Japanese high school students in Okayama City playing the traditional game, Ko o toro ko toro (子を捕ろ子捕ろ), also known as Kotoru kotoru (ことろことろ). There are different explanations of this game.
In one version, children stand in a line, one behind the other, with the person in front spreading their arms to block anyone from joining.
But the version that feels most authentic goes like this: one child is chosen to be the oni (demon), another becomes the parent, and the rest are the children. The children line up behind the parent, holding onto each other’s shoulders or waists. The parent spreads their arms to shield the children from the oni, who tries to catch them. If a child is caught, that child becomes the oni.1
As they run from the oni, the line of parent and children must never be broken.
It is reminiscent of traditional fairytales that taught children resilience and cooperation — about facing the world’s harshness together, listening to guidance, and protecting those who are weaker.
The game is believed to date back to the Heian Period (794 to 1185). A carving in the Yomeimon Gate of Nikko’s Toshogu Shrine depicts children playing this game.2
One source told me that the song Tōryanse (通りゃんせ) was sung during the game, which she recalled as the name of the game. This song celebrated Tenmangu shrines, which are dedicated to knowledge and learning.
It appears there were several versions of this song. The source gave me the following words as she remembered them from her childhood:
Tōryanse, tōryanse Tōryanse, tōryanse
Koko wa doko no hosomichi ja?
Tenjinsama no hosomichi ja
Chitto toshite kudashanse
Goyo no nai mono toshasenu
Kono ko no nanatsu no oiwai ni
O-fuda o osame ni mairimasu
Iki wa yoi yoi, kaeri wa kowai
Kowainagara mo
Tōryanse, tōryanse
Koko wa neifu no hosomichi ja
Kijinsama no hosomichi ja
Chitto toshite kudashanse
Nie no nai mono tōshasenu
Kono ko no nanatsu no tomurai ni
Kuyo wo tanomi ni mairimasu
Iki wa yoi yoi, kaeri wa kowai
Kowainagara mo
Tōryanse, tōryanse
In olden days, many children didn’t survive their early years, so making it beyond three, five or seven years of age was seen as a moment to celebrate and make offerings at a temple or shrine. This is the origin of the Shichi-Go-San ceremony still observed today. The song is a conversation between a mother with her seven year old child and guards at a check post3:
Let me pass, let me pass Let me pass, let me pass
What is this narrow pathway here?
It’s the narrow pathway of the Tenjin shrine
Please allow me to pass through
Those without good reason shall not pass
To celebrate this child’s 7th birthday
I’ve come to dedicate my offering
Going in may be fine, fine, but returning would be scary
It’s scary but
Let me pass, let me pass
Here is the underworld’s narrow pathway
It’s the narrow pathway of the demon’s shrine
Please allow me to pass through
Those without sacrifice shall not pass
To bury this child at age 7
I’ve come to offer my services
Living may be fine, fine, but going back would be scary
It’s scary but
Let me pass, let me pas
The melody of this song can often be heard at Japanese pedestrian crossings, where it is used to let blind people know that the light is green and they can cross the street:
The top photo comes from a year album for 1935 (Showa 10) of Okayama Girls’ High School (岡山県岡山高等女学校) in Okayama City, Japan. The 55 photographs show the female students studying, doing traditional Japanese as well Western sports, playing games, posing, at the train station and about town. The album also includes classroom scenes, portraits of teachers as well as administrative personnel and the Showa era wooden school building itself.
For more information about education in Japan during the Meiji, Taisho and early Showa periods, read Okayama 1935 • School Girls Eating Bento.
Related Images
Notes
1 This version is described on many websites introducing the game as a tag game. For example on this site: 「ことろことろ」の遊び方.
2 『＜スポーツ探偵＞鬼ごっこ「ことろことろ」 「鬼滅」につながる童遊び 親が鬼から子を守る』東京新聞、2021年1月13日. Retrieved on 2025-10-23.
3 Wikipedia. Toryanse. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.
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Old Photos of Japan aims to be your personal museum for Japan's visual heritage and to bring the experiences of everyday life in old Japan to you.
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Kjeld Duits
Reference for Citations
Duits, Kjeld (). Okayama 1935: Playing a Traditional Game, OLD PHOTOS of JAPAN. Retrieved on October 25, 2025 (GMT) from https://www.oldphotosjapan.com/photos/322/playing-toryanse-school
Agata
According to Frank Brinkley 10-volume “Japan” this game is also called “kotoro”. One of the photos from Brinkley’s collection shows boys playing this game: http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/gt_japan_people/gjp_gal_med/pages/gj20201.html
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Kjeld Duits (Author)
Thanks for the link, Agata. I actually own the series myself and the photo that you showed has already been scanned and uploaded to be added. I am still looking for an accurate source about how kotoro was played.
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