What is Erihara Bon Odori?

Erihara, Isobe Town is close to Izamiya Shrine and is a town rich in history with 265 houses and a population of 654 (2015).
The Bon dance will be held on August 8th as a recreation event sponsored by the neighborhood association, and on the 14th as a memorial service for the spirits sponsored by Shinbon-san related parties, at the Erihara Ward Office Square.

Erihara's Bon Odori begins at around 1pm with a one-hour performance by the Children's Association (Isobe Taiko). This raku-uchi drum has been played since ancient times as a drum for crowds during Bon dances.
At around 8 o'clock, the Bon Odori begins, and at first we mainly dance to folk songs such as ``Isobe Ondo,'' ``Okushima Ondo,'' and ``Tokyo Ondo.''

The final performance will be "Isobe's Ji-Odori".
In the past, the dance was held until late at night, but this year (2015) it has been closed at 0 p.m.

Head control is important

``Isobe no Ji Odori'' starts around 9 o'clock.
This dance is a form of Bon dance that has been practiced since ancient times in the Ise-Shima region, and there are no musical instruments; the dancer sings alone on the turret, and the dancers dance to the sound accompanied by musical accompaniment. Another feature is that as long as the ondotori continues to sing, it will continue without interruption.
The dance choreography and the beginning of the song are relatively short in one (hito) dance, which the dancers repeat over and over again, but the lyrics tend to be long and long in the style of a story.
However, it seems that there is a lot of small talk that is easy to understand and has a humorous flavor to it, using 75 or 77 words.
When I asked one of the on-head directors, he said, ``At first, they sing what they have written down, but many of them gradually change their own songs, and they write them on fans and sing them.''

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