Ainu Lullaby
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Ainu Lullaby Lyrics. An original lullaby inspired by the Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, traditionally centered on salmon fishing and the northern forest. The Ainu language is a true isolate, unrelated to Japanese or any other tongue, and their oral epics, called yukar, were once sung from memory across long winter nights — a tradition of sung storytelling not so different from a lullaby itself. Here you will find the lyrics, meaning, and chords.
Lyrics & chords
An original arrangement, with guitar & piano chords above each line.
Verse
What the words mean
Chords — guitar & piano
What “Ainu Lullaby” Means
The Ainu are the indigenous people of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, with a culture and language distinct from Japanese, traditionally centered on salmon fishing and the northern forest. This original lullaby, written in English, draws on those forest and river images — offered as a respectful tribute to Ainu heritage rather than an attempt to reproduce the Ainu language.
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