During the great Bon Festival, held across Japan in August to honor the spirits of the dead, O-Bon dancing is performed throughout the country.  There are many local variants on the dance, but perhaps the best known is Tokushima’s Awa Odori, the “Great Dance of Awa.”

The most widely told story of the Awa Odori claims that in 1587, on completion of his new castle at Tokushima, the local lord Hachisuka Iemasa treated the townsfolk to large quantities of sake.  As the evening wore on and the drink took effect, a staggering, boisterous dance broke out spontaneously on the streets, with the people singing the praises of the lord and inviting one another to dance.

From August 12th to the 15th, more than a million people stream into the streets of Tokushima to watch the city’s “Crazy Dancers.”  Dressed in yukata, with the women wearing folded, peaked straw hats, the dancers weave through the streets in an irregular step mimicking the drunken reel of their ancestors.  Men and women follow different steps, but the music is the same, a driving two-beat rhythm played on drum, flute and shamisen.  During the day, the dancers maintain a more controlled, graceful step called Nagashi.  But as night falls, they switch to Zomeki, a swirling, manic dance that draws some spectators, often drunk themselves, to join in.  This might be Japan’s best party, so if you’re in the area in mid-August don’t miss out on the fun.

>>Access
JR Tokushima station===(Under 20 minutes)===Each performance stage

>>Dates
August 12th - 15th

>>Time
1st part: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
2nd part: 8:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

>>Website
Tourism Site AWANABI

- Matt Mangham