Japanese Games Series, #1: いやいやよ

I learned a few little games while in Japan -- mostly from my little host sister, and some from friends or television -- so I thought I'd make a little series out of them and share them with you. They're great for those never-ending summer days and long car rides, or eternal and boring work shifts! They're good for practicing your Japanese and having fun at the same time! Or, you can modify these to be played with friends who don't speak Japanese. I've done this with my little brothers.

First in the game series is, admittedly, a game which I never played myself: いやいやよ。


This is a game I saw on a variety show while in Japan, and is slightly similar to shiritori . I tried to find a clip of the show I watched, but couldn't. Maybe if I asked around Lang-8, someone who by chance saw the same program could enlighten me.

You sing this song to the tune of "Old McDonald Had a Farm". The song starts with everyone singing "Xから始まるいやなこと" (which I will translate with no semblance of lyricism as "something you don't like that starts with X") where "X" is a syllable. Person A then has to think of a "いやなこと” starting with the said syllable and sing it within the constraints of the song. This continues, changing X, and progressing through the ranks of players. For example:

All: 「け」から始まるいやなこと！いやーいやーよ！
A:ケーキはムシだらけのこと
All：いやーいやーよ！「か」から始まるいやなこと！いやーいやーよ！
B:彼女の前に泣かされちゃう
All: いやーいやーよ！Etc...

If someone says something that seems strange/lame, doesn't start with the correct syllable, or is in some other way flawed, instead of continuing the song with いやーいやーよyou can say ちょっと変じゃない?! ("Isn't that a little weird?")and expel that player/end the game. If I remember correctly, in the program I watched people who messed up got some kind of ばつ. I feel like I watched them get hit in the face or something, but I can't quite remember...


Just like in the game Concentration, you can constrain the いやなこと to a certain topic.  Or, you can play it freestyle, without syllable constraints, as you can see in this video. You might recognize the comedians; they're pretty famous. The 'prisoner' who enters last is the guy who dresses like a girl and sings about farts not being embarrassing.