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The is held from 12 to 15 August as part of the Obon festival in Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku in Japan. Awa Odori is the largest dance festival in Japan, attracting over 1.3 million tourists every year.〔http://web-japan.org/atlas/festivals/fes19.html〕 Groups of choreographed dancers and musicians known as ''ren'' (連) dance through the streets, typically accompanied by the shamisen lute, taiko drums, shinobue flute and the kane bell. Performers wear traditional obon dance costumes, and chant and sing as they parade through the streets. Awa is the old feudal administration name for Tokushima prefecture, and odori means dance. ==History== The earliest origins of the dance style are found in the Japanese Buddhist priestly dances of Nembutsu-odori and ''hiji-odori'' of the Kamakura Period (1185-1333), and also in ''kumi-odori'', a lively harvest dance that was known to last for several days.〔Miyoshi Shoichiro (2001) Tokushima Hanshi Tokuhon〕 The Awa Odori festival grew out of the tradition of the Bon odori which is danced as part of the Obon "Festival of the Dead", a Japanese Buddhist celebration where the spirits of deceased ancestors are said to visit their living relatives for a few days of the year. The term "Awa Odori" was not used until the 20th century, but Obon festivities in Tokushima have been famous for their size, exuberance and anarchy since the 16th century. Awa Odori's independent existence as a huge, city-wide dance party is popularly believed to have begun in 1586 when Lord Hachisuka Iemasa, the daimyo of Awa Province hosted a drunken celebration of the opening of Tokushima Castle. The locals, having consumed a great amount of sake, began to drunkenly weave and stumble back and forth. Others picked up commonly available musical instruments and began to play a simple, rhythmic song, to which the revelers invented lyrics. The lyrics are given in the 'Song' section of this article. This version of events is supported by the lyrics of the first verse of "Awa Yoshikono Bushi", a local version of a popular folk song which praises Hachisuka Iemasa for giving the people Awa Odori and is quoted in the majority of tourist brochures and websites.〔e.g. http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/history/traditionalevents/a46_fes_awa.html〕 However, according to local historian Miyoshi Shoichiro, this story first appeared in a ''Mainichi Shimbun'' newspaper article in 1908 and is unsupported by any concrete evidence.〔Miyoshi Shoichiro (2001:35) Tokushima Hanshi Tokuhon〕 It is unclear whether the song lyrics were written before or after this article appeared. Some evidence of the festival's history comes from edicts issued by the Tokushima-han feudal administration, such as this one dating from 1671:〔Miyoshi 2001: 37〕
This suggests that by the 17th century, Awa’s bon-odori was a well established as a major event, lasting well over three days — long enough to be a major disruption to the normal functioning of the city. It implies that samurai joined the festival alongside peasants and merchants, disgracing themselves with brawling and unseemly behaviour. In 1674, it was “forbidden for dancers or spectators to carry swords (wooden or otherwise), daggers or poles”. In 1685 revelers were prohibited from dancing after midnight and dancers were not allowed to wear any head or face coverings,〔Wisneiwski, Mark (2003:2) ‘The Awa Odori Trilogy’ in Awa Life〕 suggesting that there were some serious public order concerns. In the Meiji Period (1868-1912) the festival died down as the Tokushima's indigo trade, which had financed the festival, collapsed due to imports of cheaper chemical dyes.〔Wisneiwski, Mark (2003) ‘The Awa Odori Trilogy’ in Awa Life. 〕 The festival was revitalised at the start of the Showa Period (1926) when Tokushima Prefectural authorities first coined the name ‘Awa Odori’ and promoted it as the region’s leading tourist attraction. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Awa Dance Festival」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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