CDBF introduced Japanese Obon Dance in 2011
In 2011 we introduced a new performance and invited the public to join in the fun: A Japanese Obon Dance. Think of it as Japanese line dancing, only in a circle instead of lined up side-to-side. Best of all, you don’t need to know any dance moves in advance, and you don’t need to wear any fancy kimonos or traditional outfits. You can, but it’s not required.
The members of the Tri-State Denver Buddhist Temple Minyo Kai invite you to the Obon Dance during CDBF 2011!
The Minyo dance tradition originated from thousands of dances from Japan’s 47 prefectures, and evolved from ancient kagura and dengaku ritual country folk harvest dances. They celebrate the work or religious and social gatherings of their locale.
The Denver Buddhist Temple Minyo Kai has been performing since the 1960s when it was established by Issei and Nisei (first and second-generation Japanese Americans) who enjoy Japanese folk dancing.
These dances are performed at festivals all over Japan, and in parts of the U.S. where there are large Japanese and Japanese American populations, like around San Francisco or Los Angeles, where you can dance at an Obon festival practically every weekend during the summer, going from community to community. Denver’s always had just the one Obon … until now!
The dancing is an entertaining, interactive cultural experience that’s joyous and a lot of fun, but Bon Odori is particularly meaningful because the dance is a tribute to ancestors and to the recently deceased. We’re taking this opportunity to commemorate the thousands of people who died because of the March 11 earthquake and subsequent tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan. You can read about the history of Obon on Wikipedia.
The Obon Dance at the 2011 Colorado Dragon Boat Festival took place at 6 pm on Saturday July 30 in front of the Main Performing Arts Stage. No experience was required — we invited the audience to just come and join the fun and learn some traditional Japanese dance moves!
Hello, I’m thai teacher. And now I’m a Japanese Language Teacher at High School.
And I would like to know what is this song called?
I used to show my students about Tanko Bushi in old stlye,however,this song is faster than old one. So I want to show this song to my student.
Thanks.
Hi Bee, thanks for your comment! This song is called “Shiawase Sanba,” and it is one of the faster bon odori songs. I hope you and your students can come to the festival and participate in the Obon Dance on Saturday at 6 pm! There will be both Japanese and Thai food available in the Taste of Asia food pavilion too.
Hello. I’ve been reminiscing, with fond memories, about the time I spent in Japan as a child. My father was in the Air Force and I was born on Johnson AB and actually went up to 2nd grade in Japan. I still have a couple of records (45 rpm) from the time we spent in Japan. There is one song, which I’ve now determined to be Tanko Bushi that I’d like to find out who the singer was on the record, but of course everything is in Japanese. Would you have a suggestion on whom I might talk to in order for them to translate the record cover and tell me who the singer was? It was a Victor of Japan 45 rpm. Believe it or not, I also have a record of Peter Sellers singing with “The Peanuts” but I’m sure that’s not quite as interesting although it brings back memories for me.
I’d appreciate any thoughts you have. I could even scan the cover and send it to someone if there’s no one I could bring it to.
Thank you. I hope to catch the Dragon Boat Festival sometime in the future. I live in Franktown, CO so it wouldn’t be too far away.
Hi Nelson, can you scan and email the cover to media@cdbf.org? We’ll try to get it translated for you. If possible, scan the record label too. Thanks!