Keep meaning to get to this one: GhibliWorld reports that Hayao Miyazaki’s next flick with Studio Ghibli will be based on a Japanese lullaby, prompting a report that tells you more about Japanese lullabies than you ever thought you’d know. Apparently they’re more akin to the spirituals sung by slaves in the 1860s than to the get-the-damn-baby-to-shut-up tunes we’re used to– because nannies in Japan were traditionally indentured servants who would sing about how much they want to get the hell away from all these brats.

The lullaby that the film is based on is called Itsuki-no-komori-uta, a famous lullaby about Itsuki village, which is apparently about to get washed away when a new dam is built. The lyrics of the lullaby (GhibliWorld’s translation) are:

I’ll go home at Bon
If Bon comes soon, I can return soon
We are like beggars, but they are the rich
The rich have good sashes and good clothes

If you want to hear the song, clip along to the end of this video from a ’70s Japanese movie– about 4 minutes in, the actress Meiko Kaji sings the lullaby.

Well, at any rate, it’s obvious that Ponyo on a Cliff won’t be Miyazaki’s last flick either. Not that anyone’s in a hurry for him to retire anyway! ;)

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