We first enjoyed
a vivacious performance from a professional band Kaminari —‹; composed
of various interments: drums (Taiko ‘¾ŒÛ, the big drum, was claimed to
be made from a 300 years old tree called Sakegi, percussion (looks like
any metallic plates found in our communal kitchen in the dormitory), and
flute (thin one called Shibue Žq“J, bigger one as shown is called Shaku
Hachi; ŽÚ”ª).
....
So far everyone was well behaved.
Then came the
"un-professional" band, in solo or group...
Next thing
we realized the band started to be rowdy and began to dance.... dancing
and beating the drum at the same time.
Needless
to say the spectators considered the volunteer band hilarious, so all decided
to join in for the Bon Odori, which is meant to be a dance of celebration
after sending off the ancestors.
I can safely
report that we all had fun, except, for some reasons, we experienced heavy
rain that night. I suspected our drumming and dancing might have
something to do with it....
