A Japanese miscellany - University of Oregon

Songs of Japanese Children 2H
at the beginning of these little songs ; for many
of the French berceuses also begin with the syl-
lables nene, having nearly the same sound.
(The French word nene, — pronounced in some
dialects nenna and nono, — is commonly used by
mothers in southern France; dodo being the
northern equivalent.^) But of course there is no
real etymological relation between the French
nene and the Japanese nenne. The Japanese
phrase, nenneko, is compounded with a syllable
of the verb neru, signifying to sleep ; a syllable
of the word nenne or nennet, meaning baby ; and
the word ko, meaning child. " Sleep, baby-
child ! " is the real meaning of the expression.
Sleep, little one, sleep !
(Province of he.)
Nenne, nenne -to
Neru-ko wa kawai
Okite-naku-ko wa
Tsura-nikui.
!
;
Sweet is the face of the sleeping
child;—ugly the face of the wakeful child that cries I
» See, for examples, M. Tiersot's Hisloire de la Chanson Populaire
en France : pp. 136-137, el seq.