Dance Festivals in Toyama, Tokushima, and Yamagata Prefectures

Dancers, their faces obscured by woven straw bonnets, perform wordlessly, but their outstretched fingers convey a message. (© Haga Library)

Lanterns light up a slope at dusk. (© Haga Library)

In the absence of streetlights, lanterns provide the only illumination. (© Haga Library)

A couple dance to a ballad about unrequited love. (© Haga Library)

The sounds of shamisen and kokyū accompany the dancing. (© Haga Library)

Only local residents who are single and under 25 years old are allowed to take part in the dance. (© Haga Library)

Sending visitors off after a night of dancing. (© Haga Library)

Each group performs a different dance; every performance a display of imaginative choreography. (© Haga Library)

Shamisen, flutes, small gongs, and taiko drums provide the musical accompaniment. (© Haga Library)

Anyone can join in the fun of the Awa Odori. (© Haga Library)

The Awa Odori ends with the sō odori grand finale. (© Haga Library)

The Seichō Hanagasa Odori Kunpū Mogamigawa women’s dance has been presented every year since it was first performed in 1963. (© Haga Library)

Dancers move in perfect unison to tunes singing the praises of local places and specialties. (© Haga Library)

The Obanazawa Hanagasa Matsuri takes place in Obanazawa, home of the Hanagasa Matsuri held on August 27–28. (© Haga Library)

Benibana is the official Yamagata prefectural and municipal flower. The flowers were precious, each producing only a tiny amount of the pigment used to make beni lip coloring. (© Haga Library)