‘Legendary’ 94-year-old street artist in wheelchair draws crowds; Hakodate Native Dancer returns to hometown after successful trips abroad

HAKODATE, Hokkaido – A street performance by a legendary 94-year-old artist in a wheelchair drew about 150 people to the streets of Hakodate in mid-September.

Gilyak Amagasaki has been performing creative dance for more than 50 years, both in Japan and abroad. On September 14, he gave an open-air performance in a square near Hakodate station in Hakodate, his hometown.

The performance, called ‘Dance of Prayer’, was the first in three years in Hakodate.

In recent years he has suffered from conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and has had a pacemaker implanted.

Despite his illness, he danced in July to pray for the victims in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, which was hit by the Noto Peninsula earthquake.

In August, he performed in Naraha, Fukushima Prefecture, where recovery efforts are underway after the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

In Hakodate, Amagasaki rose from his wheelchair and danced his well-known work “Jongara Ichidai” (A Life in Jongara), which began with the sound of shamisen.

With a rose in his mouth, he invited a woman from the audience to dance with him to ‘Yosare-bushi’.

In “Nenbutsu Jongara” (a jongara invocation) he danced while waving a juzu, a string of large prayer beads; poured water on his head; and shouted, “Mother!” while holding a photo of his late mother.

When Amagasaki said in a hesitant voice, “I was going to take over the family business as a pastry chef, but I’m glad I kept dancing,” the audience cheered. ‘You are the best in Japan! The best in the world!” they cried.

The 83-year-old woman from Hakodate who danced with him said: “He has become thinner than before, but his hands were very soft when I shook them.”

Amagasaki also performed at Maruyama Park in Sapporo on September 16.