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Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.

Ginza Boy (Ginza bôi)


Shinkô Music Sheet (Shinkô gakufu) No. 440
銀座ボーイ
Designer: Artist unidentified, Japanese
Composer: Hattori Itsuro (Japanese, 1907 – 1973)
Arranger: Miyata Tōhō (Japanese, 1898 – 1986)
Lyricist: Matsumura Mataichi (Japanese, 1898 – 1922)
Publisher: Shinkō ongaku shuppansha
Japanese
Shôwa era
1935 (Shôwa 10), October 5

Medium/Technique Color lithograph; ink on paper
Dimensions Height x width: 25.7 × 17.9 cm (10 1/8 × 7 1/16 in.)
Credit Line Gift of Mary and Robert Levenson
Accession Number2023.1168
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsMusical scores

DescriptionTranslation of lyrics from Japanese, by Kuniko and Kendall Brown:
"We are the boys, Ginza ‘boys’
Every night, every night. seeking our dreams
Lanlalan lalalala lalalanla Lanlalan lalalala
Here we go, Ginza, evening in Ginza.
If it rains, or the wind blows
Wet we go, we are the ‘boys’
Lanlalan lalalala lalalanla Lanlalan lalalala
Ginza ‘boys,’ a row of willow trees.
Hats worn a slant, smoking ‘pipes’
Aimlessly, aimlessly, singing songs
Lanlalan lalalala lalalanla Lanlalan lalalala
Here we go, Ginza, promenade.
If the willows scatter, or if they sprout
Young hearts, seeking our dreams
Lanlalan lalalala lalalanla Lanlalan lalalala
Here we go, Ginza, Ginza for love."
Marks “TAKESHI” at bottom center
ProvenanceBy 2019, Mary and Robert Levenson, Belleair, FL; 2023, gift of Mary and Robert Levenson to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 13, 2023)