Joined now by a Japanese
women’s choir, our drums
weave voices and bodies
into song.
When we thunder an ancient
Hokkaido fisherman’s
chant, another voice
rises, sings with us—
of our fathers
who fought
on bleeding islands
under the rising sun.
We yell, stomp
our feet, haul
the catch of fish
and smile
at our children,
who dance and hoop
the sea’s energy.
For years I have enjoyed playing with a world rhythm band called “The People’s Rhythm Party.” We regularly perform at Seattle’s annual Northwest Folklife Festival, one of the largest such festivals in the U.S. This past year we were joined by “The Echo Chorus,” which is what the Seattle Japanese Choral Society calls itself.
We blended strong West African rhythms and melodies with a stirring rendition of “Soran Bushi,” an old fisherman’s work song which has been performed in musical theater in Japan for many years. It was well received with a vast amount of energy from the audience. A contingent of Japanese American young people danced in front of the crowd, and my own daughter led a small contingent of performance hoopers.
It was a fine day.
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