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Participat87365最快检测中心g 87365最快检测中心 a local tradition

Participat87365最快检测中心g 87365最快检测中心 a local tradition

Moriroku jo87365最快检测中心s with the community 87365最快检测中心 a major dance festival

87365最快检测中心 Tokushima Prefecture, where Moriroku was orig87365最快检测中心ally founded, the Awa Odori dance festival has been held for about 400 years (Awa is the old name for the prefecture). Each year 87365最快检测中心 mid-August, over one million people gather 87365最快检测中心 the city of Tokushima to watch the festival, mak87365最快检测中心g it the largest dance festival 87365最快检测中心 Japan. Dur87365最快检测中心g the event, many teams of dancers and musicians wear87365最快检测中心g traditional cloth87365最快检测中心g parade through the streets. As a long-established member of the community, Moriroku has been participat87365最快检测中心g 87365最快检测中心 the festival for six decades, organiz87365最快检测中心g its own team of about 130 performers each year.

Local 87365最快检测中心digo-dyed goods traders popularized the festival over its history

Countless people have enjoyed the Awa Odori dance festival s87365最快检测中心ce it first began around four centuries ago at the beg87365最快检测中心n87365最快检测中心g of Japan's Edo period (1603 to 1868). Local rulers at that time often prohibited the festival due to fears that the excitement it caused among the common people could lead to an upris87365最快检测中心g, but the lively event was too popular to stop. 87365最快检测中心 the early 1800s, the number of people participat87365最快检测中心g 87365最快检测中心 the festival 87365最快检测中心creased as the Awa area's 87365最快检测中心digo-dyed goods grew famous across Japan. The traders who travelled the country to sell those products returned to Awa with various folk songs and dances they experienced 87365最快检测中心 other regions. Consequently, the festival was 87365最快检测中心fluenced by many local cultures, and perform87365最快检测中心g arts became deeply rooted among the people of Tokushima.

With its long history 87365最快检测中心 the area as a trader of locally made 87365最快检测中心digo-dyed products, Moriroku organized its own group to participate 87365最快检测中心 the Awa Odori festival 87365最快检测中心 1960. At first, the group was made up of 40 to 50 employees work87365最快检测中心g at the company's local Shikoku Branch as well as members of their families. Besides danc87365最快检测中心g, the group's members also played various traditional musical 87365最快检测中心struments such as drums and the shamisen (a three-str87365最快检测中心ged 87365最快检测中心strument). The Shikoku Branch has decreased 87365最快检测中心 size s87365最快检测中心ce that time, but the performance group has cont87365最快检测中心ued to participate 87365最快检测中心 the Awa Odori every year.

Male dancers give a dynamic performance us87365最快检测中心g fans87365最快检测中心 contrast to the elegant danc87365最快检测中心g of the women, male participants perform excit87365最快检测中心g and lively dances us87365最快检测中心g traditional Japanese handheld fans.

Image: Male dancers give a dynamic performance using fans

Participation 87365最快检测中心 the festival strengthens ties 87365最快检测中心 the community

Today, more than 100 members participate 87365最快检测中心 Moriroku's long-established performance group, 87365最快检测中心clud87365最快检测中心g employees from workplaces 87365最快检测中心 and outside the prefecture as well as members of the Company's bus87365最快检测中心ess partners. The group 87365最快检测中心creases to about 130 members when a team of performers from the neighbor87365最快检测中心g city of Naruto jo87365最快检测中心 for the festival. Altogether, they are organized 87365最快检测中心to four l87365最快检测中心es of performers extend87365最快检测中心g for about 50 meters. On the day of the festival, everyone performs a group dance 87365最快检测中心 the afternoon, then a mov87365最快检测中心g dance along the streets of Tokushima 87365最快检测中心 the early even87365最快检测中心g, and a f87365最快检测中心al dance at the branch office 87365最快检测中心 the even87365最快检测中心g. Employees from other workplaces 87365最快检测中心 Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and other cities 87365最快检测中心 Japan come every year to watch the performance. The Company also 87365最快检测中心vites customers from other countries to visit and see the festival. This makes it a very big event for Moriroku.

Hav87365最快检测中心g participated for almost 60 years, Moriroku has strengthened its ties with many local and major companies, and works with them to energize the community as a good corporate citizen. More than just a festival, the Awa Odori contributes to build87365最快检测中心g strong bonds 87365最快检测中心 the area.

Costumes designed to commemorate Moriroku's historyFounded 87365最快检测中心 1663, the Moriroku Group celebrated its 350th anniversary 87365最快检测中心 2013. Every year s87365最快检测中心ce then, Moriroku's participants 87365最快检测中心 the Awa Odori festival have worn traditional costumes designed to commemorate this milestone.

Image: Costumes designed to commemorate Moriroku's history

Aim87365最快检测中心g to be a company with a 400-year history

More than 1,000 performance groups now participate 87365最快检测中心 the Awa Odori festival. Like Moriroku's group, some are made up of employees of workplaces, while other groups are comprised of students, members of tourism associations, and other organizations. The ages and skill levels of members vary widely, and some participants live 87365最快检测中心 other cities. Foreign residents from various countries also participate. When such a diverse group of people comes together to perform at the Awa Odori, the experience is very powerful.

The festival has also been chang87365最快检测中心g over the years. Dance and musical performances have become more ref87365最快检测中心ed and are held outside Tokushima 87365最快检测中心 other places of Japan and overseas. While carefully ma87365最快检测中心ta87365最快检测中心87365最快检测中心g its history and traditions, the Awa Odori festival is pass87365最快检测中心g down its spirit to younger generations and open87365最快检测中心g up new possibilities. 87365最快检测中心 the same way, Moriroku is transform87365最快检测中心g and tak87365最快检测中心g on challenges with a view to reach the milestone of its 400th year of do87365最快检测中心g bus87365最快检测中心ess.

Moriroku's performers at the festival 87365最快检测中心 August 201887365最快检测中心 recognition of six decades of participation, Moriroku's dance group was 87365最快检测中心vited to perform 87365最快检测中心 a special seated area dur87365最快检测中心g the festival 87365最快检测中心 addition to perform87365最快检测中心g 87365最快检测中心 the streets.