Shinano no Kuni

Shinano no Kuni (信濃の国) is a prefecture song of Nagano Prefecture, Japan, created for educational purposes. Because of its popular appearance in public areas such as train stations and TV programs, a large segment of the prefecture's population can remember the song. Sometimes the song is used (jestingly) to test one's patriotism to the region. The song was played during the opening ceremony of the 1998 Winter Olympics to accompany the Parade of Nations.

The song was created in 1900 for teaching the geographical features of the prefecture to children. The lyrics were written by Kiyoshi Asai, a Nagano-born teacher, and the tune was by Masaharu Kitamura. In the song, the wording attempts to cover various famous places and their featured objects or people evenly.

The name means Shinano Province, roughly corresponding to the prefecture in the old province system. Nagano Prefecture has long been divided into several political areas, notably in Nagano and Matsumoto area, each of which has distinctive economical interests. The song has continued to be sung by various people throughout the prefecture as the symbol of unity of the region.