Okinawa

Festivals & Traditions

Aaron Sualog

Deanna Wong

• annual celebrations
• open to locals and tourists
• focus of events: traditional okinawan culture

WHY

• Orion beer festival
• Naha Tug-of-War
• Shuri Castle Festival
• Eisa Festival

promote Orion beer

new tradition built on commercial values

announcements between performances promoting Orion beer

Mayor: "Orion beer sales now constitute 0.8% of total beer sales in Japan"

campain girls in

short skirts

history

• person who likely built Shuri Castle
• responsible for uniting Hokuzan CHuzan and Nanzan, creating the First Sho Dynasty
• Moved capital from Urasoe to Shuri, where he constructed a new castle town in which Shuri Castle was built

destruction

FESTIVALS

• held in various places around Okinawa, the biggest held in Okinawa City

• Marks the end of the Obon Holidays and the conclusion of summer

o r i g i n s

• originated from group dance called "esa omoro" to which Buddhist songs and dances were later added
• originally had the religious function of putting souls to rest
• used to popularize Ryukyu music by replacing Buddhist prayers with folk songs

all-okinawan eisa festival

• participants don brightly colored costumes traditional to Okinawa
• utilize the "shimedaiko," "paaranku," and the "sanshin"
• a competition between all the local cities in Okinawa. Judged on routine and creativity, and incorporation of the past and present

• "traditional" celebrations have evolved

• remembering traditions as well as "selling" them

• traditional aspects promoted for enjoyment, remembering, tourist attraction

• annual event
• FREE
• Shinei Park (Ishigaki)
• cheap beer
• food
• entertainment

ORION BEER FESTIVAL

traditional Okinawan dance/music

solo artists

foreign/local bands

PURPOSE

CONCLUSION

Although this festival does incorporate many traditional customs of celebration (eisa dancing, traditional Okinawan music), it is actually just an extravagant way of promoting a commercial product—Orion beer.

tradition?

or

attraction?

NAHA TUG-OF-WAR

CHANGES

only important celebrations

annual event

current purpose: "to maintain peace and order in a society, to promote mutual understanding of Okinawa-citizens, to progress tourism industry, and to preserve the cultural inheritance of Okinawa"

Ufunnasununei - "Parade of Flags"

CONCLUSIONS

• Take place at reconstructed Shuri Castle
• Ryukyu Dynasty Parade

• over 1500 participants parading down International Street
• Chance to see Ryukyu King & Queen
• Experience traditional Ryukyu attire

Shuri Castle Festival

Shuri Cultural Festival

• Banquet for Traditional Performances

• Ryukyuan dance, traditional performing arts, and classical music born at Shuri Castle during time of Ryukyuan Kingdom

• New Year's Banquet

• re-enactment of ceremony to pray for prosperity for Ryukyu Kingdom
• complimentary alcohol and tea served for longevity and happiness

• Ankoku sanju kamoku kihi written 1427
• King Sho Hashi

EISA

SHURI

CASTLE

• official residence of kings and seat of gov. for more than 500 years
• monarchy began with First Sho Dynasty (1405-1469) and continued into the Second Sho Dynasty (1460-1879)

• Battle of Okinawa in 1945: Destroyed to reach Japanese Army headquarters
• Rebuilt in 1992 and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000