TOMODACHI Alumni Regional Framework: TOMODACHI Alumni Attend 2019 Iwate・Morioka Sansa Odori Festival Parade

On August 3, 2019, as a sub-event of their Theme Event, five TOMODACHI Alumni from Tohoku-Hokkaido Region, Team A attended the 2019 Iwate・Morioka Sansa Odori Festival Parade. The opportunity to attend the parade and practice the sansa odori was made possible with generous cooperation by Akasaka Sansa, an Akasaka-based Morioka sansa odori group.

The aim of the Theme Event, which consists of two parts “sub” and “main”, is to increase opportunities for participants to attend alumni events and to consider and improve their understanding of the entire Tohoku-Hokkaido region using a wide lens. This sub-event served as a chance for discovery and appreciation of the local culture of the Tohoku-Hokkaido region, as alumni attended the 2019 Iwate・Morioka Sansa Odori Festival Parade.

Though the alumni participants had practiced the sansa odori separately since July, they continued practicing with guidance from a sansa odori instructor up until just before the public performance. Alumni not only learned the sansa odori, but also felt the warmth of the community as they experienced Morioka and Iwate local culture.

During the parade, alumni danced in a heat wave for forty minutes, but looked completely fulfilled at the end of the parade. Aika Sato, alumna of the TOMODACHI Summer 2013 Coca-Cola Educational Homestay Program, mentioned that, “At first, I felt nervous about participating in the sub-event. But, later, I saw the cultural communication expressed through the dance practice and the parade and the kindness of the local people.”

At the Theme Event in October, to “enhance the understanding and recognition of the whole Tohoku-Hokkaido region outside of own hometowns,” a tour-based field work event will be held at a venue in the Tohoku-Hokkaido region. The venue will be decided by the votes of those who read the sub-event report published by Tohoku-Hokkaido Region, Team A, and also TOMODACHI Alumni. The deadline to vote is August 31, 2019.

To see the sub-event report, click here. (Japanese only)

This event is part of the TOMODACHI Regional Framework, which is supported by the  TOMODACHI Alumni Leadership Program supported by Prudential.