Two weeks passed since I arrived on Okinawa Island this time. My friends here say that the rainy season will start today. That means we'll have rain everyday for a month, while the temperature will rise significally. I hope I can nevertheless continue to enjoy my everyday life here, especially riding my bicycle (on average 80 minutes per day, which I do in order to visit different places where I have things to do).
A friend back in Switzerland asked me about the traditional performing arts which are handed down and which are alive here. She is thinking about coming here for a research, either as a dancer or as a cultural mediator. She asked me for more informations. Since there's not so much non-Japanese literature about it, I tried to collect and translate them to English.
So, first, we have the folklore performing arts:
eisa:
eisa is a form of folk dance of the island of Okinawa. It is a dance performed in the villages during the
obon festival to honour the spirits of the ancestors. The core of
eisa consists of
nembutsu songs which were brought to Okinawa by Taichū (1552-1639), an Amitabha Buddhist monk, and brought to all areas of Okinawa by
chondaraa, groups of puppeteers. There are associations that have preserved the original two-hundred-year-old form of
eisa: they are dancing barefoot in monk's/farmers' robes and using only one type of drum (the
paarankuu). But in general,
eisa as a whole has undergone major changes since the Second World War. Modern
eisa is danced in large groups, mainly in double lines or circles, accompanied by singing, by dancers playing drums and
sanshin, the three-stringed lute. There is always a dancer sub-group which dances with the hands only (this is called
tii-uduri). The dancers sometimes also play small hand gongs and
yotsutake castanets.
eisa dancers wear different costumes, usually according to local tradition and the gender of the dancer; modern costumes are often colourful and have a characteristically knotted turban. An
eisa group often brings a
hatagashira flagpole to a performance. The 3 to 4 metre high flag usually bears the name of the group. This name contains almost always the village name. The
sanshin player or players sing while playing. They are called
jikata. If the performance is a procession, they walk at the front or at the end of the procession and play and sing the songs. Nowadays, the
chondaraa paint their faces white and sometimes play the role of clowns alongside the drum and hand dances. Sometimes they are also responsible for organising the performance. Most
eisa groups are youth associations.
A non-exhaustive selection out of hundreds of local groups:
eisa from Heshikiya (which is said to be the most traditional form):
https://youtu.be/8mqwYk-s4jU eisa from Yakena
https://youtu.be/W61EM86MiGg 00:35:22 - 01:23:18
eisa from Ishikawa (not a youth association)
https://youtu.be/3TQ32uaT4Pw eisa from Akano
https://youtu.be/5HmTEDC9X04eisa from Nakamachi
https://youtu.be/XRJexZD-_Wkeisa and
utasanshin (singing folk songs while playing
sanshin) are my passion since many years and the reason why I came to Okinawa last year twice and again this year, this time for a long time.
usudeeku, also called
ushideeku: This is a folk performing art that is performed in various parts of the main island of Okinawa and the surrounding islands as an entertainment for festivals, and that is a round dance performed by women only. It is performed to thank for a good harvest and the health of the villagers. It is mainly performed on 16th day of the 9th month of the lunar calendar.
usudeeku from Yonashiro
https://youtu.be/zBWftdTGTgkusudeeku from Yakena
https://youtu.be/W61EM86MiGg 00:08:18 - 00:28:50 and from 01:23:18 on.
kachuushi:
kachuushi is danced to fast-tempo Okinawan folk songs with a twist of the hand. It is often danced at the end of celebrations and banquets as well as during special events. Especially elderly people are good dancers, perhaps because they are used to dancing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve7dBTMgmKcshishimai:
shishimai (lion dance) is one of the traditional folk performing arts of the islands and villages of Okinawa. It is performed during harvest festivals and Bon festivals (of the lunar calendar). The lion dance is meant to ward off evil spirits. At the same time, it is believed to have the power to bring a good harvest and prosperity to the community. Unlike the lion dances of mainland Japan, the lion of Okinawan lion dance is performed by two people. The lion is usually accompanied by a
wakuya, a person who holds a ball and chants, and the lion dances as if trained by the
wakuya. Okinawan lion dances are thought to have been introduced from China with Buddhism. There are many variations in the colour and shape of the lion's head, the way it is danced and the content of the tradition, depending on the region. The All-Island Lion Dance Festival is held annually in Gushigawa City, where these lion dances from all parts of the prefecture are brought together to compete in performances.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmHPY42UFYwbo-odori: It is a Folk performing arts dance performed by beating sticks together, and is found in Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Okinawa, Kochi and other prefectures. It is often performed as a type of fertility dance, at festivals of clan deities or as a prayer for a good harvest. It is actually most common in Kagoshima Prefecture, where it is performed mainly by young men's groups. The dancers wear matching kimonos, white headdresses and white duskies, face each other in pairs and dance by violently beating the sticks together. In some places, instead of sticks, they dance with
naginata (long sword), sickle, sword, shakuhachi (bamboo flute), etc. It is said to have been performed by the Satsuma clan to encourage the local people to practise martial arts, but it is also thought to have been performed as a spell to appease evil spirits by beating sticks together, to pray for a good harvest and to pray for the safety of the village. Okinawan stick dances include the martial
kumibo or
boburi style and the dance style called
hae no shima, which is also known as the August dance. The dance is said to be derived from stick fighting.
From Miyako-Jima:
https://youtu.be/i2o4p_r8ds4From Yonaguni:
https://youtu.be/SvqMFVkKjwkOn the other hand, we have
ryukyu buyo, which are performing arts from the Ryukyu Kingdom Court:
Traditional
ryukyu buyo: Traditional
ryukyu buyo is developed as being performed on the stage for entertaining Imperial envoys (
sapposhi) from China during the Ryukyu Kingdom era and came to attain greatness in the 18th century. Traditional
ryukyu buyo is classified into four kinds; the old married couple’s
roojin-odori, young boys’
wakashuzei, young men’s gallantry expressed in
nisai-odori, and the
onna-odori female dance performed with
bingata-dyed colourful costumes.
roojin-odori:
https://youtu.be/mowSdzW6jr0wakashuzei:
https://youtu.be/rA6sdGXaz-wnisai-odori (
takadeeramanzai):
https://youtu.be/Vv1LyFpANf4nisai-odori (
fanjya-ufunushimichiyuki-kuduchi):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZvF6kSq4bQonna-odori (
chikuten):
https://youtu.be/-k8NpkNNORoonna-odori (
amakawa):
https://youtu.be/xzg_P5jGFEMonna-odori (
mutunuchibana):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lyNKW4SMv8onna-odori (
yotsudake):
https://youtu.be/X80Bu8JGIqIAround 70
kumi-odori, which date back to the Ryukyu Kingdom era as well, are preserved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th5QdJP4bV8 (turn on the english subtitles for the description of this art form)
zo ryukyu buyo: The
zo ryukyu buyo appeared after
haihan-chiken, the abolition of clans and the establishment of the prefectural system (after 1879). Adopting music and culture of commoners, it became popular.
hanafuu:
https://youtu.be/uaNKybnpFa4munjuru:
https://youtu.be/kzH6xkCsAOIhatomabushi:
https://youtu.be/2PkPKF4hGg8kanayoo amakawa:
https://youtu.be/g7GpcNzive8nuchibana:
https://youtu.be/4QHIk5gZkesCreative
ryukyu buyo: “Creative”
ryukyu buyo is created by dancers of modern times, and superior works are still being created one after another.
watanjaabuni:
https://youtu.be/NneWunSK_Okhigasa-odori:
https://youtu.be/9l9wt3f365gbunomai:
https://youtu.be/qM91jihwagE#
eisa #
エイサー #
utasanshin #
唄三線
Like Us
QRator
