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| Bon dance | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bon dance |
| Native name | 盆踊り |
| Genre | Festival dance |
| Country | Japan |
Bon dance is a Japanese folk dance performed during Obon, a Buddhist- and Shinto-influenced festival honoring ancestral spirits. The dance is a communal event that integrates regional folk traditions, religious observances, and seasonal festivities linked to harvest cycles and temple rites. Performances occur across temples, shrines, municipal parks, and community centers associated with major religious institutions and cultural organizations.
Origins trace to medieval and early modern practices associated with Obon and rituals at temples such as Senso-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, Todaiji, and Enryaku-ji. Influences include syncretic developments from Buddhism sects like Jodo Shinshu, Zen, Shingon, and Tendai. Noh and Kabuki theatrical elements impacted choreography, while connections to agrarian rites at sites like Ise Grand Shrine and Aoi Matsuri informed procession patterns. Edo-period urbanization under the Tokugawa shogunate saw popularization in Edo, Osaka, and Kyoto with contributions from performing troupes affiliated with Nihon Buyo and itinerant storytellers tied to Kabuki-za. During the Meiji Restoration, municipal festivals sponsored by prefectural offices in Tokyo Metropolis, Osaka Prefecture, and Kyoto Prefecture codified forms, and later wartime mobilization by the Imperial Japanese Army and Taisho democracy era civic leaders shaped public presentations.
The dance functions as a rite of communal remembrance connected to temples such as Zojo-ji and Kamakura's temples, and to civic rituals run by municipal governments and cultural foundations like Agency for Cultural Affairs (Japan). It intersects with neighborhood associations, chonaikai, and resident groups in cities such as Hiroshima, Kobe, Nagoya, and Sapporo. Scholarly study by institutions including University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, and Tokyo University of the Arts frames Bon dance within intangible cultural heritage debates involving UNESCO and national lists for preservation. Prominent cultural figures and folklorists—affiliated with museums like the National Museum of Japanese History and archives at International Research Center for Japanese Studies—have documented regional repertoires and transmission practices.
Distinct styles appear in Aomori Prefecture with Tsugaru influences, Akita folk songs linked to namazu lore, and dance-drums patterns in Tohoku. Coastal variations occur in Hakata (Fukuoka), Okinawa Prefecture with Ryukyuan music, and the Bon dances of Nagasaki reflecting port-city syncretism. Kansai traditions in Osaka and Kyoto retain ties to merchant guilds and theater districts like Gion. Kanto patterns in Chiba, Kanagawa, and Ibaraki show peasant festival legacies; San'in and San'yo styles differ in tempo and costume. Notable urban adaptations include summer street parades in Shinjuku, Shibuya, and community matsuri in Yokohama.
Accompaniment blends percussion, strings, and vocal styles preserved in archives at NHK and ethnomusicology departments at Waseda University. Instruments include taiko drums, shamisen, fue flutes, and kokyu in some coastal repertoires; Okinawan variants use sanshin. Ensembles may feature koto arrangements and choral leads performed by groups tied to cultural centers like Tokyo National Museum and festival orchestras organized by Ministry of Culture (Japan). Recorded repertoires exist in collections held by NHK Symphony Orchestra archives and folk labels associated with Victor Entertainment and King Records.
Attire ranges from summer yukata used by participants in Kyoto Gion Matsuri-style events to regional happi coats in Hiroshima and straw hats in coastal Shikoku dances. Costumes reflect local guilds and theater traditions, with some dancers adopting styles linked to Kabuki actors and Noh masks exhibited in museums such as Tokyo National Museum. Dance formations include circular dances around a raised platform called a yagura used in festivals organized by neighborhood associations linked to chonaikai and chambers of commerce like Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Major events include citywide Obon festivals held in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Nagoya, temple-organized rites at Senso-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, and regional matsuri such as Awa Odori in Tokushima Prefecture, Nebuta Matsuri in Aomori, and Tanabata celebrations in Sendai. International presentations occur at cultural exchange programs led by institutions like Japan Foundation and sister-city events involving Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, and Sydney. Corporate sponsorship and broadcasting by NHK Enterprises have brought televised performances to national audiences.
Contemporary practice engages academic programs at Kyoto Seika University and community arts initiatives funded by Agency for Cultural Affairs (Japan) and municipal cultural departments. Preservation efforts involve listings by UNESCO for intangible heritage, digitization projects at the National Diet Library, and collaborations between cultural NGOs and universities such as Ritsumeikan University and Hokkaido University. Diaspora communities in Brazil, Hawaii, and Peru maintain adapted forms through associations linked to consulates like the Consulate-General of Japan in São Paulo and cultural festivals hosted by the Japanese American National Museum.
Category:Japanese festivals Category:Dances