"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, and was officially designated as Nagano's prefectural song on 20 May 1968. The lyrics were written by Kiyoshi Asai, a Nagano-born teacher, and the tune was composed by Masaharu Kitamura.
References
Shinano no Kuni Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA