#yotsudake

[aswiya]

Dancers prepare to perform Yotsudake, an elegant indigenous dance, in Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan. 1997.

Karen Kasmauski

[tanuki-kimono]

World traditional costumes, super cute project by Pauline Otaka. You can find merch (stickers+cards) on her Etsy shop :D

I love that for Japan, besides furisode coming of age dress (3rd pic), she also drew outfits for both Hokkaido (Ainu attus coat) and Okinawa/Ryukyu (yotsudake dance costume)

[hebifry]

"Yotsudake Dancer" original watercolor I got really inspired by Okinawan Yotsudake dancers they are amazing><

[toranosukev]

Yotsudake (aka Udui kuwadisa), a classical Ryukyuan dance, being performed at the Worldwide Uchinanchu Taikai Grand Finale, in full hanagasa (flower hat) costume. Beautiful. One of my favorite songs to play/sing, though I'm not very good at it...

[okinawablue]

Yotsudake is one of the most exquisite of the classical Okinawan dances, with the dancers' vibrant bingata kimono and the striking flower hat which have become iconic of Okinawan culture. The dance originates from the 16th or 17th century when the Ryukyu Kingdom had strong ties with China, and was traditionally performed as a warm welcome to the Chinese envoy. Today, it is performed to honor any happy event. These photos were taken during our SF Kenjin-kai New Year's celebration (see previous post). Here's a video of the dance being performed with live music at Shuri Castle during the Uchinanchu Festival.I urge you to play it while viewing my photos to experience the music and atmosphere. 

"Yotsudake" means "four bamboo," the name of the tasseled bamboo castanets the dancers play - a pair in each hand. These create a gentle, rhythmic clacking sound that accompanies the music. It seems simple but takes some practice to master these - they're basically two large bamboo rectangles held by a cord that need to be clacked together at precise intervals and are awkward to hold.

The unique silk hat features a gold-trimmed design of a stylized lotus flower and ocean waves. It's mesmerizing to watch one dancer on her own with her slow, graceful movements, and even more breathtaking to see five or six. Imagine observing forty or fifty of these dancers in perfect sync, which we had the opportunity to see many years ago at the Yomitan Festival. It was unforgettable, seeing these harmonious flowers swaying in time to the music, reminding us of the beauty, resilience and connectedness of all living things.

The main focus of these photos is my mother, Fumi Gibbons, who will be 83 this year. She's been performing this dance with her friends for several years (my goal is to learn it from her). My niece Amalia helps her grandmother with her costume in the top photo. In the final photo, at the end of the performance, my mother is accosted by a very surprised friend who had no idea she knew how to dance. She kept exclaiming, "akisamiyo!" and even gave her a little slap on the cheek as if to make sure she was real. 

[narutoworksbetterasseme-blo-blog]

[akachins]