Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun – Masato Shimon | 1975

およげ!たいやきくん [Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun]
子門真人 [SHIMON Masato]
Words : 高田ひろお [TAKADA Hiroo]
Music : 佐瀬寿一 [SASE Juichi]

“Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun” is a children’s song that was released in 1975 as part of the TV program Hirake! Ponkikki, and it became extremely popular.
Hirake! Ponkikki was a children’s show broadcast from 1973 to 1993. Although different in focus, it was modeled after the American educational program Sesame Street, and it was produced with a target audience of children aged five and up. Many songs were created for the show. By the way, Sesame Street was also aired in Japan, and when I was a child, I used to watch both Sesame Street and Ponkikki.

Before explaining the lyrics, I should talk about the “taiyaki” mentioned in the title “およげ!たいやきくん / Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun” (=Swim! Taiyaki-kun). Taiyaki is a traditional Japanese sweet made by baking batter in a fish-shaped metal mold, filled with sweet red bean paste, and it’s usually sold at food stalls. It seems to be sold in some places abroad, like in the U.S. Incidentally, Steven Tyler from Aerosmith reportedly became quite obsessed with taiyaki and passionately talked about his love for it on Japanese TV. I highly recommend everyone try it at least once.

The term “くん / kun” is an honorific used with names to express familiarity or slight respect, often for males. My name is Takuya, and when I was a kid, I used to be called “Takuya-kun.” Similarly, there are honorifics like “ちゃん / chan” and “さん / san.” “ちゃん / chan” is a term of affection and is often used for girls’ names or cute things like animals. “さん / san” expresses respect rather than affection. Now that I’m an adult, I’m often called “Takuya-san.”
The lyrics of this song tell a whimsical story about a taiyaki that comes to life. Referring to the taiyaki with affection as “Taiyaki-kun” is a heartwarming touch, which gives the song its child-friendly feel.

Masato Shimon is a singer who has performed many songs for children’s anime.
Since this is a children’s song, all the lyrics are written in hiragana.

まいにちまいにち
mainichi mainichi
ぼくらはてっぱんのうえで
bokura wa teppan no ue de
やかれていやになっちゃうよ
yakarete iya ni nacchau yo

毎日（まいにち） [mainichi] : every day
僕ら（ぼくら） [bokura] : we
鉄板（てっぱん） [teppan] : griddle
上（うえ） [ue] : on
訳（わけ） [wake] : reason
嫌になる（いやになる） [iya ni naru] : get tired of

(translation) “Every day, every day,
we’re on the griddle, getting tired of it all.”

The narrator is “Taiyaki-kun,” but here, the lyrics are presented objectively, which makes them a bit strange. The fact that taiyaki are being grilled every day is part of the routine of the shop owner, not the taiyaki itself. But this kind of fuzzy logic is what brings out the fantasy.

あるあさぼくはみせのおじさんと
aru asa boku wa mise no ojisan to
けんかしてうみににげこんだのさ
kenka shite umi ni nigekonda no sa

ある [aru] : some
朝（あさ） [asa] : morning
僕（ぼく） [boku] : I
店（みせ） [mise] : shop
おじさん（おじさん） [ojisan] : man
けんかする（けんかする） [kenka suru] : quarrel
海（うみ） [umi] : sea
逃げる（にげる） [nigeru] : escape

(translation) “One morning, I had a quarrel with the shop owner and ran away to the sea.”

The taiyaki has now become a fish.

はじめておよいだうみのそこ
hajimete oyoida umi no soko
とってもきもちがいいもんだ
tottemo kimochi ga ii monda
おなかのアンコがおもいけど
onaka no anko ga omoi kedo
うみはひろいぜこころがはずむ
umi wa hiroize kokoro ga hazumu
ももいろサンゴがてをふって
momoiro sango ga te o futte
ぼくのおよぎをながめていたよ
boku no oyogi o nagamete ita yo

初めて（はじめて） [hajimete] : for the first time
泳ぐ（およぐ） [oyogu] : swim
底（そこ） [soko] : bottom
とっても [tottemo] : very
気持ちがいい（きもちがいい） [kimochi ga ii] : feels good
おなか [onaka] : stomach
あんこ [anko] : red bean paste
重い（おもい） [omoi] : heavy
広い（ひろい） [hiroi] : wide
心（こころ） [kokoro] : heart
はずむ [hazumu] : bounce
桃色（ももいろ） [momoiro] : pink
サンゴ（さんご） [sango] : coral
手をふる（てをふる） [te o furu] : wave (verb)
泳ぎ（およぎ） [oyogi] : swimming
眺める（ながめる） [nagameru] : watch

(translation) “For the first time, I swam at the bottom of the sea.
It felt so good,
even though the red bean paste in my stomach was heavy.
The sea is vast, and my heart is bouncing with joy.
Pink coral waved
as it watched me swim.”

Though the song remains in a minor key, the scene where “the heart bounces” offers some relief.

まいにちまいにちたのしいことばかり
mainichi mainichi tanoshii koto bakari
なんぱせんがぼくのすみかさ
nanpasen ga boku no sumika sa

楽しい（たのしい） [tanoshii] : fun
こと [koto] : thing
ばかり [bakari] : only
難破船（なんぱせん） [nanpasen] : shipwreck
すみか [sumika] : dwelling

(translation) “Every day, every day, it’s nothing but fun.
A shipwreck is my home.

ときどきサメにいじめられるけど
tokidoki same ni ijimerareru kedo
そんなときゃそうさにげるのさ
sonna tokya sōsa nigeru no sa

ときどき [tokidoki] : sometimes
サメ（さめ） [same] : shark
いじめる [ijimeru] : bully
そんな [sonna] : such
時（とき） [toki] : time
そう [sō] : yes
逃げる（にげる） [nigeru] : escape

(translation) “Sometimes I get bullied by sharks,
but in such cases, yes, I just run away.”

いちにちおよげばハラペコさ
ichinichi oyogeba harapeko sa
めだまもクルクルまわっちゃう
medama mo kurukuru mawacchau
たまにはエビでもくわなけりゃ
tamani wa ebi demo kuwanakerya
しおみずばかりじゃふやけてしまう
shiomizu bakari ja fuyakete shimau

一日（いちにち） [ichinichi] : one day
腹ペコ（はらぺこ） [harapeko] : hungry
めだま [medama] : eyeball
くるくる [kurukuru] : spinning
回る（まわる） [mawaru] : spin
たまに [tamani] : occasionally
エビ（えび） [ebi] : shrimp
食う（くう） [kuu] : eat
塩水（しおみず） [shiomizu] : saltwater
ばかり [bakari] : only
ふやける [fuyakeru] : become soggy

(translation) “After swimming for a whole day, I get really hungry,
and my eyeballs spin around.
I have to eat a shrimp once in a while, or
I’ll get all soggy from drinking only saltwater.”

“腹ペコ / harapeko” is a combination of “腹 / hara” (=belly) and “ペコペコ / pekopeko” (=the sound of something denting) — an onomatopoeia. “Kurukuru” also represents spinning motion.

He gets hungry, he can’t get soggy unless it’s saltwater, and he’s filled with red bean paste. …What kind of structure does this “Taiyaki-kun” even have? It’s really amusing.

いわばのかげからくいつけば
iwaba no kage kara kuitsukeba
それはちいさなつりばりだった
sore wa chiisana tsuribari datta

岩場（いわば） [iwaba] : rocky shore
影（かげ） [kage] : shadow
食いつく（くいつく） [kuitsuku] : to bite
それ [sore] : that
ちいさな [chiisana] : small
釣り針（つりばり） [tsuribari] : fishing hook

(translation) “When I bit from the shadow of the rocky shore,
it turned out to be a small fishing hook.”

どんなにどんなにもがいても
donnani donnani mogaitemo
ハリがのどからとれないよ
hari ga nodo kara torenai yo
はまべでみしらぬおじさんが
hamabe de mishiranu ojisan ga
ぼくをつりあげびっくりしてた
boku o tsuriage bikkuri shiteta

どんなに [donnani] : however much
もがく [mogaku] : struggle
針（ハリ） [hari] : hook
のど [nodo] : throat
とれる [toreru] : come out
浜辺（はまべ） [hamabe] : beach
見知らぬ（みしらぬ） [mishiranu] : unknown
釣り上げる（つりあげる） [tsuriageru] : fish up
びっくりする [bikkuri suru] : be surprised

(translation) “No matter how much I struggled,
the hook wouldn’t come out of my throat.
An unknown man on the beach
fished me up, and he was shocked.”

This “おじさん / ojisan” (=man) is not the same as the shop owner. It’s an unexpected twist.

やっぱりぼくはタイヤキさ
yappari boku wa taiyaki sa
すこしこげあるタイヤキさ
sukoshi koge aru taiyaki sa
おじさんつばをのみこんで
ojisan tsuba o nomikonde
ぼくをうまそうにたべたのさ
boku o umasō ni tabeta no sa

やっぱり [yappari] : after all
すこし [sukoshi] : a little
こげ [koge] : burn marks
つば [tsuba] : saliva
飲み込む（のみこむ） [nomikomu] : swallow
うまそうに [umasō ni] : deliciously
食べる（たべる） [taberu] : eat

(translation) “After all, I’m just a taiyaki.
A slightly burned taiyaki.
The man swallowed his saliva
and ate me with relish.”

It’s puzzling why a song with such gloomy elements became so popular among children, but I think the music and Masato Shimon’s vocals must have made it entertaining. Of course, the lyrics are both dark and amusing at the same time.

Perhaps I should have mentioned this earlier, but this song’s record sold over 4.57 million copies, making it the best-selling single in Japan in terms of physical media. While most sales records were set in the 1990s, this song still holds first place with over a million more copies sold than the second-place holder.
At the time, this song sparked a social phenomenon, with long lines forming at taiyaki shops and taiyaki grills selling out.

You can still find unofficial videos of the original anime on YouTube.