HANAPEPE – Shall I go back to my hometown? Shall I go back?
The translated version is from “Kitaguni No Haru” by Sen Masao that will be performed by Torao Hikariyama during the intermission of the bon dance hosted by the Kauai Soto Zen Temple in Hanapepe this weekend.
“This song is fitting for our festival,” said Gerald Hirata, president of the Kauai Soto Zen Temple. “The song that talks about someone pondering and thinking about going back to his hometown is fitting because Bon is a time when people return to their hometowns and visit family. Bon is a time to remember those that came before you, and at Soto Zen, a lot of off-islanders and mainlanders connected to our temple return home during festival time.”
Hikariyama will be joined by a group of women performing a special dance, and the Men of the Koi Dynasty with a presentation as a prelude to Hikariyama’s performance.
The annual bon dance is free to everyone, and Hirata invites people to experience the Japanese-American culture like never before.
Opening at 6 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, the bon dance also offers food, exhibits, games such as fish and duck ponds and Ball Throw, and cultural performances.
The Special Olympics Kauai crew will also be on hand for its andagi, or Okinawa donuts, that was very popular during the bon dance at the Kapaa Hongwanji Mission earlier this month.
Rev. Shuji Komagata will offer the memorial service starting at 6 p.m. with the Taiko Kauai ensemble setting the stage at 7 p.m. for the bon dancing that will include live Fukushima Ondo, Niigata Ondo, and the plantation-style Iwakuni ondo.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
