 Dojo Sukui
(Loach Catching Dance)
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In the Yasugi Area, there is a great amount of humor to be found daily
life and an example of this is the "Dojo Sukui Dance".
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In the dance, a simple minded farmer goes to a flooded rice fields to
catch loach (dojo). He uses a special basket to catch them in and is successful.
He meets many distractions however, such as a leech which fastens onto
his leg, a lost loach which slip back into the water and is recaptured,
splushing mud onto his face from the baskets he is using to catch them
and many other antics that amuse the watchers.
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He is dressed as a farmer and has a five-yen coin tied to his nose,
which contributes to his humorous appearance. This charming dance is performed
to the music of the ”Yasugi Bushi”(Song of Yasugi). People say this dance
was from real life and I can easily imagine such a thing. One of my good
friends, Mr. Araki, is a teacher and dancer of the humorous Dojo Sukui.
I am always amused by his lively performance. All of foreign guests should
see this dance, since it has deep roots in the life of Japan.
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Another art that takes place to the tune of Yasugi Bushi is the ”Zeni
Daiko” performance. The Zeni Daiko is a drumlike instrument made of a
bamboo or plastic pipe about 2 inches in diameter and over a foot long.
It is decorated with tassels and is very colorful. Two of these instruments
are used at the same time by the performer and there are often two or
more of these clever people performing together. It takes a lot of skill
to use these drums and I have thrown them all over the room, while trying
to follow the rythm of the music and the intricate maneuvers required
of the performer. If you have the chance to do so, please try it. It's
a lot of fun and very cheerful time can be spent with other people, who
are as clumsy as we are, when we try it for the first time.
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