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Bon Odori
Bon Odori Singer in Osaka. His happi coat has the names of the songs he specializes in, here being Goshu Ondo and Kawachi Ondo.
Bon Odori Dancers (August 2004 at Imazu Primary School in Osaka)
Bon Odori (, meaning simply Bon dance) (August 1st) is an event held during Obon. It is celebrated as a reminder of the gratefulness one should feel toward one’s ancestors.
Originally a Nenbutsu folk dance to express the effusive welcome for the spirits of the dead, the style of celebration varies in many aspects from region to region. Each region has a respective local Bon dance, as well as different music accompanying the dance. The music can be songs specifically pertinent to the spiritual message of Obon, or local min’yo folk songs. Consequently, the Bon dance will look and sound different from region to region. Hokkaid, or northern Japan, is known for a folk-song known as “Soran Bushi.” The song “Tokyo Ondo” takes its namesake from the capital of Japan. “Goshu Ondo” is a folk song from Shiga prefecture. Residents of the Kansai area will recognize the famous “Kawachi ondo.” Tokushima in Shikoku is very famous for its “Awa Odori,” or “fool’s dance,” and in the far south, one can hear the “Ohara Bushi” of Kagoshima.
The way in which the dance is performed is also different in each region, though the typical Bon dance involves people lining up in a circle around a high wooden scaffold made especially for the festival called a ‘yagura’. The yagura is usually also the bandstand for the musicians and singers of the Obon music. Some dances proceed clockwise, and some dances proceed counter-clockwise around the yagura. Some dances reverse during the dance, though most do not. At times, people face the yagura and move towards and away from it. Still some dances, such as the Kagoshima Ohara dance, and the Tokushima Awa Odori, simply proceed in a straight line through the streets of the town.
The dance of a region can depict the area’s history and specialization. For example, the movements of the dance of the Tank Bushi (the “coal mining song”) of old Miike Mine in Kysh show the movements of miners, i.e. digging, cart pushing, lantern hanging, etc. All dancers perform the same dance sequence in unison.
There are other ways in which a regional Bon dance can vary. Some dances involve the use of different kinds of fans, others involve the use of small towels called tenugui which may have colorful designs. Some require the use of small wooden clappers, or “kachi-kachi” during the dance. The “Hanagasa Odori” of Yamagata is performed with a straw hat that has been decorated with flowers.
The music that is played during the Bon dance is not limited to Obon music and min’yo; some modern enka hits and kids’ tunes written to the beat of the “ondo” are also used to dance to during Obon season. The “Pokmon Ondo” was used as one of the ending theme songs for the anime series in Japan.
The Bon dance tradition is said to have started in the later years of the Muromachi period as a public entertainment. In the course of time, the original religious meaning has faded, and the dance has become associated with summer.
To celebrate O-Bon in Okinawa, the eisa drum dance is performed instead.
Celebrations outside Japan
Brazil
Bon Odori Festival is celebrated every year in many Japanese communities all over Brazil, as Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. So Paulo is the main city of the Japanese community in Brazil, and also features the major festival in Brazil, with street odori dancing and matsuri dance. It also features Taiko and Shamisen contests. And, of course, this festival is also a unique experience of a variety of Japanese food & drinks, art and dance.
China
The Chinese version of O-Bon, the Ghost Festival (), is held in the seventh month of the Chinese calendar instead of July, though it usually falls in late July or early August. Unlike its Japanese counterpart, the festival is more religious and somber in nature rather than celebratory.
Malaysia
In Malaysia, Bon Odori Festivals are also celebrated every year in Penang and at the Matsushita Corp Stadium in Shah Alam, Selangor. This celebration, which is a major attraction for the state of Selangor, is the brain child of the Japanese Expatriate & Immigrant’s Society in Malaysia. In comparison to the celebrations in Japan, the festival is celebrated on a much smaller scale in Penang and Selangor, and is less associated with Buddhism and more with Japanese culture. Held mainly to expose locals to a part of Japanese culture, the festival provides the experience of a variety of Japanese food & drinks, art and dance.
The tourism Selangor has a website dedicated to inform the public on the updates of the upcoming Bon Odori. It also states certain rules for people to participate in such as no high-heels in the dancing field, strictly no smoking for designated areas, wear nothing impolite or offensive and also no cosplaying.tourism selangor
United States and Canada
The “Bon season” is an important part of the present-day culture and life of Hawaii. Bon Odori festivals are also celebrated in North America, particularly by Japanese-Americans or Japanese-Canadians affiliated with Buddhist temples and organizations. Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) temples in the U.S. typically celebrate Bon Odori with both religious Obon observances and traditional Bon Odori dancing around a yagura. Many temples also concurrently hold a cultural and food bazaar providing a variety of cuisine and art, also to display features of Japanese culture and Japanese-American history. Performances of taiko by both amateur and professional groups have recently become a popular feature of Bon Odori festivals. Bon Odori festivals are usually scheduled anytime between July and September. Bon Odori melodies are also similar to those in Japan; for example, the dance Tank Bushi from Kysh is also performed in the U.S. In California, due to the diffusion of Japanese immigration, Bon Odori dances also differ from Northern to Southern California, and some are influenced by American culture, such as “Baseball Ondo”.
See also
Japanese calendar
Japanese culture
Awa Dance Festival
Festival of the Dead
References
^ Bon A-B-C, 2002, Bonodori.net, Japan, http://www.bonodori.net/E/sekai/bonabc3.HTML.
^ Chen, K 1968, ilial Piety in Chinese Buddhism, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, p88.
^ What is Obon, 1998, Shingon Buddhist International Institute, California, http://www.shingon.org/library/archive/Obon.html.
^ Obon: Japanese festival of the dead, 2000, Asia Society, http://www.asiasource.org/news/at_mp_02.cfm?newsid=27391.
^ http://www.tourismselangor.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=46:todays-hightlight&id=78:bon-odori-2009
^ Nakao, Annie, “Japanese Americans keeping Obon tradition alive”, San Francisco Chronicle, Friday, July 8, 2005
^ Schulze, Margaret, “Obon Story: Honoring ancestors, connecting to our community”, in the Nikkei West newspaper, San Jose, California, Vol. 10, No. 14, July 25th, 2002
^ “Obon Basics” – San Jose Taiko, California
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bon
Bon Dance: Description of various Bon Dance styles and resources.
Obon Festival in Japan
Photo Gallery of Bon Odori 2007 in Penang, Malaysia
Categories: Dances of Japan | Festivals in Japan | Buddhism in Japan | Buddhist festivals | Buddhist holidays | July observancesHidden categories: Articles containing Japanese language text
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