Awa Dance - Awaodori

Japanese: 阿波踊 - あわおどり

Bon Odori is a festival held around Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture. It is danced to coincide with the Bon Festival (Ullambana) in August. The largest Awa Odori festival, held in Tokushima City, takes place every year from August 12th to 15th. Men wear hanten or yukata, a hand towel over their heads and white tabi socks, while women wear yukata, a straw hat called a torioi-gasa, and geta sandals. They form groups called ren, lower their hips, and dance by thrusting their arms and legs out alternately. The basis of the dance is the "zomeki" dance, which is a light two-beat rhythm played by shamisen, gongs, taiko drums, shimedaiko drums, drums, and flutes, and is accompanied by songs called "yoshikono" such as "A fool who dances and a fool who watches." "Zomeki" means noisy, and is the name for a flashy, lively dance, which is thought to have been an element of Bon Odori since the Edo period. Meanwhile, "Yoshikono" was a song that was popular from Tokai to Kansai in the late Edo period, and by the mid-Taisho period, "Yoshikono" was the only Awa Odori song left. It is said to have begun in 1585 (Tensho 13), when the lord of Tokushima Castle, Hachisuka, had the castle townspeople dance in a free-for-all to celebrate the construction of the castle, but it is thought that the Awa Odori of today was created around the Bunka and Bunsei eras (1804-1830). Tokushima City's Awa Odori has spread throughout the country, including the Tokyo Koenji Awa Odori in Tokyo.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

徳島県徳島市周辺で行なわれる盆踊。8月の盆（→盂蘭盆）に合わせて踊られる。最も大規模な徳島市の阿波踊は毎年 8月12～15日に行なわれる。男性は半纏やゆかた，手拭のほおかぶりに白足袋，女性はゆかたに鳥追い笠と呼ばれる編笠，下駄履き姿で，連（れん）と呼ばれるグループを組み，腰を落とし両手足を交互に突き出すようにして踊る。踊りの基本は，三味線，鉦，太鼓，締太鼓，鼓，笛が奏でる 2拍子の軽快なリズムによる「ぞめき」で，それに「踊る阿呆に見る阿呆」などの「よしこの」と呼ばれる歌が伴う。「ぞめき」は騒がしいことを意味し，派手に浮かれたにぎやかな踊りの呼び名で，江戸時代以来の盆踊の要素と考えられている。一方，「よしこの」は江戸時代後期に東海から関西にかけて流行した歌で，大正時代中頃には阿波踊の歌は「よしこの」だけとなった。天正13（1585）年徳島城築城の祝いに城主蜂須賀氏が城下の者に無礼講で踊らせたのに始まると伝わるが，今日の阿波踊のかたちがつくられたのは文化・文政年間（1804～30）頃と考えられている。徳島市の阿波踊は，東京都の東京高円寺阿波おどりを始めとして，全国各地に広まっている。

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