Nishimonai Bon Odori

Hello everyone! You may know me already, but my name is David Ready. I was placed in Akita Prefecture, like most of you who are reading this. More specifically, I was given the opportunity to be an ALT in Ugo Town.

Over the past year, I’ve been getting to know the locals, participating in different special events, and have been thoroughly enjoying life in Japan.

I’ve climbed mountains, visited hot springs, and eaten traditional foods, but nothing compared to dancing in the Nishimonai Bon Odori.

The Nishimonai Bon Odori happens once every year in Ugo Town on the 16th, 17th, and 18th of August during Obon. The dance has been performed for over seven hundred years. It’s a dance that signifies the return of ancestral spirits to the world beyond. The dance is accompanied by musical arrangements and singing, which heightens the experience for all who dance or gather to watch. Lit bonfires glow as twilight sets in, dancers move like phantoms and music reverberates through the air of the night.

To prepare, I practiced at Ugo Junior High School with the students in the Bon Odori Club. We practiced for about a month. It was a wonderful opportunity to be given a chance to learn such a traditional and special dance. The teachers of the dance took everything step-by-step, and even a klutz like myself was able to learn.

My Japanese mom, Ritsuko-san, let me borrow a yukata for the dance. She even gifted me with the traditional head garb called “Hikosa Zukin.” It is a black hood worn over the face that represents the spirits of loved ones. With my uncle passing away only a week prior to the dance, wearing the hood conjured melancholic feelings for me. Yet I was comforted by sharing these somber feelings with everyone dancing, and the dance became my way of saying goodbye too.