A Legacy of Classical Japanese Dance from Nisei Week Choreographers

By TOMOKO NAGAI
RAFU STAFF REPORTER

Among the many participants in the Nisei Week Grand Parade, the Japanese classical dance groups stand out as one of its most colorful attractions, marching and dancing in formation. This year’s official choreographer is Bando Hidesomi, one of the leading instructors of the Bando School in Los Angeles. She is handling the choreography for the second consecutive year.

Fans and Naruko Bring This Year’s Two Dances to Life

For the 84th Nisei Week Grand Parade, choreographer Hidesomi has once again completed two new dances. This year’s selections are SixTONES’ “Ichibyo” (“One Second”) and Shimazu Aya’s “Yosakoi Matsuri Uta.” Folding fans flow gracefully through the air in “Ichibyo,” while “Yosakoi Matsuri Uta” is enlivened by the crisp clacking of naruko (wooden clappers) as the dancers move.

“‘Yosakoi Matsuri Uta’ can also be performed as an otoko-odori, or masculine-style dance, with the knees split,” Hidesomi said with a laugh. “The general participants can dance it dynamically and really cut loose.”

Hidesomi first took part in the official choreography as a part of Los Angeles Bando Ryu in 2011. One of that year’s selections was “Ai wa Katsu,” performed by KAN. The Great East Japan Earthquake had struck that year, and the song conveyed the Japanese American community’s hopes for recovery from the unprecedented disaster. Nisei Week also organized a live broadcast to Fukushima.

Last year’s selections were “Kawasaki Odori,” performed by Miyako Harumi, and “Sore ga Daiji,” by DaijiMAN Brothers Band. Hidesomi later realized that she had also selected “Sore ga Daiji” in 2015.

“Even I was surprised. I suppose it was a song that had stayed with me,” she said. She also served as the official choreographer in 2017.

Among the most veteran choreographers in Nisei Week history was Madame Fujima Kansuma, who was born in 1918 and passed in 2023 at the age of 104. She participated in the inaugural Nisei Week in 1934 and, in 2018, served as the festival’s official choreographer at age 100.

When Kansuma first introduced a song from one of Johnny & Associates’ J-pop boy bands, those involved were reportedly astonished. The selection proved popular, however, and helped attract younger generations. It subsequently became one of the approaches followed in choosing music for the parade.

This year again Hidesomi selected one ondo-style song performed by an enka singer and one pop song. Because the meaning conveyed through the Japanese lyrics is important, she has them translated into English and shares the translations with organizers and dancers attending the practice sessions.

Making the Dances Accessible to Everyone

The choreographer of the Nisei Week Grand Parade ondo demonstrates the choreography to the other dance schools and teaches at approximately six advance practice sessions open to the public. During the parade, the choreographer takes the lead, guiding a procession that includes students from her own school as well as members of the general public.

Throughout Nisei Week’s long history, local Japanese classical dance organizations have tradition-ally taken turns serving as official choreographer.

“I personally enjoy teaching the general participants and seeing the Nisei Week volunteers again. I gladly accepted the role as a way of giving back to the Japanese American community, which supported our dance recital at the beginning of this year.” Hidesomi said.

What Hidesomi values most when choreographing for the parade is ensuring that everyone can dance. Nisei Week is not a stage performance but a festival in which members of the public dance together. She constantly strives to achieve a balance: the choreography should not be too difficult, should be easy to learn and should still preserve movements characteristic of Japanese classical dance.

At the same time, each participating dance school other than the choreographer’s group traditionally brings its own staging and formations to the parade. By adding variations to the official choreography, the schools express their individual character even while dancing to the same music. The parade thus becomes a showcase for the diverse appeal of Japanese classical dance — a style that has been passed down as a hallmark of the event.

Tracing the History of the Parade

Dance has been at the heart of Nisei Week since the festival began in 1934. Old photographs, however, show large crowds dancing together at night beneath lanterns. Unlike today’s daytime parade, the dancers do not appear to have been organized distinctly by school.

“In the early years, perhaps the ondo and the parade were more closely integrated,” Hidesomi said.

A review of the historical record reveals that the English section of The Rafu Shimpo reported on July 31, 1934, that 250 people had attended a practice session for Nisei Week’s “Ondo Night.” The listed songs appear to include “Tokyo Jingu” (or “Tokyo Jinku”, the 1934 hit song in Japan) as well as titles that can be read as “Ohaara” and “Kyo Ondo.”

An article the following year on Aug. 19, 1935, described the finale of the second Nisei Week: “The procession was followed by a long double line of girls and men attired in picturesque kimono dancing to the new Rafu Ondo.”

That year, the festival’s final two days were held at night.

An article dated July 10, 1940 in Japanese section reported that “Shukusho Ondo,” choreographed by Bando Miharu, had been particularly well received.

By the postwar 1960s, the parade appears to have developed into a form closer to what is seen today. The Rafu Shimpo Japanese section reported that 30,000 people gathered in Little Tokyo for an ondo parade that continued for two hours. Dance instructors and their students, dressed in kimono, danced through the streets, filling Little Tokyo with a festive atmosphere. The English section reported that dancers from Bando Mitsusa’s school, dressed in reddish-purple and white, led an estimated 300 ondo participants.

In 1971, Fujima Kansuma choreographed “America Ondo,” with lyrics written by Japanese American poet Takayanagi Shasui and music composed by Koga Masao.

Reporting on the 1977 dances, The Rafu Shimpo stated that there were three official ondo numbers. Each school was permitted to create its own choreography, but props were limited to kachikachi (clappers) and folding fans. Fujima Chiseye served as choreographer that year. The ondo was held on Saturday, Aug. 27, followed by the parade on Sunday, Aug. 28.

Pioneers Who Sustained Japanese Classical Dance After the War

A commemorative publication issued for Nisei Week’s 50th anniversary in 1990 honored the Japanese classical dance instructors who had contributed to the festival over the years.

Cultural awards were presented to Fujima Kansuma, who had participated in the Nisei Week parade and ondo since 1934; Sanjo Kanya V, whose starting year was not listed; Hanayagi Tokuyaye, who began participating in 1934; and Bando Mitsusa, who began in 1935.

The publication also recognized Sanjo Kangiku, who began participating in 1949; Hanayagi Rokumie in 1950; Fujima Chisei in 1965; Bando Mitsuhiro and Azuma Sumako in 1969; Hanayagi Rokumine in 1972; Kikuta Kyoko in 1973; Hanayagi Suzuyukino in 1982; and Kawamura Hoenshun in 1983, among others. Instructors leading Ryukyuan dance and folk-dance groups were also featured.

Many of the pioneers who sustained Japanese classical dance in postwar Los Angeles had experienced wartime incarceration. According to Hidesomi, Bando Mitsusa, who helped establish the early Bando School in the area, was among them. Like Fujima Kansuma and many others, she was an accomplished dancer with a background in prewar girls’ kabuki troupes, theatrical companies made up of young female performers.

“My impression is that the teachers of that era took tremendous pride in their technique and had a powerful sense of responsibility to preserve Japanese culture, as well as a strong spirit of competition among the different schools,” Hidesomi said.

The generation that continued to preserve Japanese classical dance and music even inside the incarceration camps went on to rebuild Japanese culture in postwar Los Angeles.

Over the festival’s long history, participation by individual schools and the rotating system for assigning the official choreographer became established, eventually developing into the format seen today.

Hideo Kikuchi, “Mr. Ondo”

For decades, the person who supported this showcase of competing dance schools was Hideo Kikuchi, who served as ondo chairman for more than 40 years.

In 1967 officers of the Little Tokyo Business Association proposed that he take over as ondo chairman, knowing how difficult it would be to coordinate the instructors representing various schools of Japanese classical dance and produce ondo for the Nisei Week Parade. Although he initially expected to serve for only one year, his ability to coordinate the various dance instructors was highly regarded, and he remained in the position.

Kikuchi devoted much time and energy in making ondo a successful part of the parade. Through repeated discussions with the instructors about song selection, choreography and the organization of the parade, he helped solidify the framework of the event.

Known as “Mr. Ondo of Nisei Week,” Kikuchi was a central figure in establishing the parade ondo as an annual festival tradition. He was also deeply involved in the U.S. Karaoke Kohaku Song Festival, which began in 1987 and provided financial support for Nisei Week.

In recognition of his contributions, Kikuchi received the Nisei Week Pioneer Award in 2000 and was selected as grand marshal in 2010.

“Mr. Kikuchi carefully organized his records and could immediately answer any question we asked,” recalled one person who knew him.

The records he accumulated over many years were reportedly written in Japanese, but their current where-abouts have not been confirmed. It is regrettable that valuable materials documenting the history of Nisei Week’s ondo may have been lost.

A Rare Showcase for Japanese Classical Dance

New choreography is created for the parade each year. Underlying every new dance is a succession of traditions: the dance culture carried forward from the prewar and post-war eras; the determination of the wartime-incarceration generation to preserve its culture; the artistry refined by the individual schools; and efforts to make the festival enjoyable for members of the public who join the dancing.

For Nisei Week’s 50th anniversary in 1990, kabuki actor Bando Mitsugoro IX, the head of the Bando School, served as parade marshal and appeared in a dance recital at the Japan America Theatre, now the Aratani Theatre. At the time, a Japanese classical dance recital was held on the eve of the festival, and the various schools presented additional performances during Nisei Week. It could be considered one of the most vibrant periods for Japanese classical dance in the festival’s history.

One of this year’s Ondo Committee co-chairs, Wesley Nishinaka, reflected on his experiences with Kikuchi: “Mr. Kikuchi was a true advocate for all the dance groups that participated in Nisei Week. He had the respect of every group — Nihon buyo, minyo, Awa Odori, Okinawan dance, and many others. He firmly believed that the dancing in the parade was the parade; it is what makes the Nisei Week Parade unlike any other. I couldn’t agree more. Whenever there was a proposal to change, lessen, or remove the role of dance in the festival, he was always the first to stand up and fight to protect that tradition.”

Kikuchi passed in 2020. Nevertheless, the tradition he helped establish — the Japanese classical dance parade — remains firmly rooted today. At the same time, opportunities for Japanese classical dance organizations to perform before the general public have steadily diminished. The Grand Parade is now virtually the only major venue where they can showcase their art.

“Ondo”: A Word with a Distinct Meaning in America

After Kikuchi’s death, the role of ondo chairman was inherited by Miles Hamada, who had worked with Kikuchi for many years, and Nishinaka, among others. Hamada, Nishinaka and James Okazaki are serving as co-chairs this year.

Nishinaka explained why the dances at Nisei Week are called “ondo.” In the U.S., the term is also used for dances performed at summer festivals and Buddhist temple Obon festivals, including what is generally called “Bon odori” in Japan.

In Japan, ondo originally refers to a genre of music. In the U.S., however, it has taken on a distinct meaning: dances performed at festivals.

Nisei Week offers two settings for dancing: the “parade ondo” presented during the Grand Parade and the “street ondo” held during the Closing Ceremony. Many people in the Japanese American community regard the street ondo as similar to the dancing at a Buddhist temple’s Obon festival.

Nishinaka, however, explained that temple Bon odori and Nisei Week’s Street Ondo are not the same. Although many of the songs and dances overlap, he pointed to an important distinction: Bon odori is rooted in religious faith, while ondo is rooted in Japanese American culture. Nisei Week’s “ondo” has been passed down as one of the cultural traditions developed by the Japanese American community.

Hidesomi views the Street Ondo as an occasion when anyone can join the circle and dance together, while the parade is a stage for displaying the technique and individuality of Japanese classical dance. She therefore strives to preserve movements characteristic of Japanese classical dance while also expressing the distinctive qualities of her own school in the choreography.

The official dances are created with the participation of the general public in mind. Although generations of dancers have changed, longtime community groups continue to take part. They include the folk-dance group Kotobuki no Kai and the Meiji Dance Club of the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center, as well as the Little Tokyo Dance Club, Long Beach Ondo, Team Kawachi Ondo dancers, and residents of Little Tokyo area.

One significant change in recent years has been the growing number of participants who are not of Japanese descent. Hidesomi welcomes the increasing participation of people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

What Official Choreographers Pass On to the Next Generation

According to Nishinaka, the rotation among the six Japanese classical dance organizations and instructors responsible for the official choreography has been planned well into the future, with the tradition expected to continue through at least 2050.

The rotation includes Los Angeles Bando Ryu, Fujima Kansuma Kai, Sanjo School of Kabuki Dance, Azuma Kotobuki Kai, Bando Ryu Kyo no Kai and Hanayagi Rokufukumi take turns serving as official choreographer. Hidesomi’s Los Angeles Bando Ryu is expected to return around 2032.

Today, the Grand Parade is virtually the only opportunity during Nisei Week for Japanese classical dance to be presented widely to the public. Hidesomi hopes that Japanese classical dance and traditional music performances will one day return to the festival’s theaters, providing opportunities to introduce these performing arts to an even broader audience.

The Nisei Week Parade began during the festival’s earliest years. While carrying forward the traditions of Japanese classical dance, it continues to produce new choreography and bring people of diverse backgrounds together in dance. Connecting that culture to the future is the role that generations of official choreographers have inherited and passed on.