The famous Awa Dance from Tokushima Prefecture, known for its rhythmic chant ‘The dancers are fools, and the watchers are fools. Both are fools alike, so why not dance?’ has begun. This Bon dance is held every year from August 12th to 15th for four days. However, it has undergone significant changes over the years, to the point where it’s hard to believe it’s still a Bon dance. Alongside Akita Prefecture’s ‘Nishimonai Bon Odori’ and Gifu Prefecture’s ‘Gujo Odori,’ the ‘Awa Odori,’ one of the ‘Three Great Bon Dances of Japan,’ is a massive event that takes place over four days, involving around 100,000 dancers and attracting approximately 1.3 million attendees. It’s the largest Bon dance event in Japan.
Nowadays, not only in its original location in Tokushima but also in various regions across Japan, the Awa Odori is performed. Particularly large-scale events like the ‘Tokyo Koenji Awa Odori’ and the ‘Minami-Koshigaya Awa Odori’ in southern Saitama, alongside the original Awa Odori, are referred to as the ‘Three Great Awa Odori of Japan.’ On the contrary, now, we are invited from all over the world, including Paris and New York, as part of the event, and it has developed into the “world’s Awa Odori” with local people.

「踊る阿呆に見る阿呆、同じ阿呆なら踊らにゃ損損」の有名な囃子言葉で知られる徳島県の「阿波おどり」が始まりました。毎年8月12日～15日の4日間行われる盆踊りですが、えっ、これが盆踊りと思えるくらい、昔とは様変わりしています。秋田県の「西馬音内(にしもない)盆踊」、岐阜県の「郡上(ぐじょう)踊り」と並んで「日本三大盆踊り」の一つである「阿波踊り」は、4日間で踊り子は約10万人、人出は約130万人にものぼるとされている日本最大規模の盆踊りです。今では本場徳島だけでなく、日本各地で行われていて、特に規模の大きい「東京高円寺阿波踊り」と「南越谷阿波踊り」は、本場の阿波踊りと合わせて「日本三大阿波踊り」と呼ばれています。それどころか、今では、パリ、ニューヨークを初めとする世界各地から、イベントの一環として招待され、現地の人達も交えての「世界の阿波踊り」に発展しています。