Owara Kaze no Bon aka “Owara Bon Dance of the Wind” おわら風の盆　おわらかぜのぼん　（富山　とよま）

A Night Dance Festival to Appease the Wind Gods

Owara Bon Dance of the Wind is from September 1st to 3rd in Yatsuo village in Toyama city, Toyama prefecture. Hidden amongst the edge of the mountains along stone streets and lit by lanterns all unmarried and under 30 years old dancers perform for the gods pleasure in kimonos and wearing straw hats to hide their eyes. Three hundred years ago when this peculiar festival started the hats were drawn down over their eyes to protect their identities from the gods. Today, they might cover their eyes with the hats to help overcome performance anxiety in front of huge crowds of unknown people. The festival roughly coincides in time and purpose with the 210th day when other festivals are held around Japan to appease the gods and protect the fields from typhoon winds.

Maybe it is to appease the gods…

Maybe it is to impress other unmarried men and women and meet new people

Today the Owara Kaze no Bon is a rather unique, fun, and overcrowded event. Originally the dancers were virginal and the dance was a form of sacrifice. Today, the young unmarried men and women who take part might be also be looking out for potential future partners. This time of year is famous as the beginning of typhoon season where the winds can easily flatten an entire city’s worth of rice fields. The dance was supposed to carry on all night long in ancient times. Today, on the first two nights it seems to wind down around 11 pm. But on the third night dancers can be found performing late into the night. The men’s dance is based primarily on movements that they used to perform farm work. The women’s dance is based on the movements of a lady playing with butterflies.