Journeys in Japan 〜Awa Odori Festival: Spirited Away in Tokushima〜

In deep summer, Japanese honor the return of their ancestors with many rituals and celebrations, including the Bon Odori dance. In one region of the country, the Bon Odori has evolved into a huge extravaganza. The Awa Odori of Tokushima City, one of the most famous summer dance festivals in Japan. Some 100,000 energetic dancers mesmerize more than a million spectators. On journeys in Japan, BT, an American translator, gets into the groove of the Awa Odori. He also tours a town that has preserved its heritage. This would make an excellent painting, just the view out the window here. There, BT experiences another famous tradition, indigo dyeing. And also enjoys local delicacies. That's very good. Tokushima City is located on Shikoku Island, some 500 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. We finally made it to Tokushima. I've been here in Japan now for nine years. I first came as an English teacher and I learned about the Awa Odori festival in one of the textbooks we used to use. I taught my students about it in English and now I'm finally here to see it for myself. And I can already hear the music. Let's go check it out. And straight away, BT gets caught up in the music and dancing. Okay, this dance looks a little bit difficult. Awa Odori fever takes over central Tokushima for four days in early August. Got the festival lanterns up. I think they'll light these up later tonight and it really gives the city a fun and warm atmosphere. So it looks like this shop here is selling clothes for the festival. This red jacket here, the black character on that, that says Matsuri. That's the Japanese word for festival. May I try on one of these? Comes with a belt. Okay, so this is the official festival get-up. I see. Isn't it tough? It's okay as long as I'm dancing. It's okay as long as you're dancing. How do you feel when you're dancing? I feel like I'm having a lot of fun. A lot of fun? Yes. Are you all locals? Yes, we are. I see. How do you feel when you're dancing and playing the drums? I feel like I'm getting rid of the stress from work. That's great. I feel like I'm going crazy. Crazy? Okay, okay. Crazy. What would you do if there was no Awa Odori festival in Tokushima? What would you do to get rid of the stress? Well... When I was born, it was always there. I can't think of anything else. The Awa Odori dates back at least 400 years. Around that time, it was so exuberant and raucous that city rulers tried enforcing many restrictions on revelers to keep order. But these measures could never tame the spirit of the Tokushima people. We Tokushima people can never get enough of Awa Odori. When you're born on the 365th day of the year, we celebrate with Awa Odori. For example, when we have a funeral, we play the zomekibayashi to comfort the spirits. All of these things are related to Awa Odori. I see. Awa Odori dancers and musicians join troops called Rin to participate in the festival. All are welcome in this inclusive event. There are around a thousand of these troops. The Tensui Rin is one of about 20 troops deemed sufficiently popular and technically skilled to belong to the top-ranking Yume Rin. Yume Rin troops have huge fan bases. This looks like the area that the group that we spoke to earlier is going to be performing. Men's dance is characterized by a low crouch and frenzied movement. Women's dance is characterized by synchronized steps and fluid movements. That dance was super energetic. It was really creative and it had a bunch of different elements that I love altogether. I love the hand movements that the women made. It was almost hypnotic. And I guess the man dance. The way they jumped and spun. It was just so full of fire and light. It was unlike any other Japanese dance or festival I've ever seen. Alright, it's night time here in Tokushima. The lights are on. All the lanterns are glowing. You hear the drums over here. It almost sounds like a thunderstorm. And I see even more dancing down the street. Let's go take a look. Dance venues are scattered across the city including the main avenue and central plazas with performances taking place simultaneously. I love the energy and the smiles on everyone's faces while they're dancing. We spoke to some of the dancers earlier and they all said that it's really about having fun and they hope that anyone that watches feels that enjoyment and really enjoys themselves too. Alright, so that's it for day one for us. And it was really great to finally see this festival up close with my own eyes, not through a TV screen. Today all we did was watch, so I think tomorrow I'm going to take a chance to get involved, get into the action and learn the dance, perform with everyone else. Should be a lot of fun. But first, a mini side trip to a town outside the city. Alright, we have arrived in a little town with very old classical Japanese buildings. This looks like the set of an old samurai movie. I can imagine ninjas running across the roofs here, jumping from house to house. Mwakimachi once thrived on the trade of aizome, indigo dyeing. Indigo cultivation was a major industry in this region, starting at the end of the 16th century. Eventually, the indigo farmers expanded from mere cultivation to dyeing, with their products being shipped around the country. The industry flourished, creating regional wealth and indigo barons. And they became the patrons of the Awa Odori. Excuse me. Hello. Hi. Welcome to Mwakimachi. Mwakimachi? Mwakimachi. Mwakimachi? Oh yes, it's beautiful. Are you our guide today? Yes, I'm a volunteer guide, Maruoka. Okay, nice to meet you, Maruoka-san. My name is BT. BT. Yes. Everything here looks so old. Yes. This street is called Udatsu-dori. It goes straight for about 430 meters. That's amazing. It's rare to see a street this long in its original state. I see. Do you know what Udatsu means? No. What is Udatsu? Udatsu is... It's your first time, right? Yes, it's my first time. It's the wall on both sides of the second floor. The wall on the second floor. Why do you think this was built? A ninja came in from the house next door. I see. It's close, isn't it? Yes, it's close. It was built to prevent smoke and fire from coming into the house next door. It's also called a fire-proof wall. It was built to prevent fire. I see. This street is where the Aishounin and the Gofuku Shounin made films. In olden times, the wealthy merchants competed on having the most lavish Udatsu, a symbol of wealth. This kimono shop has been in business for 150 years. I love this deep blue indigo color. It's one of my favorite colors. This looks like an apron. Very nice. Very nice work on the pockets. This is a wedding dress from 100 years ago. It's dyed in indigo. It's beautiful. It's a lighter color than the current indigo. Yes, it is. I'm sure there are many other colors. Why did you become so rich with just indigo? Indigo is good for your skin. It's often dyed in cotton. But it's not good for people who work in the fields. It's not good for the insects and other insects to get close to it. It's also good for your skin. It's good for your skin. I've heard that there's an indigo dyeing workshop up ahead here. Let's go check it out. Wow. Indigo is also used in the traditional tie-dye method called shibori. I'm taking a middle-sized bead here. Let's go for this spot right here. This looks good. Here we go. This is a powerful smell. Not for the weak of heart. All right, so there we go. There we have our first experience using the indigo dye, Japanese style. It's actually very different from tie-dye in America. There are some overlaps, but this was a lot of fun. I would really like to try again and get an even more complex design here. I feel like the possibilities are endless. All right. This place here says udatsu meibutsu, a local specialty. I wonder what they have inside. All right. Tokushima's soil is not suited to rice cultivation, so buckwheat was once the staple here. It was used in soba-gome-zosui, a kind of buckwheat grain porridge with vegetables and chicken. That's very good. Mushroom. It's a very interesting balance with the soup here. The size of the vegetables, the way they're cut, and even the pieces of chicken. There's never too much on the spoon at any time. All right, so this is the niwakaren. That's the group that anyone and everyone's allowed to jump in and join. So I'm going to go in and do some dancing. BT and his fellow drop-ins practice the steps and chorus first. About 5,000 people have joined this niwakaren, and now they're ready to hit the streets. Yes! I hope there's a chance to do some more dancing. I'm not done yet. While the session has come to an end, spontaneous dancing breaks out. Thank you! And that is how you enjoy the awa-odori. You get in, you mix it up, you break a sweat, do some high-fives, and you have a lifetime experience. Come and enjoy for yourself. The entire city is swept up in the awa-odori fever. On a summer's night, a citywide dance party. The revelers seem transfixed under a magic spell. Well, we've come to the end of our journey here in Tokushima. We've seen a lot. We visited the historic town of Wakimachi, which was once a bustling river port town, thriving because of its indigo dyeing industry. And we even took a look at the history of the awa-odori festival, including an older version of the ceremony where they recite sutras after the dance. And of course, the main event, the awa-odori festival itself, here in the city of Tokushima, where for four days the city dances and smiles and invites visitors from all over the country and the world. I would love to come again next year and hopefully meet some of you in all the excitement. I'm BT, and thank you for joining us here on Journeys in Japan. From Tokyo by air, it takes about an hour and ten minutes to reach Tokushima Airport. From there, it's 30 minutes by bus to the city center. A ropeway ferries visitors up Mount Bizan for superb views over the city. And don't miss the Naruto Tidal Whirlpool. Ah! Look, look, look, look!