Kemanai no Bon-odori

Overview

Kemanai no Bon Odori is a Bon dance handed down in the Kemanai district of Kazuno City, Akita Prefecture. Every year from August 21 to 23, it is danced on Honmachi Street in the district, where dancers form rings around bonfires lit down the center of the street; it is known as an elegant, deeply atmospheric Bon dance. Together with the Nishimonai Bon Odori and the Hitoichi Bon Odori, it is counted as one of the Three Great Bon Dances of Akita, and it is said to have a history of roughly 450 years.

It was designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property on December 16, 1998, and on November 30, 2022, it was inscribed on the Representative List of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage as one of the Furyu-odori, the body of folk performing arts of Japan. Handing down two dances of differing character, the Dai-no-saka odori, which carries the meaning of memorial service for ancestors, and the more entertainment-oriented Jinku odori, it is a precious folk performing art that reveals the very process by which the Bon dance changed from a place of memorial into a place that also embraces entertainment.

History and Origins

The exact origin of Kemanai no Bon Odori is not clear. However, because an entry for the Bon dance Dai-no-saka bushi appears in Hina no Hitofushi, a work by the traveling chronicler Sugae Masumi thought to have been compiled in the Bunka and Bunsei eras (1804-1830) of the late Edo period, it can be confirmed that a Bon dance was performed in this area at least from the mid-Edo period. Locally it is also said to have a history of about 450 years, and it is an event that has taken root in the community over a long span of years.

The Dai-no-saka odori, which is the heart of the dance, has been handed down locally as a dance for the repose of Buddhas, that is, a dance for the memorial of ancestors. This dance once had a song as well, but from the modern era it gradually ceased to be sung, and after the Second World War it took its present form of being danced only to the accompaniment of drum and flute. This tells of how the origin of the festival, the act of memorial, has been handed down while changing its form of expression with the times.

This Bon dance was forced into a temporary suspension during the turmoil from the Second Sino-Japanese War through the Second World War. After the war, however, it was revived by the hands of the local people and has continued without interruption to the present day. Behind the way the tradition was protected through both suspension and revival lay the strong will of the people of Kemanai to pass on the Bon dance to the next generation as a source of local pride.

Today the Dai-no-saka odori is joined by the more entertainment-oriented Jinku odori, and further by the Kazuno Jongara danced afterward as a divertissement, together making up a single night's Bon dance. It was highly valued and designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property because it clearly shows the process of change up to its present form, in which dances of an entertainment character were added to the solemn dance of ancestral memorial, and because its regional character is so distinct. The tradition is carried on by the Kemanai Bon Odori Preservation Society.

Highlights

Inward-facing ring dance around bonfires　On the day of the Bon dance, bonfires are lit at several points down the center of Honmachi Street. Drawn by the sound of the yobi-daiko, or calling drums, beaten by the district's young people in matching happi coats, the dancers form a long, slender ring facing inward around the bonfires. Both dances are ring dances around the bonfires, and their greatest characteristic is that the dancers always face the inside of the ring and dance with slow, gentle movements, the elegant gestures lit by the flames creating a fantastical scene.

The Dai-no-saka odori of ancestral memorial　A night's Bon dance begins with the Dai-no-saka odori. This dance, which carries the meaning of ancestral memorial, is led by a great drum measuring about 1 meter in diameter and about 2 meters in length; first the children dance, and then one after another the adult dancers join the ring and dance quietly. Since the modern era the song has been dropped, and it is now danced only to the accompaniment of drum and flute, its hushed melody lending an air of solemnity befitting a dance of memorial.

The entertainment-oriented Jinku odori　Following the Dai-no-saka odori comes the Jinku odori. It is danced to the Kazuno jinku, whose verses follow a seven-seven-seven-five pattern, and many verses are handed down, some praying for and celebrating a good harvest, others praising the local scenery. The singers once entered here and there within the ring of dancers, but today they sing at two fixed places in the center of the street. In contrast to the Dai-no-saka odori with its drum and flute, its charm lies in its entertaining nature, carried along by song alone.

The distinctive hokkaburi and the rules of dress　There are strict rules for the dancers' attire, and this itself is a highlight. Men tuck up the hem of a black crested kimono and wear a light-blue kedashi underneath, tightened with a sash, while women tuck up the hem of a crested kimono or edozuma and wear a pale rose-colored kedashi, tying the obi in a drum knot. Both men and women cover the head with a mameshibori hand towel as if hiding the forehead, folding it forward from the temples to conceal the mouth and tying it beneath the chin, a distinctive hokkaburi (cheek covering) whose faintly hidden faces add all the more elegance and a dreamlike air.

Event Information and Access

The venue is Honmachi Street in the Towada-Kemanai district of Kazuno City, Akita Prefecture, where the dance is performed around bonfires along the street. It is held over three days every year from August 21 to 23, and a distinctive feature is that this schedule falls in the latter half of the season, later than the heart of the Bon period from August 13 to 16.

Each night opens with the yobi-daiko beaten by young people in matching happi coats, followed by the Dai-no-saka odori, the Jinku odori, and the closing Kazuno Jongara. Because the times, the progression, and any change of venue in case of rain vary from year to year, and because the event may be moved to an indoor venue in rainy weather, please be sure to check the official announcements of the Kemanai Bon Odori Preservation Society and Kazuno City for the latest dates, times, and whether it will be held. Paid seating for viewing may be set up at the venue.

For access, Towada-minami Station on the JR Hanawa Line is the nearest station, from which one heads to the Kemanai district by bus or taxi. As the area becomes crowded during the festival, use of public transportation and moving early are recommended. Since this is a nighttime outdoor event, it is reassuring to dress for changes in temperature, such as bringing a jacket.

Around the Area

Kazuno City, where Kemanai no Bon Odori is held, lies in the inland northeastern part of Akita Prefecture, near the borders with Aomori and Iwate Prefectures. The Kazuno region was once within the domain of the Nanbu clan and nurtured its own distinctive culture, and besides Kemanai no Bon Odori, many individual folk events such as the Hanawa-bayashi are handed down. During the Bon season one can encounter the depth of this regional culture.

Near Kazuno City stands the Oyu Stone Circles, part of the World Cultural Heritage Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan, which convey to this day the traces of Jomon-period ritual. To trace, together with the Bon dance, the history of festivals and prayer running from ancient times to the present is a charm found only in this land.

The Kazuno region is also blessed with hot springs, and hot spring resorts known as places of therapeutic bathing are scattered nearby. After watching the elegant Bon dance on a summer night, one can also soothe the fatigue of travel in a hot spring. Relatively close to the magnificent nature of Lake Towada and Hachimantai, the surrounding area makes a fine base for a journey that combines the nature and traditional culture of the Tohoku region.

Related Information

• Official name: Kemanai no Bon Odori
• Location: Honmachi Street, Towada-Kemanai district, Kazuno City, Akita Prefecture
• Dates: three days every year from August 21 to 23 (a latter-half schedule, later than the Bon period)
• Cultural designation: National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property (1998); one of the Furyu-odori of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (2022)
• Origin: origin unclear, but recorded in Sugae Masumi's Hina no Hitofushi (Bunka-Bunsei eras), confirming performance at least from the mid-Edo period; said to have a history of about 450 years
• Main dances: the Dai-no-saka odori of ancestral memorial (led by a great drum, drum and flute only); the entertainment-oriented Jinku odori (Kazuno jinku); the closing Kazuno Jongara
• Features: an inward-facing ring dance around bonfires; a distinctive hokkaburi using a mameshibori hand towel; prescribed attire for men and women
• Preservation body: Kemanai Bon Odori Preservation Society
• Nearest station: Towada-minami Station on the JR Hanawa Line (to the Kemanai district by bus or taxi)

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