Shinano no Kuni (song)

Shinano no Kuni (信濃の国) is a prefecture song of Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Originally created for educational purposes, the song is arguably the most well-known prefecture song in Japan. Because of its popular appearance in public areas such as train stations and TV programs, a large number of population in the prefecture can remember the song. Sometimes the song is used (jestingly) to test one's patriotism to the region.

History

The song was created in 1900 for teaching the geographical features of the prefecture to children. The lyrics was written by Kiyoshi Asai, a Nagano-born teacher, and the tune was composed by Masaharu Kitamura. In the song, they tried to cover various famous places and their featured objects or people evenly. The name of the song "Shinano no Kuni" literally means Shinano Province, roughly corresponding to the prefecture in the old province system. Nagano Prefecture has long been divided into several political sects, notably in Nagano and Matsumoto area, each of which has clashing economical interests. The song has kept being sung by various people throughout the prefecture as the symbol of unity of the region.