Awaodori at Tokyo Dome – LaQua
Winter is hell for us Awaodori dance lovers, if it was not for the only more or less annual winter Awaodori performance in Tokyo’s Dome City I don’t know what I’d do! Every year, as part of the grand Furusato Matsuri event being held inside Tokyo Dome there are a few big Awaodori performances outside, given to the general public visiting the LaQua fairground just next to Tokyo Dome near the Korakuen subway station. This year again it was a combined effort of dancers from the mega stars Suikoren and the Hyottokoren with added assistance from the Minami-Koshigaya Tensuiren. The drum team was even more gifted with guest appearances from quite a few different Tokushima prefecture teams.
The performance is held in the freezing winter evening under the LaQua Mandala Globe, which is made by a Toksushima company and is one millionth the size of the Earth, roughly twelve times ten meters. It is part of the LaQua/Tokyo Dome City winter illuminations program to attract visitors to this fair ground even in the colder month. This year it is set to run until February 16th.
Tokyo Dome City where this event is held is one of Tokyo’s permanent fair grounds, and full of attractions aimed at kids and young couples. Maybe not the first place to visit for the average casual tourist but a given day trip for any family or people who stay a little longer in Tokyo. The other choices for fair grounds would be (to mention a couple) the Hanayasiki at Asakusa or Odaiba.
Great pictures as always! Minor typo—it’s Suikoren, not Kosuiren. Also the Tokushima guests are a team called Aifubuki. Sadly their main attraction was performing elsewhere in Tokyo that weekend… 😉
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Thanks for noticing! I must have switched the syllables, to many sui and ko and ten and ten! It gets confusing for this poor foreigner… (^-^;) Yes, Aifubuki, would have loved to see more of them!
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Beautiful photo’s!
I would like to see it live sometime.
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Thank you Esmee! I hope you get a chance to see it sometime soon! Bring the camera! (^-^)
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What a stage! And beautifuL pictures as usuaL, especiaLLy the b&w and the one after that make me speechLess ♡
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Thank your the very kind comment amadl! I really appreciate it! (^-^)
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I love awadori! I thought awadori is typically a summer festival dance? What is the symbolism of awadori?
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It is very much a summer festival, which is why I was so happy to be able to see it even in the middle of the winter. It is said to be an old form of Bonodori, the traditional Japanese summer festival dance. History tells us that it exploded in popularity in 1586 when a local lord in Awa province (modern day Tokushima prefecture) offered the townspeople free drink to celebrate his new castle. Apparently the whole town got drunk and people of all classes joined in on the dance. Today the dance celebrates the joy of letting go and dancing and singing foolishly regardless of age, sex or social status.
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