LIHU‘E — Cynthia Chiang, earlier lamenting the no bon dance announcement from the Kaua‘i Buddhist Council and the Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation, said she would definitely be in for Saturday.
“I definitely would be in,” Chiang said. “And I wouldn’t need to wear a face mask because it’s virtual.”
Cheryl Shintani of the Kaua‘i Yamaguchi Kenjin Kai said the Zoom bon dance of “Lord Ouchi” will be on Japan Time 6 p.m. on two Saturdays — June 13, and June 27. Translated to Hawai‘ian Standard Time, those are taking place on Fridays (June 12 and June 26) at 11 p.m.
“Virtual bon dance,” Shintani said. “That is really social distancing! Where are the flying saucers to eat?”
During July, the Yamaguchi Guion Festival is held in Yamaguchi City, Japan where the citizens gather to perform the “Lord Ouchi” bon dance, together.
Unfortunately, this year, the festival has been canceled to prevent the spread of the Novel Coronavirus, leading Jukanfuku Hanayagi, a Japanese Buyo dancer, to hold an online dance event through Zoom to teach how to perform this dance and connect Yamaguchi with people from around the world.
“It is times like these that we must look for whatever each one of us are able to do,” Junkanfuku said in and email to Shintani. “This is why we have decided to have an online group participant performance of the bon dance ‘Lord Ouchi,’ which my father, Hanayagi Jukan choreographed, in order to bring a little piece of Yamaguchi’s Summer Dance to each of you. We have received the cooperation of the international exchange coordinators in Yamaguchi City as well as the Yamaguchi City International Office.”
The instructional segments are 40 minutes in length and are free. There is no preparation, and the dance can be done sitting.
Contents include the introduction of Yamaguchi and Pamplona by the coordinator for International Relations, instruction on how to do “Lord Ouchi” dance by Hanayagi Jukanfuku, and the enjoyment of dancing together online.
To join in English, visit https://forms.gle/Pd9oSBqUFRZeyhCKA. There are other forms available in Japanese and Spanish.
“We are still in the preparation stages, but we also hope to be able to try to use other songs from the other cities and towns of Yamaguchi as well,” the International Exchange Coordinators said.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
