Most traditional = most international?!　

Post language: ＜English＞　

2009/1/28

“What is most traditional is what is most international”

Jan. 23 @ICU –

One of the P.E. faculties at ICU, Mrs. Yoko Kondo, who teaches Japanese folk dance gave a talk today.

It was about her experience at the Pan African Dance Festival held at Rwanda during the summer of 2008.

At the festival, there were dance groups from Africa, Japan, and China who each performed their folk dance. From this experience, Mrs. Kondo said, “the traditional arts of the people played a role in international exchange”!

Folk dances in the Japanese context are dances from rural villages or from the indigenous community of the Ainu. Some people may know these dances from matsuri (Japanese festivals).

It started as something that gave strength to the people and something to look forward to during their hard times.

But why was it good for international exchange?

Well, the words “ｗhat is most traditional is what is most international” by Mrs. Kondo tells us a lot.

The Japanese folk dance is the origin of famous arts such as nou and kabuki. Since it is the origin of other dances, and since it is a people’s dance, there were many similarities between dances from other countries. By teaching and learning each others’ traditional dance, the participants were able to conduct international exchange through dance.

On the contrary, Japanese folk dance has been hidden from view since nou and kabuki are more formal arts. But the informal characteristic of it where anyone can join and anyone can dance is also the good part of Japanese folk dance.

Besides these fact, I was happy that a “tradition” can be “international”.

Nature, indigenous people’s cultures, farming, arts…..

The reason why I am attracted to these things may be because they are also the “origin” of things: although they may look small in this time of vast technology, they are the starting point of many things and they are “warm hearted”.

＊     The Japanese folk is planned to become a intangible cultural asset this September