TOKYO - Summer festivals are in full swing across Japan, with distinctive local dances ranging from long-established traditions to unusual routines born at fishermen's banquets and even performances set to the music of American rock band Bon Jovi.
Shikoku is known as one of Japan's strongest regions for local festival dancing, with Kochi's Yosakoi Naruko Dance and Tokushima's Awa Odori among the best known. In Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, the Matsuyama Yakyuken Dance has become a local fixture.
Matsuyama originally introduced the Iyo no Matsuyama Tsuzumi Odori in 1966, but the dance struggled to gain widespread acceptance among residents.
In 1970, organizers adopted Yakyuken, a form of local entertainment associated with Matsuyama, as the basis for a new regional dance. The move coincided with a nationwide boom in Yakyuken at the time, helping the dance take root in the city.
Hakodate in Hokkaido has developed another distinctive tradition, the Ika Odori, or Squid Dance, which is said to be simple enough for almost anyone in the city to perform.
The dance was created in 1980 by a group of local volunteers. At the time, Bon dances consisting mainly of traditional hand movements were common, but local fishermen wanted to create something different.
The idea emerged during a fishermen's banquet, where participants devised both the choreography and the accompanying chants. The dance was linked to squid, one of Hakodate's best-known local products, and has remained popular for 46 years.
At the Hakodate Port Festival held in August, the Squid Dance was performed over two days and drew about 20,000 visitors.
Participants parade for more than 1 kilometer through Hakodate while performing the dance. One of its defining features is its simplicity, with the routine said to be learnable in about one minute.
Local dances can also serve as a way to revive festivals facing declining participation.
Tomohiko Sato, a Bon dance ambassador who participates in more than 100 local dances a year, said their appeal comes partly from the sense of local pride created by showcasing regional specialties, as well as the unity and achievement people feel when performing the same movements together without overthinking them.
Some festivals, however, are struggling with aging populations and other demographic pressures.
In Otaru, Hokkaido, the Zenibako Children's Bon Dance Festival had faced concerns over whether it could continue.
Organizers found a possible lifeline in Bon Jovi, a playful fusion of Bon dancing and music by the American rock band Bon Jovi that first attracted widespread attention in Tokyo's Nakano district.
After the Otaru festival introduced Bon Jovi, the number of people attending specifically to take part in the unusual dance reportedly increased.
The experience suggests that maintaining tradition while incorporating new ideas may be one way for local festivals to survive.
Simple dances that make it easy for newcomers to join can also attract children, while social media can quickly turn an unusual festival performance into a broader phenomenon.
Even as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly prominent, shared physical experiences involving the senses remain important, and Bon dancing is one example of an activity that allows people to experience something together.
Source: TBS
