Yosakoi Festival
よさこい祭り（Yosakoi Festival）
This large-scale festival held in the city of Kochi runs from August 9th to 12th every year. Yosakoi is an energetic style of group dancing that originated in Kochi. Dancers in elaborate, colorful costumes proceed forward, moving to the beat of music based on a folk song called yosakoi-bushi . People flock to see the vibrant dance performances, which rotate around 16 locations within the city.
As Kochi is the heart of yosakoi culture, the yearly festival is a big deal, attracting around 200 teams (and approximately 20,000 dancers) not only from within Japan but from all over the world. The popularity of yosakoi crosses borders, and as of June 2022 there are dance teams in 34 countries and regions.
One of the things that makes the Yosakoi Festival such a vivid spectacle is that each team has wildly different costumes and choreography, bringing their own style to the performance. Often the teams are accompanied by ornately decorated music trucks, called jikatasha , another fun element of the celebration.
As Kochi is the heart of yosakoi culture, the yearly festival is a big deal, attracting around 200 teams (and approximately 20,000 dancers) not only from within Japan but from all over the world. The popularity of yosakoi crosses borders, and as of June 2022 there are dance teams in 34 countries and regions.
One of the things that makes the Yosakoi Festival such a vivid spectacle is that each team has wildly different costumes and choreography, bringing their own style to the performance. Often the teams are accompanied by ornately decorated music trucks, called jikatasha , another fun element of the celebration.
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