Kagome Kagome
"Kagome Kagome" (かごめかごめ, or ) is a Japanese children's game and the song ("Warabe uta") 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, but neither have been definitively explained. Melody. Lyrics. In Japanese, the song has different lyrics depending on the region, but the most commonly known version is: The most common interpretation is: <poem>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?</poem> 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" ("yoake no ban ni/in the evening of the dawn") with "夜明けの番人" ("yoake no bannin/the guard at/of dawn"), and "後ろの正面" ("ushiro no shoumen/in front of behind") with "後ろの少年" ("ushiro no shounen/the boy behind"). There are countless variations in history, many of which can be found recorded in writing. Meaning. Many theories surround the  meanings of the various phrases in the song. These include: Theories. The song is a subject of much academic interest and many theories surround its origin and meaning. Some such theories are: