Tokushima: Japan’s Awaodori Dance Spreads to World; Foreign Participants Enjoy Summer Dance Tradition

By Nonoko Minami / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

12:38 JST, September 6, 2025

TOKUSHIMA — This year’s Awa Odori Dance Festival in Tokushima came to an end on Aug. 15. Despite some rain spells, the five-day event was generally blessed with good weather. The streets were adorned with chochin paper lanterns, and dancers stepped and bounced to the calls of ohayashi music performers.

This is my first time reporting on the festival, which centers on Tokushima’s Awa Odori traditional dance. Since I come from the Hokuriku region, where there is no shortage of rainy and cloudy days, I found it very refreshing to see the whole town grow cheerful and animated, reflecting the warm weather of the Shikoku region.

The Awa Odori may look like it has complicated moves that would take years to master, but the basic motion of putting your hand and leg forward at the same time is easy to grasp.

Anyone can become an Awa Odori dancer. Many dance groups called “ren” are taking part in the festival, and among them this year was one called Arasowaren, which included non-Japanese members. Visually impaired people danced with their guide dogs in a group called Harness-ren. The Niwakaren is a group that welcomes visitors to join on the spot. The crowd of Niwakaren dancers grew bigger and bigger like an expanding whirlpool, which was a sight to behold.

‘You must not fight’

On Aug. 14, Arasowaren danced at venues in Minamiuchimachi and Ryogokuhoncho in Tokushima. The group’s name, which is in the Awa dialect, means “You must not fight.” Its members include people who moved to Tokushima Prefecture from Canada, Vietnam and other countries. They danced with a wish for world peace and happy coexistence.

In late July, calls by dancers were heard from a meeting room in the Tokushima International Association’s building, where Arasowaren members were rehearsing.

The group was launched in 1981 with the prefecture’s association for international friendship as its parent body. This year, 17 non-Japanese participated in the dance rehearsals. Among them was Nguyen Duc Vi, 26, head of the Vietnamese community in the prefecture. Vi, who joined the group this year, works at a sewing factory, managing technical intern trainees from Vietnam.

Besides work, he has run the community from 2019, organizing a Japanese speech competition and cleaning activities. He uses Facebook as his main communication tool, and his Facebook group has more than 10,000 members, including people living in neighboring prefectures.

It was the first time in six years that Vi had taken part in the Awa Odori dance since he joined an Awa Odori society for a month while studying at Shikoku University’s Junior College. He learned that Arasowaren was recruiting new members on the Facebook page of the Tokushima International Association.

“I’d like to tell my friends in Vietnam about my experience with the Awa Odori,” Vi said eagerly.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. Vi grew up hearing from his grandparents and parents about how people supported each other in the face of the heavy toll of the war and the sadness it brought.

“I feel that a spirit of mutual support and peace lives in the Awa Odori, which you dance with other people while calling on each other,” he stressed.

Acknowledging differences

Awa Odori has been spreading throughout the world in recent years. There are Awa Odori dance groups in the United States and Brazil led by local Japanese groups, including local associations of people from Tokushima Prefecture. The prefecture is making efforts to promote the dance outside Japan by sending famous Awa Odori dance groups overseas, for example.

Shinichi Niki, 62, a member of the Nonkiren dance group who has been training Arasowaren members since 2017, has received news of past members continuing to dance Awaodori even after returning to their countries.

“I’m glad that they’re spreading the charm of the Awa Odori in their countries,” Niki said happily.

There are still wars going on in the world today, such as the one between Russia and Ukraine as well as in the Middle East.

“The important thing is to acknowledge our differences,” said Julie Brousseau, 32, an English teacher from Canada and a member of Arasowaren. “I’d like to convey that message through dancing.”

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Awa Odori

The summer dance festival, which took place on Aug. 11 to 15 this year in Tokushima, is one of Japan’s most famous. Several outdoor venues with balcony seats, offering both paid and free viewing, were set up in front of JR Tokushima Station, and despite sporadic rainfall, talented dance groups took to the stage one after another to perform. Indoor stage performances were also held at event halls in the city, with many groups captivating audiences with their outstanding skills. No registration is required to join the Niwakaren, a group that anyone can dance with for free, and dressing up is optional.

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