NIPPON Kichi - 日本吉

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2008/4/4


花取り踊り(高知県斗賀野) Hanatori-odori (Kouchi-ken Tokano) Hanatori Odori in Tokano in Kochi Prefecture

Jp En

Hanatori Odori is a kind of sword dance handed down in Kochi Prefecture since the Middle Ages. It is a gallant dance performed to pray for good health. It is said that the dance originates in an episode in the Warring States period (1493-1573).

Once there was an impregnable castle at the top of a mountain. When a troop of warriors made an attack on the castle, the troop leader called villagers together and performed a dance with them by wielding his sword. To see their dancing, the soldiers in the castle relaxed their guard and allowed the enemy to invade into the castle.  

In Tokano in Sakawa Town in Kochi Prefecture, the Hanatori Odori dances are dedicated to Shirokura Shrine and Mitsugi Shrine in early November. When the real-size straw horse is set in the shrine precinct in the morning, two Tengu with long sticks in their hands appear. Then about twelve dancers wearing flower hats and blue costumes march into the precinct through the Torii gate, walking to the rhythm of Japanese drums, who are followed by the cheerful parade of the children’s Mikoshi and Ohayashi music band.

The dancers start dancing in a circle, dynamically wielding their swords, while two Tengu walk close to the spectators and play a joke on them. Dance is continued for about 1 hour and ended with the rice throwing ritual.
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2007/1/23


大杉谷 Oosugidani Oosugidani (Large Cedar Valley)

Jp En

Oosugidani valley is located in Oodai-cho, Taki, Mie Prefecture. It lies in the upper reaches of the Miyagawa River, inside Yoshino-Kumano National Park. Being one of Japan's regions most famous for heavy-rainfall, the valley has a wide variety of changing scenery with large boulders and lush mountain river torrents. A hidden scenic spot of the Kansai region, it is even dubbed one of Japan's three best valleys, along with Kurobe Valley and Kiyotsu Valley.

Oosugidani's fame is mostly for its untouched forests, many waterfalls and large boulders. Hiking is the only way to reach the valley, and since the path has many intensive ups and downs and goes along steep cliffs, trekking with an experienced hiker and possessing the necessary equipment is a must. Unfortunately, every year a small number of hikers fall to their deaths.

The path leading 3 kilometers out from the 3rd power station to the Chihiro Waterfall is fairly safe, but it still should not be taken lightly. Oosugidani stands side-by-side with death, and is one of modern Japan's rare, untrodden scenic regions.
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NIPPON Kichi - 日本吉 - 日本語に切り替える NIPPON Kichi - 日本吉 - to english

"Nippon-kichi" leads you to places, people and things that reveal a certain Japanese aesthetic.

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