Dance of Fools

Awa Odori, also known as ‘the dance of fools’, comes from Tokushima Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. “Awa” is the name of the feudal province which later became Tokushima and 'Odori' mean dance.

 

According to tradition, Awa Odori originated in the 16th century after drunken revellers took to dancing in the streets of Tokushima in celebration of the completion of Tokushima Castle.

 

While there is no firm evidence to support this, the exuberant, often frenzied nature of the dance is in keeping with the story’s theme of drunken revelry. Traditional lyrics to the music used for Awa Odori translate to “The dancers are fools and the watchers are fools; if both are fools, you may as well dance”.

 

Although its home is obviously Tokushima (its Awa Odori is one of the biggest street dance festivals in the world, attracting around 1.5m spectators annually), other major Awa Odori include those held in Koenji in Tokyo (which now almost rivals that in Tokushima for size) and in Minami-Koshigya in Saitama prefecture, photographed here.

 

Although much smaller than its cousins in Tokushima and Koenji, it still attracts around 800,000 spectators...

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