Tonight I had the pleasure of going to the Koenji Awaodori Festival with two of my students--Mutsuko and Keiko. Here's a quick clip about it:
About 188 groups(ren), 12,000 dancers perform Awa dance to lively music and parade through the nine routes set up along the shotengai(shopping promenades). Koenji Awaodori is the second largest of all the Awaodori festivals held throughout Japan. It also highlights the summer of Tokyo as one of the three largest summer festivals of the area.
It was an absolute blast. The dancing was elegant and purposeful and pronounced. All ages participated. Each group was led by a tall banner made of lanterns displaying their group name. People wore kimonos, yukkatas, or hapi coats, and some of the women wore geta footwear. The dancers dance for three hours straight with their arms above their shoulders. It was absolutely fabulous. And crowded!
Here are some photos from the night:
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This last photo is from Sunday. The three of us also went up to the Yakota USAirforce Base. The base held their annual Friendship Festival and opened their gates to the public for the weekend. There were bands and stands and demonstrations, as well as a 3-on-3 basketball tournament and a hanabi (fireworks) display to close out the weekend. Keiko is on the left, and Mutsuko is on the right.
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