Sansa Odori

Sansa Odori is just awesome! According to the festival website “Sansa is Morioka’s vibrant traditional summer festival dance to celebrate banishing a demon. Dancers, drummers and flute players all perform in unison to create an unforgettable atmosphere.”

I have to agree- it's unforgettable! I'm struggling to adequately describe the event. Bascially, it is a parade consisting of different groups in traditional costumes dancing while playing drums. There are commonly bamboo flute players or bell ringers as part of the ensemble as well. The age of the participants seemed to range from 4 to 70. The majority of the players were female, although there certainly were men and boys participating as well. The groups performing represented professional teams, neighbor associations, school groups, kids clubs, and businesses, so there was a huge range in aptitude and complexity of the music and dance. At the end of the parade, everyone is invited up to join a circle dance with the dancers. Combined with the thousands of food vendors, festival games, and crowds, it turns into a giant street party. The whole experience is beautiful and exciting. Unfortunately, Catie is overtired and the crowds and the loud drumming scared her a bit. She demanded that we leave before the parade was half over both nights we tried to attend. Now we are enjoying hearing the drumming from our apartment. Maybe we'll be able to come back in a few years and enjoy the whole event!

Here’s a little clip & some photos to show you what it is like…

a few members of the large the Japan Railways team rocking their JR yukatas

Catie waiting for the parade to begin

one of the Miss Sansa dancers chatting with a Miss Taiko before the parade began

a huge mixed group with kids of all ages

I loved watching these little girls- they were tiny and so into it!

Out and about in Morioka

We woke up to clear blue skies with a lovely view of the 2041 m (~7,000 ft) Mount Iwate.

the view from our bedroom window

Today is our only day without meetings or other appointments (thank goodness Yuki likes to spend Sundays with her family!), so we decided to head out and explore Morioka. We walked the ~2 km into town and explored the ruins of Morioka Castle, wandered around Iwate Park and the surrounding area, then walked a few blocks to the shopping district.

Catie in front of a rock shrine near Morioka Castle

there are gorgeous purple hydrangeas all over Morioka right now

 After Catie’s love of wearing yukata last night, we decided she would probably like to have her own to bring back to Richmond. We knew that if we found one today, she’d be able to wear it at the festival tonight, so we went yukata shopping! They showed us some absolutely gorgeous silk kimono for the 3-5-7 festival in November, but we left with a basic cotton yukata.

Obi tying lessons followed by goofy Catie faces in the mirror

Just before heading home, Catie got to play one of the sansa odori drums. She’s been talking about doing this for the past 3 days, so it was a nice treat. 

***whhooooaaaa. The room is shaking. Really shaking! I guess we are having our first earthquake for this trip. A 6^th floor apartment gets a bit wobbly. Not my favorite thing***

We're heading back into town for more drumming and dancing after a little rest!

 

Parking lot Cinderella

After a yummy yakiniku dinner with Yuki’s family, Catie was transformed into a proper Japanese little girl ready for a summer festival. Yuki altered and then dressed Catie in an old yukata of her daughter’s in a parking lot before dropping us off at the festival. 

 

Tonight was day 2 of the 3-day Sansa Odori festival- the largest taiko festival in the world. We didn’t last through many of the dance/drum troupes because the huge crowds freaked Catie out a little, but what we saw was pretty awesome! Plus, Catie loved dressing up.