Seasoning the Seasons

Season 1 Episode 9: Awa Dance: Obon Festival with 100,000 Dancers

13 SeasonsAug 01, 2012TV-G28m

The Awa Odori dance is the highlight of the 4-day Obon Festival of the Dead in Tokushima, Shikoku, in August each year. About 100,000 people join in the dancing and 1.3 million come to watch this most popular of all Bon dances in Japan. The dance's original purpose, of course, is to honor the souls of the dead, but it has also developed as a thrilling affirmation of the joys of life, and both the costumes and music are highly distinctive. We remember back to the people who started dancin...

Seasoning the Seasons background

Season 1 Episodes:

Episode 1 Kyoto: Coloring the Season

1. Kyoto: Coloring the Season

Aired: Apr 4, 2012

Kariyasu, kuchinashi, and moegi -all are Japanese words for colors. The Japan...

Episode 2 Kakunodate: Stories of Old Families

2. Kakunodate: Stories of Old Families

Aired: Apr 18, 2012

Kakunodate is the "Little Kyoto" of Tohoku, a castle town and popular tourist...

Episode 3 Spirited Away to Tono

3. Spirited Away to Tono

Aired: May 2, 2012

The folklorist, Kunio Yanagita, wrote his "Tono Monogatari" (Tales of Tono) a...

Episode 4 Japanese Towers, Memories Past and Present

4. Japanese Towers, Memories Past and Present

Aired: May 16, 2012

Towers that reach to the skies. Towering tourist attractions around the count...

Episode 5 Matsushima: Islands of Beauty and Prayer

5. Matsushima: Islands of Beauty and Prayer

Aired: May 30, 2012

The beautiful islands of Matsushima in Miyagi Prefecture are known as one of ...

Episode 6 Suwa: A Celebration Down Through Time

6. Suwa: A Celebration Down Through Time

Aired: Jun 6, 2012

Suwa was a center of culture in Japan in the Jomon period before rice cultiva...

Episode 7 Niyodo River: Living with Japan's Clearest River

7. Niyodo River: Living with Japan's Clearest River

Aired: Jun 20, 2012

With its glass-like translucency, the River Niyodo on Shikoku is renowned for...

Episode 8 Mt. Fuji

Aired: Jul 4, 2012

Mt. Fuji is Japan's highest peak at 3776m. Its magnificence and beauty have i...

Episode 9 Awa Dance: Obon Festival with 100,000 Dancers

9. Awa Dance: Obon Festival with 100,000 Dancers

Aired: Aug 1, 2012

The Awa Odori dance is the highlight of the 4-day Obon Festival of the Dead i...

Episode 11 Itsukushima, Island of the Gods

11. Itsukushima, Island of the Gods

Aired: Sep 19, 2012

Miyajima, an island 30 km around in the Seto Inland Sea, is known as one of t...

Episode 12 Hand-Made in Japan

12. Hand-Made in Japan

Aired: Oct 3, 2012

Our theme this time is traditional crafts. The Japanese have a long history o...

Episode 13 Dolls Bearers of Dreams

13. Dolls Bearers of Dreams

Aired: Oct 17, 2012

The Japanese fascination with dolls extends through Neolithic clay figures to...

Episode 14 Tracing Rice in Japan

14. Tracing Rice in Japan

Aired: Nov 7, 2012

Rice is special to the Japanese. Since rice cultivation arrived here millenni...

Episode 15 Blowfish - A Secret Taste from the Deep

15. Blowfish - A Secret Taste from the Deep

Aired: Nov 21, 2012

The blowfish is an expensive delicacy in Japan that has been eaten here for t...

Episode 16 Millennium Guardians The Buddhist Statues of Kyoto

16. Millennium Guardians The Buddhist Statues of Kyoto

Aired: Dec 5, 2012

Kyoto is a treasure house of Buddhist statuary. The many statues there includ...

Episode 17 Nights of Snow

17. Nights of Snow

Aired: Dec 19, 2012

Areas of Japan experience the heaviest snowfall in the world. The people ther...

Info about Seasoning the Seasons

Current Status: Returning Series

Network: NHK

Production Country: Japan

Genres:Documentary, History