The practice of Owara (おわら)

On September 17, the “Owara-kaze-no-mai (おわら風の舞)” event will be held in Hachioji.
Owara is a traditional Japanese folk song, which originally comes from Yatsuo city in Toyama prefecture.

In Yatsuo city, from September 1st to the 3rd, people dance the “Owara” to the shamisen, and the kokyu (胡弓).
In Hachioji, this kind of event started in 2003 in order to help stimulate Hachioji’s economy.

On the actual day, some dancers, singers, shamisen and kokyu players come from Yatsuo city, some local Minyo (民謡 - traditional Japanese folk song) dance groups and also Hachioji’s geisha gather together to dance and parade in Hachioji.
Last year I participated in the event for the first time and I really enjoyed that event.

In August, group practice sessions, including all Hachioji geisha, for this year’s Owara festival started.

At first I was concerned that I might have forgetten how to dance the Owara, however contrary to my expectation, I quickly remembered it.

Nevertheless my geisha mother pointed out that my posture was not correct. I was dancing with rounded shoulders. She reminded me that I was learning a traditional Japanese dance which requires a perfectly straight back.
I understood that even though this is not an official geisha event,  geisha must still present themselves beautifully.

In addition, from this year, I started learning a different type of Owara dance, which looks even more beautiful and elegant.

I practiced it a little before the second group practice session. However I couldn’t dance it well, so my geisha mother rebuked me that I must practice more seriously.

I reflected on my casual attitude to my practice and since then I have been continuing to practice Owara hard every day.
I want to dance it beautifully like other the geisha.