Spectators and performers alike feel uplifted by Michi Junei, performed despite coronavirus

Spectators and performers alike feel uplifted by Michi Junei, performed despite coronavirus

On September 2 around 9:00 p.m. in Kubota, Okinawa City, the Kubota Youth Association performs Michi Junei, reduced in scale from an average year (photograph provided by Keizo Shinzato)


September 3, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

On September 2, Ukui, the final day of the Obon festival, the Okinawa City Kubota Youth Association performed the Eisa dance Michi Junei as a tribute to ancestors in the afterlife. Up through last year the Youth Association included a total of 40 people from around the region, but this year, in order to protect against the spread of the novel coronavirus, this number has been reduced to only about 15 people. Spectators kept their distance, and the space taken up by the procession was limited.

The sounds of taiko drums and sanshin reverberated in the air. Spectators could see the performance from the entryway to the festival, and clapped and whistled along with the beat. Tetsuya Yogi, 85, a spectator, said with a smile, “I feel uplifted. Perhaps the sound of the taiko even blew corona away”.

The head of the Youth Association, Reito Yagi, 21, with a sense of accomplishment, said, “Michi Junei is an important event to contribute to the region. Some people have even thanked us, and I’m so glad we could do this”.

In the average year, the residents’ association holds a Michi Junei performance during Obon, and many spectators visit from outside the city for the event. However, many did not visit this year due to the impact of the novel coronavirus. Several youth associations performed Eisa music, and chose to share their work by distributing videos of their performances.

(English translation by T&CT and Erin Jones)

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