Awa Dance Festival

The nihongo|Awa Dance Festival|阿波踊り|Awa Odori is held from 12 to 15 August as part of the Bon festival in Tokushima city (徳島市; Tokushima-shi), the capital city of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku in Japan. Awa Odori is the largest dance festival in Japan, attracting over 1.3 million tourists every year. [http://web-japan.org/atlas/festivals/fes19.html]

Groups of choreographed dancers and musicians known as "ren" (連) dance through the streets, typically accompanied by the shamisen, taiko drums, shinobue flute and the kane bell. Dancers wear traditional Bon dance costumes and sing the festival song "Ya-to-sa" as they dance through the city streets.

History

The earliest origins of the dance style are found in the Japanese Buddhist priestly dances of Nembutsu-odori and hiji-odori of the Kamakura Period (1185-1333), and also in kumi-odori, a lively harvest dance that was known to last for several days. [Miyoshi Shoichiro (2001) Tokushima Hanshi Tokuhon] .

The Awa Odori festival grew out of the tradition of the bon odori which is danced as part of the o-bon "Festival of the Dead", a Japanese Buddhist celebration where the spirits of deceased ancestors are said to visit their living relatives for a few days of the year. The term "Awa Odori" was not used until the 20th century, but o-bon festivities in Tokushima have been famous for their size, exuberance and anarchy since the 16th century.

Awa Odori's independent existence as a huge, city-wide dance party is popularly believed to have begun in 1586 when Lord Hachisuka Iemasa, the daimyo of Awa Province (the old name for Tokushima hosted a drunken celebration of the opening of Tokushima Castle. The locals, having consumed a great amount of sake, began to drunkenly weave and stumble back and forth. Others picked up commonly available musical instruments and began to play a simple, rhythmic song, to which the revellers invented lyrics.

This version of events is supported by the lyrics of the first verse of "Awa Yoshikono Bushi", a local version of a popular folk song which praises Hachisuka Iemasa for giving the people Awa Odori, and is quoted in the majority of tourist brochures and websites, [e.g. http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/history/traditionalevents/a46_fes_awa.html] . However, according to local historian Miyoshi Shoichiro, this story first appeared in a Mainichi Shimbun newspaper article in 1908 and is unsupported by any concrete evidence. [Miyoshi Shoichiro (2001:35) Tokushima Hanshi Tokuhon] It is unclear whether the song lyrics were written before or after this article appeared.

More reliable evidence of the festival's history comes from edicts issued by the Tokushima-han (rural feudal administration) such as this one dating from 1671: [Miyoshi 2001: 37]

1. The bon-odori may be danced for only three days.
2. Samurai are forbidden to attend the public celebration. They may dance on their own premises but must keep the gates shut. No quarrels, arguments or other misbehaviour are allowed.
3. The dancing of bon-odori is prohibited in all temple grounds.

This suggests Awa’s bon-odori was a well established as a major event, lasting well over three days – long enough to be a major disruption to the normal functioning of the city. It implies that samurai joined the festival alongside peasants and merchants, frequently disgracing themselves with brawling and unseemly behaviour, eroding their authority. In 1674, it was “forbidden for dancers or spectators to carry swords (wooden or otherwise), daggers or poles”; in 1685, revellers were prohibited from dancing after midnight, and dancers were not allowed to wear any head or face coverings [Wisneiwski, Mark (2003:2) ‘The Awa Odori Trilogy’ in Awa Life] , suggesting that there were some serious public order concerns.

In the Meiji Period (1868 - 1912) the festival died down as the Tokushima's indigo trade which had financed the festival collapsed due to imports of cheaper chemical dyes. [Wisneiwski, Mark (2003) ‘The Awa Odori Trilogy’ in Awa Life. ] The festival was revitalised at the start of the Showa Period (1926) when Tokushima Prefectural authorities first coined the name ‘Awa Odori’ and promoted it as the region’s leading tourist attraction.

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Dance

During the daytime a restrained dance called "Nagashi" is performed, but at night the dancers switch to a frenzied dance called "Zomeki".

Awa Dance Festivals elsewhere

Kōenji, an area of Tokyo, also has an Awa Dance Festival, modelled on Tokushima's, which was started in 1956 by urban migrants from Tokushima Prefecture.

External links

Official Japanese sites

* [http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/history/traditionalevents/a46_fes_awa.html Awa Odori by the Japan National Tourist Organization]
* [http://web-japan.org/atlas/festivals/festi_fr.html Japan Atlas - Festivals by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs] (click "19" for Awa Odori)
* [http://www.koenji-awaodori.com Koenji Awa Odori Official Site]

Japanese

* [http://www.awaodori.net/ Awa Dance homepage by www.awaodori.net] (Japanese)
* [http://awaodori.blog65.fc2.com/ Awa Odori Blog] (Japanese)
* [http://www.kagawa-jc.ac.jp/~steve_mc/shikoku/tokushima.html Awa Odori & Awa Ningyo Joruri by students at Kagawa Junior College, Japan] (Japanese with English)

English/English translation

* [http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://awa-odori.net/&sa=X&oi=translate Awa Odori Fan Club homepage by awa-dori.net] (English translation by Google)]
* [http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.awaodori.net/&sa=X&oi=translate Awa Dance homepage by www.awaodori.net] (English translation by Google)
* [http://web-japan.org/atlas/festivals/fes19.html Awa Odori by web-japan.org]
* [http://www.pilotguides.com/destination_guide/asia/japan/awa_odori.php Dance of Fools: Awa Odori Festival, Japan by www.pilotguides.com]
* [http://web-jpn.org/kidsweb/calendar/august/awaodori.html Awa Odori by web-jpn.org]
* [http://www.country-dance.com/English/e-event/e-awaodori/awaodori-main.html Japanese Line Dance? by www.country-dance.com (many pictures)]

Audio Video

* [http://www.awaodori.net/mainichi/index.asp Awa Odori dance video] (Japanese)
* [http://awa-odori.net/sound/asx/musashi-aoi001_64k.asx Awa Odori dance audio]