Awa Odori: The Popularity of a Japanese Traditional Dance Festival

Authors:

Pages: 218-226
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/TXWD8524

Abstract:

Awa Dance (Awa Odori) is a traditional performing art that originated in Tokushima Prefecture, and is one of the major Bon festival dances in Japan. The history of Awa Odori dates back more than four centuries ago. Awa Odori has been born and developing along with the lives and culture of the local common people. Every year in August, the main Awa Odori Festival is being held in Tokushima City with involvement of more than 100.000 dancers and attracting more than 1.3 million visitors. Awa Odori is also being practiced by more than 1.000 registered dance groups over Japan, while gradually gaining popularity abroad. This paper is aimed at introducing the background, characteristics and the factors that contributed to the rise of Awa Odori as a representative dance festival of Japan.

Keywords:

Awa Odori; Bon; Tokushima.

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