Bon Odori and Tanabata, July 25, 2010
The Japan Society of Fairfield County held its 17th Annual Bon Odori,
Summer Festival, on July 25th 2010 in Westport. Held
annually all over Japan since 657 A.D., Bon Odori is Japan’s main
outdoor summer festival. They return to their homes for a fair that can
last about a week and includes carnival rides and fireworks. It
is a time to appreciate our ancestors and to recognize the continuation
of their influence on our
lives. 
Sandra Shen's Otatsu Taiko
from
Stamford led off our program.
Director Marilyn Moore served as our Master of Ceremonies.
Westport First Selectman,
Gordon F. Joseloff, who worked several years as a corresponent for AP
and CBS in Japan welcomed us again. The first dance was Tanko-Bushi or
the coal miners’ dance. There were lots of people joining in the
dance while others just relaxed and admired the colorful kimonos.
This year for the first time we did Hanagasa Ondo or Flower Hat dance
which originated
in Yamagata prefecture. Junko
Fisher sang three songs while accompanying herself on the
sanshin: Okinawa Sodachi, Shin Densa Bushi, and
Asadoya Yunta. Okinawa Sodachi is a song about a young girl
with a flower in her hair singing about Okinawa's common folk
including sweet potato farmers. Shin Densa Bushi is a song
expressing the joy of learning Okinawan songs and sanshin and sharing
them. The melody of Asadoya Yunta is one of the
best known traditional Okinawan songs and often performed by sanshin
fans.
Tanabata, the Star
Festival, is celebrated by writing a wish on a tanzaku, a small piece
of
paper, and
hanging it on a long bamboo pole decorated with origami ornaments.
Tanabata (seven evenings)
celebrates the meeting
of two stars; Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair). The Milky Way
separates these lovers and they are allowed to meet only once a
year.