Play Songs - Asobase Uta

...There are also lullabies, which are a kind of traditional folk song, and newly created lullabies, but here we will focus on the former. In Japan, there were three types of lullabies in the Edo period: (1) "songs to put to sleep" (Where has the weight of sleep gone...), (2) "songs to wake up" (How many moons...), and (3) "songs to play" (Rabbit, rabbit, what are you looking at and jumping...) (Gyotomi, Children's Song Collection, around 1820). Today, lullabies are generally divided into two categories: "songs to put to sleep" and "songs to play," and the latter category includes "songs to wake up" and "magic songs."

*Some of the terminology that refers to "play songs" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…さらに伝統的な民謡の一種としての子守歌と，新たに創作されたものとがあるが，ここでは前者を中心に述べる。　日本では江戸時代の子守歌に，(1)〈寝させ歌〉(ねんねのおもりはどこへいた……)，(2)〈目さめ歌〉(お月さま幾つ……)，(3)〈遊ばせ歌〉(うさぎうさぎ，なにょ見てはねる……)の3種が数えられていた(行智《童謡集》1820ころ)。今日子守歌は一般に〈眠らせ歌〉と〈遊ばせ歌〉に二大別され，後者の中に〈目さめ歌〉や〈まじない歌〉が含められる。…

※「遊ばせ歌」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報