For more than 700 years, the residents of Nishimonai in Akita Prefecture have welcomed their ancestral spirits home for the annual Obon festival through a Bon Odori. These dances are held across ...

That night inspired Yanagita to become a professional Bon odori researcher. Clad in the de rigueur summer festival attire of "yukata" cotton summer kimono with a "tenugui" hand towel to wipe the ...