My Way Your Way
vol.3
Dance with Life
Dancing Together: Yosakoi
"Yosakoi" is a kind of group dancing based mainly on “yosakoi-bushi” and “soran-bushi,” which were folk songs traditionally played to accompany dancing at local festivals. It first appeared in Shikoku island’s Kochi prefecture in the 1950s and spread throughout the country in the 1990s. Today yosakoi festivals are held on a large and small scale, such as Kochi prefecture’s Yosakoi Matsuri, Hokkaido’s Yosakoi Soran Matsuri, and the Tokyo Yosakoi Matsuri, from early spring through late autumn each year.
“Yosakoi chimu” (yosakoi teams) have been founded in local communities, schools, and various organizations. Each team devises not only its dance steps but its own costumes, style of narimono clappers, and music. We asked two members of the Tokai University Yosakoi Club, named “Hibiki” (which means “sound,” “resonance,” “echo”) to describe for us the attraction of yosakoi dancing.
“Yosakoi chimu” (yosakoi teams) have been founded in local communities, schools, and various organizations. Each team devises not only its dance steps but its own costumes, style of narimono clappers, and music. We asked two members of the Tokai University Yosakoi Club, named “Hibiki” (which means “sound,” “resonance,” “echo”) to describe for us the attraction of yosakoi dancing.
2017.01
