Toyama · Toyama
Owara Kaze no Bon
おわら風の盆
Three nights in which a hillside town fills with wordless dance, to kokyū and shamisen.
Next
1–3 September 2027
313 days away
Every year, 1 September, for 3 days
Future dates: 1 September 2027 · 1 September 2028 · 1 September 2029
Origin
It is held to calm the typhoon winds of the two hundred and tenth day and protect the ripening rice. The point is not to make noise but to appease the wind by dancing quietly — which is also why the dancers keep their faces so deeply hidden.
What to look for
Dancers in woven hats that hide the face form lines along stone-paved slopes between latticed houses. Late at night, after the crowds thin and the neighbourhoods dance for themselves, it comes closest to what it actually is.
How to watch
Keeping quiet is the whole etiquette here. Flash photography and raised voices break the dance. The town is small and overwhelmed; arriving by private car is not realistic.
Where
Yatsuo, Toyama
Toyama, Toyama
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