WHAT IS AWA-ODORI?
Awa-Odori is one of the famous Japanese dances. It originally started from Tokushima Prefecture in Shikoku Island in Japan.Tokushima was called “Awa”, so the dance seems to be named after it.
Nowadays, the Awa Dance festival is not only held in Tokushima but in many other cities as well.
THE ORIGIN OF AWA-ODORI
The origin of Awa-Odori is not sure. There are several possible origins of it. One of them is rooted in Bon-dance. Bon is a holiday that we celebrate the return of our ancestors, like Halloween. We perform Bon-dance during the holiday. Awa-dance might originate from it. The other origin is from the celebration dance for a new Tokushima-castle. The castle was built in 1587, people in the city danced to celebrate it. The last origin came from the same source as Nho. Nho is a traditional Japanese musical that started from 14th century. This dance performed for more than 400 years.
Photo by Tokushima City Tourism Section
Awa-Odori is one of the famous Japanese dances. It originally started from Tokushima Prefecture in Shikoku Island in Japan.Tokushima was called “Awa”, so the dance seems to be named after it.
Nowadays, the Awa Dance festival is not only held in Tokushima but in many other cities as well.
THE ORIGIN OF AWA-ODORI
The origin of Awa-Odori is not sure. There are several possible origins of it. One of them is rooted in Bon-dance. Bon is a holiday that we celebrate the return of our ancestors, like Halloween. We perform Bon-dance during the holiday. Awa-dance might originate from it. The other origin is from the celebration dance for a new Tokushima-castle. The castle was built in 1587, people in the city danced to celebrate it. The last origin came from the same source as Nho. Nho is a traditional Japanese musical that started from 14th century. This dance performed for more than 400 years.
Photo by Tokushima City Tourism Section
