Festival Report: Tanedori Sai, Taketomi

Daniel King

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Taketomi Island is small, and famed for its peaceful quietness. On the seventh and eighth of November, peaceful quietness gave way to a very large, and very festive crowd. For 10 days, corresponding to the days of harvest on the lunar calendar, and culminating on the 7th and 8th day (Nov. 7th, 8th, 2004), Taketomi is the setting for the Tanedori Sai, a Japanese National Cultural Treasure.

The Tanedori Sai is officially a harvest festival, and in years past festivals similar to Taketomi's Tanedori Sai took place all over Okinawa. These days, though ruminants of other festivals exists, Taketomi's is considered the most authentic. Auspiciously there are two different villages in Taketomi, Hazama and Nakasuji. The seventh and eighth days are a contest of dance, song, and drama between these two villages. The seventh day is devoted to Hazama village, and the eighth day is to Nakasuji village.

I was able to attend the Tanedori Sai on the seventh day. I was amazed at the number of people, and even though it was still quite early in the morning (9:00 am) people were happily partaking in the Awamori. The crowd was such that it was hard to see much of what was going on. Eventually I was able to fight towards the front. Dances and songs were interspersed between dramas. The sanshin playing was also excellent, some of the best and most varied playing that I have heard since arriving in Yaeyama.