Protection of local traditions in disaster areas crucial to reconstruction (JAPAN)

Five children perform a traditional tiger dance on May 4 at a local gymnasium in the Iwate Prefecture town of Otsuchi, where those whose homes were swept away or badly damaged by a massive tsunami are taking shelter. (Mainichi)


A traditional tiger dance was put on by children at an evacuation center in the Iwate Prefecture town of Otsuchi earlier this month to great applause from evacuees and other local residents. Many audience members had tears in their eyes as they witnessed the passing down of a local art -- made possible by the discovery among rubble of a mask used in the dance and the lessons given to children by older generations.

A dance unique to the Sanriku area of the Tohoku region hit hard by the March 11 disaster, the tiger dance is said to have an 800-year history and varies slightly from place to place. Some say that the dance was originally performed as a prayer for safe journeys at sea, based on a saying that tigers can travel for miles in a day and return home, while others say that it originated as a prayer against fire, based on the belief that tigers have the power to suppress them. Regardless, the sight of locals watching the children's performance in rapt attention was evidence of how valuable locally unique cultural traditions are.

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