Dancing the night away
The Amakusa Islands may have the dubious distinction of having Japan’s fastest depopulation rate, but you wouldn’t think it to see the sheer number of people attending its festivals. The Ushibuka Haiya Bushi is the focal point of the spring and summer festivals, the April festivities being the liveliest of them all. Entire streets are cleared, and crowds gather to watch men and women decked out in brightly-patterned happi and summer kimonos dance through the town. Anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 dancers young and old take part in this yearly tradition, helping to keep this song and dance tradition alive.
Held towards the end of August, the Summer Haiya is just as festive in its own way, and preparations typically begin many months beforehand. Visitors wishing to join in need not fret, however. The Ushibuka Haiya Preservation Society holds dance workshops right before the Grand Haiya Dance held on both days. In this way, visitors can learn the moves and join in during the ‘tobiiri maru,’ a part of the parade where you can participate by literally ‘jumping in’ with the other dancers.
Ushibuka Haiya Bushi is at its heart a drinking song sung by sailors, so it’s no surprise the official choreography features many moves evoking actions you might see on a fishing boat, such as rowing a boat or drawing fishing nets in. It is relatively fast-paced and lively for a Japanese folk dance, and dancers typically keep their knees bent, ensuring their centre of gravity remains quite low. In extended versions of the choreography, the women dancers incorporate a tenugui (long hand towel) into their movements, knotting it loosely around the neck when not in use; and a pair of red clappers.
The workshops themselves are a lively affair. Watching them is rather reminiscent of martial arts training. Folk dancing veterans, typically older women, instruct the newcomers on the finer points of how to hold their arms in a particular pose, walking around and adjusting their postures. Don’t drop your arms! Bend your knees, turn your face up and look diagonally. Not to the side, diagonally! One, two, three, four, step out, pull in, walk, walk, walk, walk!
