YOSAKOI Soran Festival in Sapporo　YOSAKOI ソーラン祭り　YOSAKOI ソーランまつり

The YOSAKOI Soran Festival in Sapporo Combines the Traditions of Kochi and Hokkaido

YOSAKOI Soran Song and Dance

There are dozens of groups and tens of thousands of dancers performing their version of the YOSAKOI Soran dances at this huge three or four day festival at Odori park in Sapporo. There are two basic rules for the YOSAKOI Soran Festival in Sapporo. #1 Each dance must have Naruko Clappers and #2 they must use Hokkaido Soran Bushi folk songs. Other than that each dance is up to the various dance groups to see what they can come up with. It is an immense festival with a couple of million visitors every year!

Hisory of the YOSAKOI Soran Festival in Sapporo

YOSAKOI Naruko Dand and Song from Kochi City in Kochi Prefecture

The first YOSAKOI festival was held in Kochi City in Kochi prefecture on the island of Shikoku in 1954 as a way of stimulating the local economy after WWII. It is held from August 9th to 12th every year. Then the accomplanying song “Yosakoi Naruko Dance” was allowed to be reinterpretted by the dancing groups into various music and dance styles in 1972. From then on YOSAKOI festivals spread quickly across Japan. The first YOSAKOI Soran Festival in Sapporo was held in 1992. The main element that remains the same between Kochi and Sapporo is the use of naruko clappers and the general format of a vehicle driving in front of the dancing team playing their music and that the group have a choreographed dance style while wearing yukatas or hapis. What makes the YOSAKOI Soran Festival in Sapporo different is the use of “Soran Bushi” as the song of choice. “Soran Bushi” is a type of song sung by Hokkaido herring fishermen while out working hauling in their catch. These songs are part of the the local culture of Hokkaido makes the YOSAKOI Soran Festival in Sapporo different from all the other YOSAKOI festivals across Japan (except those that use this song, that is).