Japan is famous for its many colorful matsuri, or festivals. Among them, Awa Odori stands out as one of the largest dance festivals in the country, attracting over 1.3 million people a year. Over the next four days, visitors to the Tokushima Prefecture on the southern island of Shikoku will find groups of up to two hundred dancers dressed in traditional costumes making their way through the streets, chanting to the sound of drums, flutes and bells.
What makes Awa Odori unique is the different choreography followed by men and women. Today’s doodle on www.google.co.jp captures the women in their conical hats and restrictive kimonos which only allow them to take very small steps forward on the tips of their geta, or wooden sandals. While the women dance with their hands held high and very straight posture, the men dance in a low crouch.
Awa Odori can be traced back nearly 400 years. It became popular in Tokushima in the 16th century to mark the opening of the feudal ruler’s castle. Since then, these are some of the lyrics that have been sung year in and year out: The dancers are fools, The watchers are fools, Both are fools alike so, Why not dance?
For those of you who can’t travel to Tokushima today, you can also check out festival imagery on Street View:
Posted by Shun Ikeda, Associate Product Marketing Manager, Google Japan
What makes Awa Odori unique is the different choreography followed by men and women. Today’s doodle on www.google.co.jp captures the women in their conical hats and restrictive kimonos which only allow them to take very small steps forward on the tips of their geta, or wooden sandals. While the women dance with their hands held high and very straight posture, the men dance in a low crouch.
For those of you who can’t travel to Tokushima today, you can also check out festival imagery on Street View:
Posted by Shun Ikeda, Associate Product Marketing Manager, Google Japan
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