Traditional Owara Kaze no Bon festival kicks off in Toyama; elegant dance draws crowds

TOYAMA – Owara Kaze no Bon, a traditional festival held to pray for a good harvest, began Sunday in Yatsuo district of Toyama city, Toyama prefecture. About 200,000 visitors are expected over three days.

Despite concerns over Typhoon Shanshan, also known as Typhoon No. 10, the first day of the festival, which has been in existence since the Edo period (1603-1867), was held as usual under overcast skies.

Visitors were attracted by dancers who gracefully paraded to the melancholic sounds of the traditional Japanese string instruments kokyu and shamisen.

The festival is known for three consecutive nights of dancers parading to the sounds of shamisen and kokyu, as well as the Japanese folk ballad “Etchu Owara bushi.”