NikkeiWest--Northern California Japanese American Newspaper

By J.K. Yamamoto--The Yosakoi Japanese Folk Dance and Bon Odori Dance Festival was held in San Francisco Japantown on Aug. 29 as the closing event of the 2010 America-Japan Grassroots Summit.

Inspired by the 1936 Chochin Gyoretsu (Lantern Parade) commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Kanrin Maru’s arrival, the Japanese Benevolent Society of California, Japantown Merchants Association, Japanese American Religious Federation, and other Japantown community organizations organized a similar event celebrating the 150th anniversary.

“Yosakoi,” a folk dance of the Kochi region, which will host the 2011 Grassroots Summit, was performed in Peace Plaza by dancers from Tosashimizu, John Manjiro’s hometown, with local dancers and summit delegates joining in. “Yosakoi,” in which dancers use naruko (wooden clappers), has been an August tradition in Kochi since the early 1950s.

This was followed by a performance by the Okinawa Kenjinkai of San Francisco with Ryu-Q Matsuri Taiko. Katsunori Yamazato, professor of American literature and culture at University of the Ryukyus, introduced “Eisa,” a dance that includes singing, taiko and sanshin (Okinawan shamisen).

Among those greeting the crowd were Acting Consul General Hideyuki Mitsuoka and three members of the Northern California Cherry Blossom Court: Queen Arisa Hiroi, Princess and Miss Tomodachi Corey Fujioka, and Princess Kiyomi Tanaka.

The Lantern Parade followed on Post Street, which had been closed to traffic. Participants, including children and adults from the Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program at Rosa Parks Elementary School, carried lanterns inscribed with such kanji as “fuku” (good fortune) and “ai” (love), along with paper lanterns that the kids had just made at craft tables in the plaza.

The Bon Odori was preceded by remarks from Rev. Nobu Hanaoka, a United Methodist minister, who offered a prayer for peace, and Rev. Ron Kobata of Buddhist Church of San Francisco, who explained the significance of Obon.

Classical Japanese dance instructors Michiya Hanayagi and Michisuya Hanayagi then took their place on the yagura (platform) to lead the dancers. Familiar faces at Bay Area Obon festivals, they were joined by several of their students. Other participants included Japantown merchants and residents of The Sequoias, a nearby retirement community.

A formal closing ceremony for the Grassroots Summit was also held in Japantown, at the Hotel Kabuki. Most of the delegates returned to Japan on Aug. 30.