Hanagasa dance born from “Jobuta”

Yamagata's summer festival is the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival. Its roots are in ''Lake Tokura in Obanazawa''. It is said that during the construction work on the embankment of Lake Tokura, they worked in unison, singing ''Dontsuki Uta'' to encourage each other. This was the origin of ''Hanagasa Ondo.''

It is said that the origin of today's ''Hanagasa Odori'' was an impromptu dance in which people twirled the sedge hats they wore while working, accompanied by songs. It was in 1963 that it was decided to hold the Hanagasa Ondo Parade as a new summer festival in Yamagata. At this time, the choreography, which varied from region to region, was reviewed, and the ''Seicho Hanagasa Odori - Kunpu Mogami River'' (commonly known as Onna Odori) was born, which anyone could easily dance to. It is said that the current ''Hanagasa Odori'' was completed by adding new lyrics that were solicited from the public to the Hanagasa Ondo.

Currently, a wide variety of flower hats are used for dancing, including those handmade by groups. The main item was the ''regular flower hat'' with a red flower decoration decorated with safflower. These include the ''Otoko Hanagasa'' decorated with orange and yellow safflowers, the ''Kasawashi Hanagasa'' used in the Jiohanazawa flow dance that originated from the Hanagasa Odori, and the ''Shihozankai Hanagasa'' used by the Shihozankai folk culture circle in Yamagata City.

A gorgeous flower hat that spins around in time with the music. It would be interesting to watch the parade and pay attention to the differences.