Japanese culture corner ヽ(^。^)ノ Hi everybody, today I would like to introduce "Yosakoi", a unique style of dance that originated and spread widely in Japan now. Yosakoi started in the city of Kōchi in 1954, as a modern rendition of Awa Odori, a traditional summer dance. The style of dance is highly energetic, combining traditional Japanese dance movements with modern music. The choreographed dances are often performed by large teams which have participants include men and women of almost all ages. Along with a number of professional yosakoi schools and town dance teams, yosakoi is also a popular event during the sports festivals held by Japanese elementary, junior, and senior high schools. There are various costumes used by yosakoi teams. Happi coats and yukata are the most predominant costumes and can be seen in a wide variety of colors. However, some groups choose costumes that are based on historical attire, popular fashions, or ethnic fashions. One of the defining aspects of yosakoi dance is the use of "naruko": small wooden clappers that are held in the hands of each dancer. Naruko were originally used in Kōchi Prefecture to scare birds away from rice fields. The traditional naruko has black and yellow beaters on a wooden body, but most modern yosakoi groups create their own naruko, choosing colors and materials that match their costumes. The use of naruko is required in yosakoi dance, but many groups also use other hand-held instruments or props, such as drums, other percussion instruments, flags, batons, and floats Have you ever try to dance "Yosakoi" in your country? Today, yosakoi is widely known not only in japan but also in other country as Vietnam. With beautiful costume, music combined both traditional and modern melody and your teammates, we could sink in a strong feeling and shine in the stage like this team in video below
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 02:24:00 +0000
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