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Kagome Kagome (かごめかごめ, or 籠目籠目) is a Japanese children's game and the song associated with it. One player is chosen as the oni (literally demon or ogre, but similar to the concept of "it" in tag) and sits blindfolded (or with their eyes covered). The other children join hands and walk in circles around the oni while chanting the song for the game. When the song stops, the oni tries to name the person standing directly behind them.
The song is a subject of much interest because of its cryptic lyrics which vary from region to region, and many theories exist about its meaning and origins, but neither have been definitely explained.
In Japanese, the song has different lyrics depending on the region, but the most commonly known version is:
|Japanese characters||English transliteration (Romaji)|
|かごめかごめ 籠の中の鳥は||Kagome kagome / Kago no naka no tori wa|
|いついつ出やる 夜明けの晩に||Itsu itsu deyaru / Yoake no ban ni|
|鶴と亀が滑った||Tsuru to kame ga subetta.|
|後ろの正面だあれ||Ushiro no shoumen daare|
The most common interpretation is:
Kagome kagome / The bird in the basket/cage,
When, oh when will it come out
In the night of dawn
The crane and turtle slipped
Who is behind you now?
As the song is typically written in a single line without any punctuation, in addition to the odd phrasing and ambiguous words, it is also unclear which phrases are connected to which (For example, "In the night of dawn" could be an answer to "when oh when will it come out", or could be a setting for "the crane and turtle slipped").
Common variations in the song include replacing "夜明けの晩に" ("in the evening of the dawn") with "夜明けの番人" ("the guard at/of dawn"), and "後ろの正面" ("in front of behind") with "後ろの少年" ("the boy behind").
Meaning of Lyrics
Many theories surround the meanings of the various phrases in the song. These include:
- "Kagome" (籠目): The holes in a basket
- A corruption of "kakome" ("surround")
- The shape of the holes in a traditional basket, a hexagon
- The shape of the holes in a traditional, including the woven material, a hexagram (Star of David)
- "Kagome" (籠女): A pregnant woman
- Kagome - a caged bird
- Kagome - "Circle you"
Kago no naka no tori wa
- As "kago" can mean both "cage" and "basket", a bird in a basket would, by the standards of the age, be a chicken
- It is possible that "tori" is supposed to be a metaphor for torii, and that kago (typically woven out of bamboo) refers to a bamboo fence, and that thus the "torii surrounded by bamboo" is in fact a Shinto shrine.
- In the case that kagome is interpreted as "pregnant woman", the bird in the cage is her unborn child.
Itsu itsu deyaru
- Can also be "itsu itsu deau" ("When oh when will we meet")
- Can mean "When will it come out?"
- Can mean "When can it come out?"
Yoake no ban ni
- Can simply mean night
- Can mean "from morning till night"
- Can mean an inability to see light
- Can mean a period of time that can be taken as either dawn or night (around 4 AM)
- As "yoake" literally means the end of night, and "ban" is night, this can be a purposeful contradiction referring to a time period that does not exist
Tsuru to kame ga subetta
- The crane and turtle can be interpreted as symbols of good fortune, and thus their slipping can mean the coming of misfortune
- The crane and turtle can be interpreted as symbols of long life, and thus their slipping can mean the coming of death
- "Subetta" can be taken to be "統べった" or "統べた" ("to rule over"), in which case the crane and turtle symbolize a ruler
- Could be a corruption of a line from a Kyoto nursery rhyme, "tsurutsuru tsuppaita"
Ushiro no shoumen daare
- Can simply mean "who stands behind"
- Can be taken to mean "who is it that stands right in front when you look behind" in a figurative manner, referring to hidden people in positions of power
- Can be taken to be something said by someone who has been beheaded, whose head is looking at his own back
- Can be taken to be something said by someone who is about to be beheaded, in which case the question "who is it who stands behind me" is in other words "who is my executioner"
The song is a subject of much academic interest and many theories surround its origin and meaning. Some such theories are:
- The lyrics refer to the game only
- In this theory the lyrics mean "Surround, surround (the Oni) / When will the Oni be able to switch roles with the next person? / Who is it standing behind you?".
- The song is about a prostitute
- In this theory the lyrics refer to a woman forced into prostitution (the bird in a cage) who has seen so many men that she cannot remember all of them ("who is it who stands behind" refers to the next person in line) and wonders when she will be able to escape (when oh when will it escape).
- The song is about a pregnant woman
- In this theory the "kagome" is a pregnant woman. Someone pushes her down a flight of stairs ("tsuru to kame ga subetta") and she miscarries, and wonders who killed her child ("ushiro no shoumen daare").
- The song is about a convict to be executed
- The "kagome" is a prison cell, and the bird is its prisoner. "Tsuru to kame ga subetta" symbolizes the end of life and fortune, and "ushiro no shoumen daare" is either the prisoner wondering who his executioner is, or his disembodied head gazing at his own body.
In popular media
- In the manga After School Nightmare, the author mentions the rhyme, explaining that the recurring motif of cages throughout the work are a metaphor relating to the rhyme. In keeping with the themes of the manga, she interprets the rhyme as being about miscarriage.
- Japanese rock band Dir en grey's 2003 song "Shokubeni" (蝕紅) is based on this game and its song.
- The song features prominently in the Japanese visual novel Remember11
- The song was featured prominently in the Japanese visual novels Chaos;Head and Robotics;Notes (both written by the same people, placed in the same universe), as well as their anime adaptation. In these they appeared as a song important to a secret society (presumably the shared antagonists and major plot link of Chaos;Head, Steins;Gate, and Robotics;Notes, and is perhaps the main linking factor between the three), so in the case it more-or-less falls under the conspiracy theories.
- The Japanese singing synthesizer Vocaloid has a song called "Kakome Kakome", or "Circle you, Circle you" sung by Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka. It is based on the song and game, but has a more horror-oriented version than the original.
- In the anime/manga Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi, the main character, Kagome, didn't like her name in her youth because the other children kept teasing her for having the same name as the song, though her mother named her after the light of the Shikon no Tama she saw in her daughter at her birth. Ironically, this song fits her situation throughout the story.
- In the game: Touhou 8: Imperishable Night, the fifth stage theme is an arrangement of this song called: Cinderella Cage ~ Kagome-Kagome
- In another game from the same series, Touhou 6: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, the extra-stage boss has a Spell Card (Special Attack) called "Kagome, Kagome", which consists basically of trapping the player in a cage of bullets which then collapses.
- In the horror game Fatal Frame, ghost children are shown singing this at the beginning of the second chapter.
- In the indie horror game Misao, a ghost girl follows the player from behind while singing this at one part. If the player turns towards the girl, they'll be blown up. Otherwise, it's harmless and the song repeats on endless loop.
- In the Japanese version of Terranigma, the dolls summoned by Bloody Mary sing this rhyme. This rhyme contains hints on which doll to attack.
- In the horror manga "Ibitsu", by Ryou Haruto, a little girl often says "kagome, kagome", playing with the name of the song and with her own name.
- In the anime series Tactics (2004), directed by Hiroshi Watanabe, episode three revolves around a mountain god and uses the Kagome song to choose victims.
- In the anime and visual novel Robotics;Notes, a chiptune version of the melody frequently plays from the cast's phones, or tablet-like devices.
- In the game Corpse Party: Book of Shadows it is heard in the chapter Purgatory while the protagonist explores the bomb shelter.
- In the anime series "Ghost Stories" this song is sung by a group of toys in the 11th episode, where Satsuki was targeted by a ghost doll named "Mary".