[Sunday Culture] "We Will Take You to Your Grave" SNS Sensation 'Childhood Innocence-Destroying Children's Song'

The Trending Children's Song 'Supsok Jageun Restaurant'
Various Interpretations Including the Last Supper for the Dead and Grim Fairy Tales

"NHK plays this song in the morning for kids to listen to."

These days, Japanese songs often appear as background music in social media (SNS) videos in our country. A lullaby sung in a soft voice in videos about cooking or making something has recently become frequent. It is the song "Mori no Chiisana Restaurant (森の小さなレストラン)" (The Little Restaurant in the Forest).

This song, despite its calm melody, is famous in Japan as a song that destroys childhood innocence. In fact, it is sometimes said to be a lullaby for adults. Today, we will share the story about the various interpretations of this lullaby in Japan.

Album cover of Aoi Teshima's 'Small Restaurant in the Forest'. (Photo by YouTube Music)

"Mori no Chiisana Restaurant" is a song released last year by singer Teshima Aoi. It is included in NHK's collection of children's songs "Minna no Uta" and is officially classified as a children's song. It is also broadcast during morning children's programs when kids watch TV.

The lyrics go like this. At first, you enter the little restaurant in the forest where "even if you follow the acorns, you cannot arrive." It seems to be a quiet place with no reservations at all. The relaxed scenery shows a building with a red roof and a baby bird flapping its wings. The menu consists of one recommended dish by the owner, giving a simple feeling. From the kitchen side, you can hear the sounds of violin, flute, cello, and viola.

However, from the latter part, the lyrics become somewhat strange. Starting with "Welcome. Eat your fill and sleep well. Then, good night everyone," it ends with lyrics like "Carpaccio, paella, appetizers, risotto. There is no dessert. We deliver to the grave. Tonight is the last full course."

Because of this, when you search for this song on Japanese search engines like Google, related searches such as "scary" and "why were the lyrics written like this" follow. It is also classified as a so-called "trauma song," meaning a song that destroys childhood innocence.

Teshima Aoi has not clearly explained the exact intention, but once told NHK, "Children will hum the scary lyrics without thinking deeply. I hope that when they grow up, they suddenly realize what the lyrics meant. For now, please just enjoy it happily."

Animation of a small restaurant in the forest. (Photo by YouTube channel リアルこもりうた)

Because of this, many interpretations by adults have followed. The most supported theory is that it is "a place where the deceased have their last supper before ascending to heaven." The phrase "the restaurant in the forest where you cannot arrive even if you follow the acorns" means that living people can never go there, and "no reservations at all" means that no one knows when a person will die. It is said to be prepared as a sign of having endured life in this world.

While looking for the meaning myself, I learned that in Japan there is a service called "a small farewell gathering in the forest," where instead of a funeral hall, a small group gathers in the forest to take a forest bath and share a meal to heal their hearts while saying goodbye to the deceased. Perhaps this was referenced.

There is also a theory that it is an adaptation of the fairy tale "The Restaurant with Many Orders," which appears in Japanese elementary school language textbooks. In the story, two young men get lost in the mountains and enter a remote house that looks like a restaurant. There is a notice saying, "This is a restaurant with many orders, so please understand," and they are asked to comb their hair, brush off mud from their shoes, and remove all accessories.

The young men are curious but rationalize it by thinking, "Maybe it’s dangerous because electricity is used in cooking," and follow the requests, only to later realize that these were instructions from a monster intending to cook them. It is interpreted as a cruel fairy tale about luring travelers to eat them.

Animation of a small restaurant in the forest. (Photo by YouTube channel リアルこもりうた)

Besides these, there was also an opinion saying, "No reservations at the restaurant? From a self-employed person's perspective, that’s even scarier."

Moreover, since the lyricist often included reflections on life and death in lyrics such as "If living is hard," the story about death gains more credibility. Although it is a song we might have passed by without much thought, the lyrics seem quite philosophical the more you think about them.

What do you think? In fact, there are times when lyrics of songs we sang as children without knowing the meaning suddenly resonate at some point in life. Perhaps children's songs play a role in giving children the strength to be comforted and to reflect even after they grow up.