After pandemic lapse, Japanese folk dancing returns to Seattle's streets

Seattle’s Bon Odori, the Japanese folk-dancing festival, returned last weekend for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Organizers say about 3,000 people attended the 91st annual two-day summer festival.

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n July 15, Taiko drums and singing echoed through the streets amid traditional dancing near the Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple at the edge of the Chinatown-International District. Onlookers greeted friends and families. For some, it's the first reunion since the pandemic paused such cultural events.

“I can get my grandma, a couple of my aunties, and my mom to come dance with me,” Arika Chinn said. That's why the "really old dances" are her favorite. “It’s really special.”

Chinn was dancing with her family. She's a freshman at the University of Washington and is a fourth-generation Japanese American. She was eating shaved ice, also called “kori,” with extra red beans and extra condensed milk. She has been coming to this event with her family since she was little.

Bon Odori celebrates one’s ancestors. The music and lanterns help spirits find their way home during the Buddhist holiday. Although the festival’s roots are religious, for many it’s also about bringing family and community together.

Lanterns decorated the street. People of all ages wore traditional clothing like yukatas, kimonos, and happy coats. Dancers created a large ring in the street. “Dance leaders” made an inner ring and showed off their moves, while participants followed along. In the middle of the ring stood a large podium, called a “yagura.” It held a large taiko, where the drummer kept the beat.

Others ate beef rice bowls, shaved ice with condensed milk and red beans, and other festival street foods.

For the Nakata family, Bon Odori is when they gather and celebrate their Japanese heritage. Miya and Hannah Nakata are cousins and fifth-generation Japanese Americans. Miya said Bon Odori is “kind of like a homecoming.” The kimonos Miya and Hannah wore were passed down through generations. Miya wore a silk blue traditional kimono with long sleeves. It was gifted to her by her aunt’s grandmother.

“She said, ‘I want you to wear this’,” Miya recalled. She joyfully responded, “OK!”

Hannah wore a red silk kimono. She said the silk makes the kimonos very hot compared to the yukatas, which are made out of cotton. But she said dealing with the heat is worth wearing her kimono. The long-sleeved kimonos are only worn by unmarried women. Hannah said her sister is getting married soon so she is excited to soon inherit another long-sleeved kimono.

Hannah’s favorite song is the fisherman’s dance. It tells a story of a fisherman casting out a net and reeling it in.

“When you pull in your net, your imaginary net, you always try to pull it in really fast," Hannah explained.

Miya giggled and agreed, adding, “We’ve done that since we were little kids.”

As the sun began to set, the lanterns lit up and swayed above the crowd. Dancer’s yukata and kimono sleeves flowed to the beat of the music.

Another Bon Odori dancing festival is planned at the White River Betsuin Buddhist Temple in Auburn on July 22-23. The Tacoma Buddhist Temple will also host a Japanese folk-dancing festival on the last weekend of July.