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Published: September 3rd 2008
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Every year since 1954 the city of Kochi holds a four day dance festival from August 9 ~ 12 called Yosakoi. If you translate Yosakoi into English it means “Come at Night” or “Come Tonight” (Yo=night Sa=at Koi=come). The festival was first held as a means to uplift the downtrodden spirits of the citizens during an economic recession. The City Management in the 1950s sound like interesting and fun loving people to me. Yosakoi dancing is unusual and often described as a modern rendition of Awa dancing, but I fail to see any great similarities. In the past decade or so the Yosakoi style has grown in popularity and festivals are now held in Tokyo, Sapporo and other cities.
Yosakoi dance teams have a great amount of liberty in their routines and perhaps this freedom of artist expression is part of the reason the style has become so popular. There are only two rules that teams have to follow. The first is that all teams must use naruko, which are wooden clappers, originally used to scare birds out of the fields by farmers in Kochi. Traditional naruko paddles are a deep orange color with black and yellow blocks hinged on
them. However, these days most teams design their own naruko. Most teams have a few members use other props such as drums, flags, and lanterns. The second requirement is that all teams must use the part of the original Yosakoi dance song somewhere in their musical mix. The result ends up with the streets of Kochi being filled with the sounds of traditional Japanese music blended with rock, pop, reggae, and many other genres of music.
When I went to Seoul, South Korea in June I met Rebecca, the teacher from Kochi. She invited me to come and hang out there and luckily I was free the weekend Yosakoi was being held. I caught a crowded express to Kochi and was surprised to find standing room only on the train. Fortunately I was able to plant myself in a seat for about 2/3 of the journey. The person I ended up settling next to was a politician from Tokyo who was thrilled to be able to practice his English for the next hour. Mr. Fujita was a friendly grandfatherly type of a fellow and was heading somewhere around Kochi to give an anti-war, pro-peace speech at a meeting. Since
Naruko
Every team has to use them, they really make a fun clicking sound. he was planning on stopping in Kochi for lunch he asked if he could treat me to katsuo tataki, a type of sashimi. Rebecca joined us and he insisted that she eat at well. The fish was to die for and is now one of my favorite Japanese dishes. After lunch the kind gentleman disappeared into the crowded train station. The random kindness of strangers always leaves me with a glow.
At first Kochi looked like a normal city as Rebecca and I headed south of the station, but soon the signs of festivities appeared. I saw a couple strange vehicles that resembled over sized vans and then dancers in costumes started to fill the sidewalks. We muscled our way through the crowd along the shopping arcade until we found a great spot to watch the procession.
The dancing is done in a parade that consists of a giant floats that resemble elaborately decorated ice cream trucks going before a team of dancers. The team’s truck has people riding on top or inside singing, chanting or playing instruments. The entire backside of the vehicle is made into a giant wall of speakers that blares the team’s original dance
Colorguard
Those flags are really heavy. composition at the dancers and the audience. The air is full of musical vibrations. The costuming is amazing and I would deem the festival worth going to just to see the 100’s of different costumes the teams create. Any kind of costume is allowed since there isn’t a traditional Yosakoi costume. Most groups had a distinctly Japanese style, but others opted for Hawaiian, African, Rasta, Middle Eastern, Chinese and some went for the “just plain strange” look. A personal favorite of mine was the “Urban Jungle Disco” team. There were at least 6 places in Kochi that had a constant parade of performers from 10am until around 5 or 6pm. In one area I saw had night dancing from 6pm to 10pm. Teams move around in a constant rotation around the city dancing their high energy routines for 2 to 3 days in the sweltering summer weather. Their endurance, dedication and enthusiasm under such conditions is moving. Most teams practice their routines every week for several months. Some teams are known to hold auditions and start practicing almost a year in advance. Most of the teams were co-ed with a few being female only. I only saw one strictly male
Colorguard II
Heavy, but graceful. team. In Japan it is perfectly normal for a grown man to be part of a dance team, wear an elaborate costume and twirl around a fan. I wish that western cultures would take that page out of Japan’s book.
I watched the dancing all Sunday afternoon and evening and then again for most of Monday afternoon. The team that stuck out the most to me didn’t have the best or most technical routine. They had a pirate theme, their music was OK, their costumes were simple and they were a bit rebellious by using fake knifes as a prop. It was their enthusiasm and eccentric energy that made them stand out. One dancer in particular was practically exploding with joy and energy. They were an extremely photogenic team in my opinion. Sunday night we went to an Izakaya with a few of Rebecca’s students. We ate some more katsuo tataki and had tempura and beer as well. Monday morning we visited Kochi Castle. I believe this makes 10 castles that I have explored in Japan. Kochi-jo originally was built in the early 1600s and the current structure was completed in the mid 1700s. It is another one of
On the roof of the van.
The man dressed as a monk is playing the koto, a traditional Japanese instrument. the 12 original castles buildings in Japan and not a post war reconstruction. Even though the castle is a little small I found it well placed in the landscape and beautifully crafted. When we were leaving the castle grounds I purchased some yuzu (citrus) ice cream. I love how most cities in Japan have their own flavors of soft serve ice cream. The whole weekend totaled up into one of the best experiences I’ve had in Japan. If anyone ever has the chance I recommend checking out the Yosakoi Maturi in Kochi.
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Keiko Hamada Foss
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Energetic city Kochi
I am visiting my hometown this summer, Yeah!!!!!