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The title of the song can be translated as "The Balsam Flowers".[3] The song is an Okinawan children's song; Okinawan children would squeeze the sap from balsam flowers to stain their fingernails as a way to ward off evil.[4][5][6] The lyrics of the song are Confucian teachings. Of the first six verses, the first three relate to filial piety, while the latter three refer to respecting one's body and one's goals. Each verse has exactly the same number of notes using language and meter devices that are uniquely Okinawan, called Ryūka.[7]
The Okinawa Prefectural government designated "Tinsagu nu Hana" as "Okinawa Prefecture's favorite song" on March 18, 2012, following a public survey.[8] It was subsequently made an official symbol of Okinawa Prefecture, making it the prefecture's second musical symbol alongside the "Song of Okinawa Prefecture".[9]
^Shanna Lorenz (2007), "Japanese in the Samba": Japanese Brazilian Musical Citizenship, Racial Consciousness, and Transnational Migration, pp. 148–147, ISBN978-0-549-45198-3, For Tatsuo, the importance of the music lies partly in educating future generations in these Okinawan values. This perhaps explains the popularity of the song Tinsagu nu Hana (The Balsam Flower) among Okinawan community members, which was a recording on Ton Ton Mi's first album and is a favorite at Okinawan Brazilian community events: "Just as my fingernails are painted with the pigment from the balsam flowers, my heart is painted with the teachings of my parents."
^Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu (2012-10-10), When Half Is Whole: Multiethnic Asian American Identities, Stanford University Press, pp. 140–, ISBN978-0-8047-8395-8, I know because my mother told me every time we misbehaved. Or played us that song Tinsagu Nu Hana. (What does that song mean, mama? It means obey your mama! Like all Okinawan kids do.)...
^Kina, Daisaku (March 19, 2012). 「てぃんさぐぬ花」 県民愛唱歌に制定 [The myth of the Ryukyu Kingdom flag]. Ryūkyū Shimpō (in Japanese). Retrieved January 3, 2025.
^沖縄のシンボル [Symbols of Okinawa]. Okinawa Prefecture Official Website (in Japanese). Okinawa Prefectural Government. July 11, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
