“Legendary” 94-Year-Old Street Performer in Wheelchair Draws Crowd; Hakodate Native Dancer Returns to Birth City after Successful Tours Abroad

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:10 JST, October 2, 2024

HAKODATE, Hokkaido — A street performance by a legendary 94-year-old performer in a wheelchair attracted about 150 people on a street in Hakodate in mid-September.

Gilyak Amagasaki has been performing creative dance both in Japan and overseas for more than 50 years. He gave an open-air performance at a square near Hakodate Station in Hakodate, the city of his birth, on Sept. 14.

The performance, called “Dance of Prayer,” was the first in three years in Hakodate.

In recent years, he has suffered from ailments such as Parkinson’s disease and had a pacemaker implanted.

Despite his illnesses, in July he danced to pray for victims in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, which was hit by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

In August, he performed in Naraha, Fukushima Prefecture, where recovery efforts are underway following the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

In Hakodate, Amagasaki stood up from his wheelchair and danced his well-known work “Jongara Ichidai” (A life in jongara), which began with the sound of shamisen.

Holding a rose in his mouth, he invited a woman from the audience to dance with him to “Yosare-bushi.”

In “Nenbutsu Jongara” (A jongara invocation), he danced while swinging a juzu, a string of large prayer beads; poured water over his head; and shouted “Mother!” while holding a picture of his late mother.

When Amagasaki said in a halting voice, “I was supposed to take over the family business as a confectioner, but I’m glad I kept dancing,” the audience cheered. “You’re the best in Japan! The best in the world!” they cried.

The 83-year-old woman from Hakodate who danced with him said, “He’s gotten thinner than he used to be, but his hands were very soft when I shook them.”

Amagasaki also held a performance at Maruyama Park in Sapporo on Sept. 16.