in this week’s newsletter: the history of awa odori, celebrating during a typhoon, and dancing the night away in the village
dear penpals -
since starting this newsletters there have been many new penpals that have joined that might not fully know where exactly i am in this big world. i wrote about it in a very old newsletter (more than a year ago!) and if you would like a visual illustration to show you just how far and tiny this little village is, check out the old newsletter here!
living in kamikatsu means i get to be a part of the tokushima prefecture that is famously known for their すだち [su·da·chi] which are small, green citrus fruits, 藍染 [a·i·zo·me] meaning indigo dyeing, and, the highlight of this week’s newsletter, the 阿波おどり [a·wa o·do·ri] festival!
brief history of awa odori
so what exactly is awa odori and why is tokushima so famous for it?
historically, before tokushima was called tokushima, this prefecture used to be known as the awa prefecture and the word odori means “dance” or “dance performance”. thus awa odori reflects a 400+ year old tradition and festival significant to the people of tokushima. and in honour of it, the people of tokushima knows exactly how to par-ty! which is no wonder why thousands and thousands of people come from all over japan just to witness (and participate!) in this festival!
held during the summer お盆 [o·bo·n] season (august 12-16), which a time to honour our ancestors whose spirits are believed to temporarily return to this world to visit their relatives, the awa odori festival runs for 4 consecutive days where the city centre shuts down and becomes a place of dancing, singing, street food, and more dancing!
since i was travelling in canada during the time of my village’s awa odori practice, i sadly wasn’t able to participate in the kamikatsu’s dance, but thankful that i was able to follow the group around the village to watch, celebrate, and, later on, dance with them!
another part of the video will show you what the awa odori festival looked like when we were in the city centre, which also happened to be in the middle of a typhoon! rain or shine, the show must go on!
click on the image or the link to the video here!
the awa odori dance consists of multiple parts, first with a women’s and men’s dance that not only encompass different clothing, but also different types of movements that signify the dance and style. the dance is also accompanied with different traditional japanese instruments, such as flutes, bells, 和太鼓 [ta·i·ko] which is a barrel-shaped drum, and 三味線 [sha·mi·sen] which is a three stringed traditional japanese instrument.
but the best part of awa odori are the chants and songs they sing, used to encourage and lift morale to dancers and the audience, as well as welcome everyone into the spirit of the dance! as dancers parade through the streets of the city, you can often hear them singing the famous awa odori song that goes:
踊る阿呆に、見る阿呆、同じ阿呆なら、踊らな損、損
odoru ahou ni, miru ahou, onaji ahou nara, odorana son, son
[the dancers are fools, the watchers are fools, both are fools, so why not dance?]
theory has it that awa odori started when townsfolk formed a parade through the streets after having too much to drink, which eventually lead to a night of singing, dancing, and playing music that formed the basis of this festival. the lyrics of the song becomes an open invitation to everyone to join them - because if everyone looks like a fool, then why not let loose and dance!
i’m so thankful for this experience to participate and witness the laughter and joy of this festival. i sadly missed it a year ago because i landed in japan a day after awa odori ended. so to finally see it with my own two eyes, celebrate it with a community that feels like home, and to have so much fun even in the middle of wearing garbage bags in hopes to stay dry from a typhoon… i wouldn’t have traded this experience for anything and i will gladly go through another humid summer in japan to dance like a fool!