Research Of Awa Odori In Tokushima

As a kind of ancestor-worshipping celebrations,Bon Dance has experienced a unique development all over Japan when the culture focuses on the relationship between individuals and the society,especially the generation principle of communityism.Awa Odori,as one of the three most famous Bon dance styles,is widely known by the whole Japanese nation among the substantial Japanese folk dance styles.In this thesis,it explores the cultural characteristic and connotation of Awa Odori from the perspective of community transition.Originally invented in Tokushima,Awa Odori owns a history of four hundred years and has changed substantially in pace with the development of the society.It has become the largest-scale Bon dance style in Japan.The most imperative characteristic of Awa Odori is.the grand occasion of free dancing provided by distinctive "Rens"(dance groups)everywhere in the city during the annual Awa Odori Ceremony held in Tokushima.The dance groups,which are based on the term of Ren,share a commonality with the concept of community in Sociology.Therefore,in this thesis,the sociological concept of community will be applied to research the folk cultural concept of Awa Odori.This thesis is aimed to explore the deeper meaning of Awa Odori as the combination of traditional and modern culture through the investigation of Awa Odori community and its historical transition.The following are the detailed contents:The first chapter firstly generalizes the origin of Awa Odori and the form of its folk entertainment,researches three origin theories of it to make sure of its prototype.On the basis of this and related historical literature materials,this thesis analyzes the transition of the form of its folk entertainment.Then the first chapter seeks for the special characteristic of Awa Odori itself by comparing Nishimonai Bon Odori and Gujo Odori,two of the three most famous Bon dance styles.Finally,it discusses the relevance of Awa Odori to the sociological conception "community".The second chapter researches Awa Odori from the angle of community transition,especially from the concept of community,which means community itself,the main body of community,common identity of the main body of community.Additionally,according to the related historical research,this thesis divides the historical development of Awa Odori into three stages,the original development stage of Edo Period,the transitory stage from Meiji Period to the end of the Second World War,and the new development stage since then.This thesis discusses the form of Awa Odori community based on those three historical stages,as to inspect the historical transition of Awa Odori community.The third chapter is the field investigation.Firstly,it discusses the variety of Awa Odori through studying different cases of local Tokushima Awa Odori community.Secondly,it explores the openness from the vertical(time)and horizontal(space)angles,in other words,the historical transition of Awa Odori Community,and its current situation.Finally,it continues to talk about the multiplicity of Awa Odori,which represents Japanese folk culture,from the aspect of dualism of internal relationship and external relationship of community,following the Japanese folk cultural statement by Japanese folklorist Kunio Yanagita.In conclusion,through the discussion of the historical transition of the community of Awa Odori,it can be discovered that Awa Odori has been changing with the times.To this extent,Awa Odori is not unchangeable,it has always been added new elements in company with the changes of times and environment.It would be better to call Awa Odori the representative Japanese culture which evolves with the time synchronously,instead of considering it as a traditional style of dance.The variety,openness and multiplicity represented by Awa Odori further verify that,as a folk cultural culture,Awa Odori is not only limited by the times but it also reflects the times in reverse.The cultural characteristics embodied by the community,to some extent,not only symbolize the Japanese vernacular culture,but also provide a sample for reference in terms of handling multiple social relationships in the modern society.