Check it out: Bon Odori Matsuri Dance
This is the first time I have noticed online videos of Obon. The one in the above link is particularly good, I think, because it shows how deceptively simple these dances are. These movements are really good for our health, because they are highly counter-intuitive in the mainstream. How often would you move your left foot forward at the same time with your left hand, and then do it again on the same side of your body, and then reverse direction, still using the same uncharacteristic gait, if left to your own devices? Admit it, never. We would never move this way without instruction, and it’s very good for our carcases, because it clears the toxic results of dead movement habits. Oh, and hey, it’s a real bliss-out when you finally get it to click as well.
The Japanese culture values beauty almost above anything, and excellent Obon instruction is usually free. In the future, I intend to get a video camera and to record Obon odori, because Hawaiian Obon is the most beautiful, both in constume, and in movement. More beautiful than the American mainland, and yes, more beautiful than Japan.
Namu Amida Butsu
Xing Ping
