is a popular Japanese folk song written by and composed by .
General
The song was composed for the that took place in Shima, Mie in 1970. The song appeared on the popular single record released by the folk group on February 5, 1971, becoming nationally known. In September 1973, Sumiko Yamagata released a reprise of the song in the album .
Shoji Hashimoto, the editor of the publishing house Kyouiku Geijutsu-sha, decided to include the song in a choir textbook, causing it to be sung by choirs across Japan. By the second half of the 1970s, most people in Japan were familiar with the song.
Megumi Yokota once sang this song at a school competition.
The song was chosen as the official theme of the national team of Japan during the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
A version of this song performed by Megumi Hayashibara is part of the soundtrack for the 2009 anime film Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance by Hideaki Anno.
Covers
Many Japanese artists have released a cover version of this song:
Babymetal
D=OUT
Sayaka Ichii with Yūko Nakazawa
Kazumasa Oda
Kanon
Houkago Tea Time
Hideaki Tokunaga
Megumi Hayashibara (present on the soundtrack of Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance) Ayaka Hirahara Saki Fukuda ManaKana Mucc Shūichi Murakami Saori Yuki Tanaka Yukio and Minami Maho (present on the soundtrack of BECK: Mongolian chop squad) Misato Watanabe Sakurakō Keion-bu (present on the soundtrack of K-ON!) Sayaka Sasaki (Second end credits of Nichijou) Misaki Iwasa Yui Megumi Toyoguchi (episode 7 of Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School Despair Arc)
This song has also been covered by several non-Japanese artists:
Susan Boyle
Jason Kouchak
Hayley Westenra
Kat McDowell
Beckii Cruel
Only Wednesday Music (Yandere Simulator Promo) CameronF305