Every year at the end of August, two-day Basara Dancing Festival is held in Nara. This year 42 groups joined. It is not a dancing contest. The participants keep dancing, dancing, dancing and dancing. Long summer in Nara is gone with the end of the festival.
Let's BASARA! Let's pop! 踊る・なら・そらっ！
According to a calender, autumn started yesterday, September 1st. During daytime it is still hot. But at night, a hint of autumn in the air can be detected here and there - cool breezes, chirping grasshoppers or crickets under a beautiful moon.
Tense moment before a performance. They are the first performers of the festival.
Basara is not a traditional festival with a long history. It started in 1999. I look back at the 8th ‐century Nara which was the capital and the center of the country. At that time Nara was the most modern and the most colorful international city in Japan. Imagine that people from different countries were walking streets in traditional national costumes which must have looked conspicuous and exotic. The performers in the characteristic dresses makes me think how Nara looked like in the 8th century !
Prayers - They are from Sanriku, Tohoku. On March 11th last year, hideous triple disasters attacked Tohoku, earthquakes, Tsunami and leakage of radiation from nuclear power plants.
Drum beating is heart beating! When they stamp their feet, I feel tremors !
They are moving to a site for their last performance.
The burst of energy changes the ordinary to the extraordinary. It's Basara!
He is a great flagman!
Streams of colors swirl up and soar in the summer sky.
Always there is a start, there is an end.
For your reference: What is "BASARA"?
Basara has several meanings.
In the 14th century, there was special aesthetics to make themselves conspicuous by wearing glitzy dresses or doing high-profile behaviors trendsetting the hierarchy system, slighting to the authority of the ruling class. The special aesthetics were referred to as Basara.
Basara is the name of one of twelve divine guardians to protect Buddha.
Basara also means "Diamond" in Sanskrit.
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There is so much movment in your pictures ! You captured the spirit of those dancings with great art...
ReplyDeleteThe dancers have so much energy and sheer joy, and you caught them at just the right moments!
ReplyDeleteColourful, eccentric, no respect for authority ... I think I like Basara! :D
I love how you catch the energy of the dancers in your pics. I nearly hear the music. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWow Keiko! Those colours are amazing,and of course your photos are fabulous. Everyone looks so happy even when dancing in high temperatures.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though I've been there.......well almost!
Thanks for this,have a great week.
Ruby
Being fascinated by words, I was interested in the origin of the word "Basara". You wrote that it has several meanings, tho you mentioned just two, but I wanted to know what the organizers of the Basara festival took as the meaning, so I went to their website. There is no mention on the "about" page of the Sanskrit meaning (or maybe I missed it), so perhaps that additional meaning is pure coincidence.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see people celebrating the power and energy (are they the same thing?) of being out of step, individuality and standing out.
Marc,
DeleteAs for the meaning of Basara, I mostly used Wikipedia as a reference.
I have not met the organizers yet. They are using always the image of Basara who is one of the twelve guardian deities. He has a fierce looking and his hair is standing up. In a pamphlet, they explain about Basara. There were vogue or aesthetics to make themselves conspicuous by being out of tune deliberately in dancing and playing music during Kamakura Period (1183-1333). Also they say Basara is Diamond in Sanskrit. Arti, one of my friends from India says "Just like its Sanskrit meaning - Diamond". I think we will be surprised if we know how many words with the Sanskrit origin we have used. One day I want to collect these words. I wrote three meanings of Basara.
WOW! What a colorful, lively, and fascinating festival! Thanks so much for sharing this. I think that using the front yard of the Daikoku-den? as a stage is perfect! How wonderful it is that Nara, an ancient capital, has such a wonderful new festival every year!
ReplyDeletePS 前の記事、拝見しましたよ！ヒマワリちゃん、すごくきれい！ ハスも！
harumi,
DeleteNot only at Daikoku-den, but also at Yakusi-ji Temple and Todai-ji Temple. Their colorful dancing looked perfect with old palace site and temples.
What a simply wonderful, exciting and colourful festival. I'd love to go and see the people dancing in their crazy costumes. What strikes me is how cheerful and happy everyone looks. That is the best way to go into a winter time - with a cheerful happy smile and a dance.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised it was only started in 1999, to me it has the air of something which has been going for centuries. Maybe, as you say, it is the traditional costumes creating the feeling of old Japan.
It is enjoyable to imagine how Nara looked like in the 8th century. Suppose very colorful and sparkling like this festival! There are many festivals similar to Basara all over Japan, but it is only in Nara where you can see the festival in front of the structures dating back to 1300 years ago.
DeleteKeikoさん、こんばんは！
ReplyDeleteバサラ祭り、初めて知りました。
エネルギー溢れるお祭りなんですね。
素晴らしいです。
お写真からこちらもパワーを頂きました^^
Keikoさんのお写真はどれも素敵だなあと思います。
これからもちょくちょく訪問させてくださいネ♪
yuccaさん、
Delete写真からパワーが伝わって、とてもうれしいです。まだ頭の中でダンスの音楽が聞こえるようです。私も訪問させてくださいね。
It's very interesting and beautiful energy. I noticed Eisa in Okinawa. I guess that various kinds of dance gathered there.
ReplyDeleteエイサーが大好きでして。今年は、ピエロさんみたいな疫病神が３人参加していました。エイサーは沖縄の地区により、衣装、楽器、音楽、踊りかたなどにいろいろなバージョンがあるようです。沖縄へ見に行ってみたくなりました。
DeleteLove the colorful dress, smiles on the faces of the children and the happiness that seems to be generated throughout. Very nice . . .
ReplyDeleteFascinating! The energy, the joys, the colors, the vibrancy.. it is
ReplyDeleteall jumping out of your pictures, snowwhite ! Just like its Sanskrit meaning - Diamond - I can see the celebrations and fervor illuminating the faces and lives of everybody around. So beautiful!
Thank you very much for bringing a magical part of your world for us to see, they are such a wondrous pleasure! Wish you happy and peaceful days
ahead!
I think, in Japan there are many words used which originated in Sanskrit, but scarcely we notice it. Once I want to examine and trace the origin. It will be fun.
DeleteI know I always say this, Keiko, but your posts are always so interesting and you capture not only the events but the spirit of the events in your photos. Love it, thanks.
ReplyDelete「今年は是非行ってみよう！」と思っていたのですが、やはり暑さと人混みを考えると意気込みがそがれてしまっていました。「もうこれはSnowwhiteさんのポストを待とう！」と。
ReplyDelete期待通り、すばらしい躍動感ですね。ほとばしるエネルギーが感じられます。見ているだけで、参加している気分になれます。
バサラを見に行くのは３回目です。お気に入りのグループもでき、今年は追いかけながら写真をとりました。暑さふっとびましたよ。
DeleteThere's a lot of energy in those eople. Must be exhausted after 1 day. I've seen something similar once in Tokyo, almost 10 years ago. That was very interesting. I really regret I couldn't see this basara.
ReplyDelete素晴らしい躍動感、あふれる情熱、もうこれは暑い暑いなんて言ってられない気にさせてくれました。写真のみならず語りも素晴らしく、シンプルな文章だけに気持ちが伝わってきます。河瀬直美監督の沙羅双樹にもバサラ祭りが描かれていますね。Ｋｅｉｋｏさんの暑い、熱い夏も終わりました？
ReplyDeleteバサラを見ると力が湧いてくるようです。今年は好きなグループのおっかけをして楽しみました。河瀬直美監督の沙羅双樹、是非見てみたいですね。
Delete舞踏は酒とともに神にささげられる代表的なもので、それは今も昔もかわることがないようです。snowwhiteさんのポストからは伝統行事ではないものの、むしろ原始的と言っていいエネルギーを感じました。
ReplyDelete素晴らしい写真の数々、堪能できます。
言われてみると本当に原始的なエネルギーですね。それと面白いのがお化粧です。バリ島のダンスは神様に捧げるもです。その時に白塗りのお化粧をして、まったく違うものになり、神聖なダンスをおどるのだそうです。バサラの化粧を見てそれを思い出しました。男性の参加者に聞くと、化粧をすると、人格が変わるというか？おもいっきりダンスができる、というお返事でした。
DeleteIt must be wonderful to be midst the sounds, colours, and enthusiasm of this festival!
ReplyDeleteWhat excitement! The energy of the dance is nicely captured by you in the pictures. We too have dance festivals in autumn called Garba.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love the energy and joy of these photos, of this festival! So uplifting and colourful.
ReplyDeleteThe energy of the dancers in their bright costumes has leapt off the screen into my world. I, too, can almost hear the beat of the music through your photographs. An unstoppable force can be seen in the facial expressions and enthusiastic dance movements. Basara must mean that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things when they put their minds and feet to the task!
ReplyDeleteOne of my friends said this energy is very primitive. That's why I got a lot of energy from them and was recharged.
DeleteI can see the high energy in the dancers through your photos. I can understand why you feel tremors when they stamp their feet and beat their drums. What excitement. I know it is also the end of summer here and our days and nights feel much like yours. It is a beautiful but bittersweet time.
ReplyDeleteThose costumes are just amazing and your photos are full of action and excitement.
ReplyDeleteSimply wonderful post!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
ReplyDeleteこんばんは。 古くて新しい、これが古都の魅力ですね。Yosakoiそーらん祭りを思い出します。
ReplyDelete数年前偶然、山形の花笠祭りを見ましたが、和装のチームは半分以下でした。 夏の暑さも琴と木ばかりは忘れ去りますんね。
よさこいソーランはスゴイらしいですね。一緒にバサラ見ていたおじいちゃんたちが話していました。花笠祭り！よさこいソーラン！どちらもみてみたいです！！
DeleteBeautiful post, gorgeous costumes and great captures.
ReplyDeleteCalling by from Our World Tuesday, what a stunning series of photos from your part of the world.
ReplyDeleteamazing photos! you captured motion fabulously! love the colorful costumes and the energy. great post!
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing this part of the world and learning the history of this festival. The photos are amazing. I can almost hear those drums. There is such joy in the faces of the participants (and spectators). The children are adorable and you are right they will always have these lovely memories of their sweet home town.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how you captured the people's movement. Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos, it's like I'm in Japan already :) one of my dream destination.
ReplyDeleteバサラダンスすごそうですね。個々のエネルギーが合体して暑さもふっとびますね。実は、暑いので、バサラをさけて、夕方大極殿の燈花会いったのですが、着いたと同時にバサラが終わってダンサー達が歩いて来ました。衣装も凝ってましたね。来年はぜひ見たいです。
ReplyDelete昨年は大極殿の燈花会、パレードへもいったのですが、今年はバサラだけでそのエネルギーにあてられ、そのままズルズルって帰ってしまいました。私には、今年で３回目のバサラです。向こうは知らなくとも、なんとなく顔を覚えているダンサーの方も多くなってきました。
DeleteBeautiful photos from the festival. Great with all the colours.
ReplyDeleteFrom Hilda
彡♡` Olá, amiga!
ReplyDeletePreciosos festivais pela beleza dos trajes, das danças e das músicas.
Lindo dia!
Bom fim de semana!
Beijinhos.
Brasil ♡彡.
¸.•°`♥✿⊱╮
Hello, snowwhite.
ReplyDeleteYour heartwarming works fascinates my heart.
Thank you for your kindness and support.
And i pray for you and yours peace.
Have a good week-end. ruma❃
Piękne i malownicze święto. Szczególnie mi się podobają te dwie olbrzymie biało- czarne flagi.
ReplyDeletePozdrawiam.
Great to see all these wonderful photographs of the Basara dancing festival. As you already know I was able to collect similar impressions on the Harajuku Dance Festival in Tokyo two weeks ago! When I finished reworking some of my photos I will post them on my blog (hopefully) soon.
ReplyDeleteHave a pleasurable late summer with more enjoyable temperatures!
Uwe.
What a colourful and lively event.. your photos are just wonderful. Thanks for sharing Basara!
ReplyDeleteKeikoさん こんにちは。 9月にはいった今日も、入道雲の青空です。
ReplyDelete青い夏空と美しい建物を背景に、全身で自分の気持ちを表現できる喜びに満ちた若者の表情は素晴らしと思います。お祭りの日が嬉しくてしかたがない様子の小さな子供の笑顔は希望です。keiko さんは人間が好きなのですね。真正面から彼らを共感の目を持って撮れる事が羨ましいです。実は、私は人間の後ろ姿なら安心して撮れるのでした。
Anzuさん、
Delete若いころから、気持ちの良い喫茶店でコーヒーを飲みながら外を行く人をなんとなく眺めるのが好きでしたよ。
思う存分、人々の写真を撮れるこんな機会は私にとっては本当に天国です。カメラをとおして私もバッチリ参加しています。
バサラの最初のダンスの前、とっても緊張してる十代前半の子達とかエイサー隊が移動していく後ろ姿好きです。でも、後ろ姿は無防備で、本音が表れているようなところがありますね。
大学の汚れた白衣に無精髭のかた、撮れたらいいですね。
I would love to travel to your part of our world. Thank you for sharing
ReplyDeleteI like how you captured the faces of joy dancing. A very colorful.
ReplyDeleteMany greetings
Keikoさん 恐縮ですが、この場をお借りしてお力を貸して頂ければ幸いです。実は、好奇心の強さが災いした為か、ﾌﾞﾛｶﾞｰのﾍｯﾀﾞｰ左上にある G +機能に手を出したところ、私の設定ミスなのか？ 私のﾌﾞﾛｸﾞの読者になって頂いている方のﾌﾞﾛｸﾞﾘｽﾄに私の最新のﾌﾞﾛｸﾞのお知らせが更新されない状況が2週間程続いています。恐れ入りますが、もし私のﾌﾞﾛｸﾞの読者でいらしたら、Keikoさんの ﾀﾞｯｼｭﾎﾞﾎﾞｰﾄﾞ に私の最新ブログの更新内容が掲載されているかどうかだけ、教えて頂ければ助かります。このままどこにも新しい投稿が紹介がされず、ひとり裏街道を歩いて行くのは あまりにも寂しいので、懸命に解決方法を探している最中です。もし、ﾀﾞｯｼｭﾎﾞｰﾄﾞにすら紹介されていなければ一体どうしたらいいかのでしょう・・・ Google Helpもあまり役に立たない状況です。お願い致します。
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAnzuさんのブログにコメントとして入れました。ほんとうに胸が痛みます。
ReplyDeleteAnzuさんは、写真の無いアイコンを除くと、１１番目にフォロワーになって下さった方です。私ももちろんずっとフォロワーですよ。
私もbloggerの不具合には泣かされている一人です。
いろいろと手をさしのべて頂き 大変嬉しく思っています。
Delete考えられるのは blogger の新しい投稿の設定内「検索設定」が間違っている可能性があるかもしてません。現在 私の「検索設定」は下記の通りです。keiko さんと違う場合は教えて頂けますか？ 度々すみません。(｡-人-｡)これで駄目なら しばし放置してみます。宜しくお願い致します。
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fantastic pictures! im amazed! i love japan (this is why i picked the word kokorote for my blog!!) and i love the way u present it! so alive and beautiful! thanx for sharing them°a new follower of urs,anastasia
ReplyDelete