The trip to my hometown in Tokushima

Last  spring I decided to go back to my hometown in Tokushima during this Obon, from  August 12-14.
Tokushima is located in Shikoku Island, which lies to the west of Osaka.
I usually go back there 2 or 3 times a year.

Tokushima is famous as the birthplace of Awa-odori (阿波踊り) which is one of the most popular traditional Japanese dance festivals in Japan. These days Awa-odori festivals are held all over Japan and there are many professional and amateur Awa-odori dance groups in Japan, despite small beginnings about 400-years-ago in Tokushima..

When I left Tokushima as an 18-year-old, I hated my hometown, because I felt it was a very closed society.
I also disliked my family, because they were over protective and interfered too much.
Nevertheless I think I was just childish.

When I joined a professional Awa-odori dance group in Tokyo some years ago, I suddenly realized my deep connection to my hometown’s Awa-odori culture. However I left that Awa-odori dance group after 4 years for various reasons.

As I was planning to go back to Tokushima in Obon, I asked my mother to purchase Awa-odori tickets for me. I wanted to enjoy seeing Awa-odori in my hometown, especially some of the professional dance groups.

As I have written in previous articles, when I talk about my hometown to my customers, most of them ask me if I can dance the Awa-odori. When they ask me this I remember my connection to Tokushima.
For this reason, I especially wanted to see Awa-odori this year.

When I arrived at Tokushima airport, the Awa-odori group which I had been a member of in Tokyo welcomed us incoming passengers with their dance. It was a big surprise.
My mother smiled me when she found me.

My parents and I enjoyed lunch at the airport. After lunch we went back to my parents home, which is located about 30-minutes-drive by car.

Indeed I was nervous about talking with my family, especially about my job, because as I have written previously, my family don’t have a good opinion of geisha.
However, contrary to my expectation, my mother said to me that I should do my best not to have regrets about what I do with my life.

That night, my mother cooked vegetables which my father had grown. They were very delicious.
The next day, my parents and I visited my grandfather and my sister’s graves. After that, we went to my grandmother’s house, which is located only 10-minutes-drive away.

After we enjoyed talking with my grandmother and aunt, who is living with my grandmother, we went to see an Awa-odori festival, which was being held in Tokushima city. Tokushima city is located about 30-minutes-drive from my grandmother’s house.

My mother parked her car in a parking lot which she had reserved and we walked to the venue for which we had purchased tickets.
There are many performance areas for the various events at the festival. Many of the events are free but 4 of the outdoor performance spaces at the festival in Tokushima city require a ticket to enter. The venue my family had reserved was the farthest from the parking lot, so we had to walk for some time.
Nevertheless we enjoyed the atmosphere of the big festival while we were walking to the venue.

The festival usually starts at 6pm. At the outdoor performance spaces which are not free, performances are divided into two parts. The first half is from 6pm-8pm and the second half is from 8:30pm-10:30pm. We booked the first half.

While we were eating and drinking, we really enjoyed seeing the professional Awa-odori dancing.
Indeed I really wanted to dance with them, however I couldn’t, so I decided that I would dance Awa-odori at ozashiki parties.

That night, I stayed at my grandmother’s house, and talked with my grandmother and aunt till midnight.

The next morning, my aunt and I went to a cake shop, because my relatives were coming to visit my grandmother’s house in the afternoon.

After my aunt and I went back to my grandmother’s house, I started practicing the shamisen.
After a while, my grandmother knocked on the door, and she asked me to record my shamisen practice.
She said to me that when she has some free time, she wants to enjoy listening to my shamisen music.
I felt a lump in my throat, because I realized that she really wanted to talk with me everyday, but since I live so far away, being able to listen to my shamisen music everyday, will help her feel close to me.

To tell the truth, my parents, aunt and I didn’t talk to her about my job, because we thought that people of her generation might have a prejudice towards geisha. My parents and aunt forbade me to tell her the truth.

In this trip, I reflected deeply about my job, especially concerning my family.