Friday, January 29, 2010

Mother's Rhyme

I was trying to remember the finger game Mother used to play on my face so as to ease my anger when as an irritable child I sulked. I checked the rhyme on line but found only a Kyoto version; Mother was Edokko (Tokyo born).

子供の頃, 怒りん棒のあたしの苛立ちをおさめようと母が指先で顔をなぞって遊んだ時の唄を思い出そうとしてオンラインで調べた所、京都の唄が見付かりましたけど、あたしのとは少し違います。。母は江戸っ子でした。

愛宕山に参って(あたま)       あたごさんにまいって
下谷に寄って(ひたい)     たらたら道おりて
はなひとつつんで(はな)    毛虫にさされて
ほうぼうで叱られて(ほお)   花屋へよって
いけのはたまわった(くち)   花一本ぬすんで
無念なことよ(むね)      方々で目もろて
腹立つことよ(はら)      口おしや 腹立ちや 無念や
おへその下で茶を沸かせ。    音羽の滝の白糸さん

最後の所でおなかをくすぐって笑わせるんですけど。中途の一、二行どうしても思い出せないわ。

In Mother's version, she tickled the stomach to make me laugh at the end, but I think I'm missing a couple of lines in the middle.

東京の姉に手紙で聞いて,思い出せなかった数行教えてもらいました。下記の通りです。
I wrote my sister in Tokyo to ask, and I learned the few lines that I could not remember. Completed, it goes as follows:

愛宕山に参って (あたま) 
下谷に寄って  (ひたい)
花一本摘んで  (はな)
池之端を廻って (くち)
碁石を拾って  (は)
方々で叱られた (ほお)
無念なことよ  (むね)
腹立つことよ  (はら)
おへその下で茶を沸かせ。

2 comments:

  1. As a very young child, I was taught an Italian rhyme which involved stroking the face and neck; and my performance became the pride of my mother and my aunts. Long forgotten by me, it has apparently been embedded forever more in the brain of my older cousin who had to listen to endless performances. When we finally see each other again after many years, I will ask her to re-teach it to me. Lorraine Paplin

    ReplyDelete
  2. When you've relearned it, Lorraine, be sure to let me know. I have LPs of Italian children's songs but I find nothing that seems like the one you describe. K.

    ReplyDelete