2020 Japanese program "Shinenkai" is on Friday, Jan 24th!

1st grader in Japanese program will perform "Soran Bushi" and they will be wearing Mcdonald original blue Japanese Happi jackets!

Please practice the dance at home by using the video that Izumi sensei recorded for our classes below!

[What is Sōran Bushi (ソーラン節)?]

It is one of the most famous traditional songs and dance (min'yō) in Japan. It is a Japanese sea shanty that is said to have been first sung by the fishermen of Hokkaidō, northern Japan. Herring fishing brought thousands of migrant workers to Hokkaido, Japan's northern island, each spring until early this century. Songs accompanied each stage of fishing, such as rowing and net-hauling. "Soran Bushi" was sung while transferring the herring from large drift-nets into small taxi-boats with giant hand-nets.

Sōran Bushi accompanies the bon dance in many parts of Japan, and it has its own dancing styles that date back generations. The dance acts by acting ocean waves, fishermen dragging nets, pulling ropes and lifting luggage over their shoulders. This dance is taught in many schools across Japan as part of the curriculum.

During regular intervals of the dance, the words "DOKKOISHO! DOKKOISHO!" and "SORAN! SORAN!" are called. Those words were used in the past to encourage the fisherman during their work.

かし （Lyrics)