- Satchan
nihongo|Satchan|サッちゃん|Sat-chan is a Japanese
children's song composed in 1959 and is well known there. Its lyric were by nihongo|Hiroo Sakata|阪田寛夫|Sakata Hiroo and the music composed by nihongo|Megumi Ōnaka|大中恩|Ōnaka Megumi.Lyrics
History
According to the lyricist Hiroo Sakata, recalling his childhood, it was about a neighborhood girl nick-named "Satchan". Ms. nihongo|Sachiko Kikuta|菊田幸子|Kikuta Sachiko was in Sakata's nihongo|South Osaka Kindergarten|南大阪幼稚園|Minami-Ōsaka Yōchien class; she eventually moved away (referenced in the song as "...going far away" in the third verse). According to Megumi Ōnaka, Sakata had his first crush on Kikuta.
The reference to the banana in the second verse was over the health episode Sakata experienced himself. When younger, Sakata's body was weak; when he tried to eat more than half of a banana, he would feel nauseous and could not finish the rest.
As a note, the lyricist and the composer were cousins.
Popular culture
Due to the popularity of this children's song, several different
urban legend s and spoofs associated with this song have sprung up in Japan. In one version, an additional fourth verse alludes to Sat-chan being a leg-less ghost. In another version, additional verses up to the tenth were composed.In the autumn of 2006, a memorial stone inscribed with the lyrics of this children's song was dedicated at the South Osaka Kindergarten.
External links
* [http://syoutarou34.cool.ne.jp/sattyan.htm MIDI of Satchan]
* (Japanese) [http://www.mmjp.or.jp/MIYAJI/mts/nihonnnouta/sacchan.htm Background information on Satchan]
* (Japanese) [http://www.kirishin.com/news/n2006_11_18d.html News article on the memorial stone dedication]
* (Japanese) [http://www.f-age.com/backno/0611/1113.htm Another article on the memorial stone dedication]
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