

Oioi Higan

Higan

is a Buddhist holiday exclusively celebrated in Japan during both the Spring and Autumnal Equinox. It is observed by nearly every Buddhist sect in Japan. The tradition extends from mild weather that occurs during the time of equinoxes, though the origin of the holiday dates from Emperor Shomu in...

mo chikamareba

Wakamon'shu mo yorasuken

Kuman' don no yojomon myarini

Yuruyuru hanashi wo chashutai

Otokoburi niwa horenbana

Tabakoire no ginkanaguga

Soremo so'mo so'mo in'entai

Akachaka becchaka

Chaka chaka cha!

Translation:

Go over a mountain

Go over another mountain, over that one too.

I'm so in love with you

Head over heels, though I can't confess.

As the Feast of the Equinox approaches,

The youth will gather in throngs.

At the Yojomon Pilgrimage in Kumamoto

I'll talk to them about my troubles.

It wasn't your looks that charmed me,

I saw the way you smoked your tobacco pipe,

The rest is history.

Dum diddle dee diddle

Diddle diddle daa.