This group is about to start their routine – a chance to capture costume design before the frenzy of the dance steps.
Kochi Yosakoi Naruko Odorikotai. Origin: Kochi City, Shikoku Island (south).
Dances/costumes: This Group has always participated at the birthplace of the Yosakoi Festival in Kochi. A dance of many dozens of performers, male and female, performed both in a fixed space and walking on parade. Note the vests with braided ties over long-sleeve tops with kimono-type necklines; note the coloured chirimen-silk flounces below the vest. Note that some carry the noisy clackers typical of folk dancing while others carry very modern-looking paper lanterns – here translated into the modern medium of black-and-white plastic with battery-powered lighting. The caps are quite unusual-looking for Japanese costume; I don’t know of any precedents. I wonder if this costume (among others