A Mind Overwhelmed by the Strangeness of Things: Awa Odori

Tokushima hosts the largest dance festival in Japan and the second largest in the world- Awa Odori. The dance festival takes place every year during Obon week, August 12-15.The Awa Odori festival grew out of the tradition of the Bon odori which is danced as part of the Obon "Festival of the Dead". Obon is a Buddhist celebration where the spirits of deceased ancestors are said to visit their living relatives for a few days of the year, it is also a time when people travel back to their hometowns to celebrate their ancestry.

During this time the population of Tokushima city swells from 260,000 people to over 1.3 million people. The streets explode with music, food, and people. We were lucky enough to arrive in Japan just one week prior to the big festivities, and we were able to take it all in.

Clint was at "English Camp" for the first few days of the festival so I wandered downtown to take it in by myself at first. But, by the last night Clint was back (as were all of the other JETs) and we were ready to take it on together.

Here is a map of all locations, the red circles and writing are the stages:

For those of you that are curious our apartment isn't on the map. We live just outside the map area near the upper left side of the map.

There is one united dance that all dance groups perform. In general the music is the same and the dance moves are the same. There is however some variation in the more freestyle parts. This is the translation of the song/chants.

踊る阿呆に	Odoru ahou ni	The dancers are fools
見る阿呆	Miru ahou	The watchers are fools
同じ阿呆なら	Onaji ahou nara	Both are fools alike so
踊らな損、損	Odorana son, son	Why not dance?

The dancers also chant hayashi kotoba call and response patterns such as "Yattosa, yattosa", "Hayaccha yaccha", "Erai yaccha, erai yaccha", and "Yoi, yoi, yoi, yoi". These calls have no semantic meaning but help to encourage the dancers.

The events go on all day long with dancers performing Nagashi a toned down version of the dance on multiple stages along the streets. The real fun starts at night when the streets are shut down and the dancers take over with the more vibrant Zomeki which everyone is encouraged to dance.

The music absolutely permeated the city and at any time you could here 2-3 versions of the songs happening simultaneously. According to the Tokushima Travel site:

The mens' dance is dynamic and energetic.

The womens' dance is fascinating and elegant.

The rhythm of Yoshikono is created by using shamisens, gongs, taiko drums and flutes. It invites dancers and audiences alike to share the enthusiasm.

Some of the dances took place inside, like here in the Sogo building, where I watched from the balcony.

Groups of choreographed dancers and musicians known as ren (連) dance through the streets, typically accompanied by the shamisen lute, taikodrums, shinobue flute and the kane bell. Performers wear traditional obon dance costumes, and chant and sing as they parade through the streets.