Awa Odori: Japan's Largest and Loudest Festival

What is Awa Odori?

Awa Odori is a Japanese festival celebrated in Japan’s Tokushima prefecture on Shikoku Island, with a focus on a fun community-wide dance! With the largest festival held in Tokushima city from August 12 to 15, Awa Odori is the largest Japanese festival with over 1.3 million spectators each year.

Awa Odori has its roots in the Obon Festival's Bon Odori, the August seasonal event in which Japanese return to their hometowns to visit their families and honor their ancestors. However, the Awa Odori is believed to have evolved into its current, more boisterous form with Lord Hachisuka Iemasa, the former daimyo of Awa Province.

After giving out free celebratory cups of sake to the public to celebrate the opening of Tokushima Castle in 1586, the locals got so drunk that they began to dance, while others played musical instruments. This celebratory take on Bon Odori took root, shaping Awa Odori into the energetic, large-scale event that it is today. 

The name "Awa Odori" comes from the former name of Tokushima prefecture, with Awa province separating from Kochi prefecture to become Tokushima in 1880.

There was actually a time when the fate of Awa Odori was under threat. During the Meiji administration (1868-1912), Tokushima’s indigo trade collapsed as Japan began to import cheaper chemical dyes. The indigo industry was a large supporter of the event and could no longer afford to host such large-scale festivals. Thankfully, the situation improved under the Showa administration (1926-1989) when Tokushima prefecture promoted Awa Odori as a popular tourist attraction.

Onna-odori (Female dancers) wearing yukata and amagusa straw hats. Image via Adobe Express.

Dancing in the Street

Awa Odori takes place over three days during the day and night until midnight. During the day, a more subdued event called Nagashi is performed, in which only instruments are performed with no dancing, while at night, a wilder dance called Zomeki is held. While Tokushima organizes groups of dancers in advance, spectators are also encouraged to join in freely.

Male dancers (known as otoko-odori) dance crouching with their knees pointed outward and raise their arms above their shoulders, and alternately step their toes while crossing one leg in front of the other. Female dancers (known as onna-odori), on the other hand, move in tight formation with a step forward and a kick behind, as the dance is traditionally performed in a form-fitting kimono. However, many women now dance in the men’s style as well.

In addition to solo dancers, there are also dance groups known as ren, including the longstanding Yumeiren, and individual groups of students and company workers, for a total of 1,000 dancers. There is even a ren with over one hundred non-Japanese amateur dancers known as Arasowa-ren.

Call-and-Response

At the start of and during the dance, one dancer yells “Yattosa!” originating from the Nagoya dialect term “Yattokame!” meaning “It’s been a while, how are you?” as a friendly way to start the festivities. The other dancers reply "Yatto, yatto!"

The main song associated with Awa Odori is “Awa Yoshikono,” a popular late-Edo Period (1600-1868) folk song that is thought to have been introduced to Tokushima via indigo merchants from Kyoto and Osaka.

The three-stringed lute known as a shamisen is often used to play this traditional folk song, with the addition of flutes, loud taiko drums, and a kane bell. Each ren has its own group of musicians that play their own rendition of “Awa Yoshikono.”

It includes the chant, "Odoru aho ni, miru aho ni, onaji aho nara, odoranason, son?" (The dancers are fools, the spectators are fools, if both are fools, why not dance?), highlighting the fun and lighthearted nature of the festival.

Female dancers also exclaim "Hayaccha yaccha!", "Erai yaccha!", and "Yoi, yoi, yoi!" These phrases are known as hayashi-kotoba or exclamations to help the dancers keep rhythm.

The fast-paced Zomeki dance, traditionally performed in the evening, is known for its wild movements at Awa Odori. Via @AwaodoriFools

Dancing the Part

Female dancers commonly wear yukata (summer cotton kimono), geta sandals, and straw hats known as torioigasa (“bird-scaring hat”) that partially obscure one’s face and shows the nape of the neck. Male dancers wear a yukata or a happi (a festival coat), shorts, and rubber-soled tabi socks, emblazoned with the name of their ren.

While not strictly part of the costume, every ren holds two paper lanterns on a bamboo pole known as a takahari chochin which helps regulate their speed – They can get quite heavy in the wind!

These large paper lanterns on bamboo sticks are known as takahari-chochin and can be commissioned by local shops with your dance group's name.

Follow the Leader

Oddly enough, this seemingly light-hearted festival has strict rules issued by the Tokushima feudal administration as far back as 1671:

1. The Bon Odori may only be danced for three days—This rule is still followed today!
2. Samurai are forbidden to attend the celebration. They can celebrate at home but must keep the gates shut—We may not have to worry about this rule anymore, but samurai were expected to maintain good behavior and being seen in public drunkenly dancing would have tarnished that image.
3. Dancing is prohibited on temple grounds—The celebrations of Awa Odori were a little too wild for places of worship.

We also recommend the following tips if you're joining the festival:

1. Join when the song ends to be polite and not bump into anyone.

2. Avoid entering too close to the inner circle, as it's usually associated with more experienced dancers. If you’re joining for the first time, try starting at the outside.

3. Only do the Bon Odori dance. While Awa Odori may have its origins in drunken dancing, this is now a traditional and respected tradition. Follow those around you to learn the Bon Odori dance (or watch a few YouTube videos to prep!).

4. Don’t stop midway to take pictures or moving in the opposite direction of the dancers. If you would prefer to film or photograph Awa Odori, we recommend watching from the sidelines instead of taking part in the dance.

If you follow the above guidelines, you and the other dancers will have a great time.

Last but not least, check out this instructional video from the Prefectural Government of Tokushima, Awa Navi, that teaches you how to dance at Awa Odori!

Female Part (via @awanavi):

We hope that you will consider making a trip to Tokushima this summer from August 12-15 to take part in this one-of-a-kind festival! Have you been to Awa Odori or another Japanese festival? Let us know in the comments!