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‘Transmitting the message of Okinawa by drums’: Representations of Japanese-ness and Okinawan-ness in Okinawan dance in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

‘Transmitting the message of Okinawa by drums’: Representations of Japanese-ness and... This paper examines the role of dance in identity construction among young descendants of Okinawan migrants who settled in Colonia Okinawa in Santa Cruz, Bolivia in the 1950s and 1960s. Ryūkyūkoku Matsuridaiko, a modernized form of eisā dance that is traditionally performed at the Buddhist soul festival Obon, offers a new way for these young descendants to reconnect to their ancestors’ culture. For most observers and some practitioners, the colourful dance represents Japanese culture and values that in a Bolivian context are commonly related to the socio-economic success of this immigrant minority. However, my analysis of Ryūkyūkoku Matsuridaiko will demonstrate that the dance furthermore serves the need to negotiate issues of identity among the younger generation of an ethnic minority of Okinawan ancestry within the Japanese descendant minority. Drawing on participant observation and interviews from several stays in Santa Cruz between 2013 and 2016, my analysis illustrates how this dance is used to express and negotiate identity issues between Bolivia, Okinawa and Japan and how it connects to larger discourses of a multilocal Okinawan community. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Contemporary Japan Taylor & Francis

‘Transmitting the message of Okinawa by drums’: Representations of Japanese-ness and Okinawan-ness in Okinawan dance in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Siemann, Yvonne
Contemporary Japan , Volume 29 (2): 16 – Jul 3, 2017
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‘Transmitting the message of Okinawa by drums’: Representations of Japanese-ness and Okinawan-ness in Okinawan dance in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Abstract

This paper examines the role of dance in identity construction among young descendants of Okinawan migrants who settled in Colonia Okinawa in Santa Cruz, Bolivia in the 1950s and 1960s. Ryūkyūkoku Matsuridaiko, a modernized form of eisā dance that is traditionally performed at the Buddhist soul festival Obon, offers a new way for these young descendants to reconnect to their ancestors’ culture. For most observers and some practitioners, the colourful dance represents...
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2017 German Institute for Japanese Studies
ISSN
1869-2737
eISSN
1869-2729
DOI
10.1080/18692729.2017.1351026
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This paper examines the role of dance in identity construction among young descendants of Okinawan migrants who settled in Colonia Okinawa in Santa Cruz, Bolivia in the 1950s and 1960s. Ryūkyūkoku Matsuridaiko, a modernized form of eisā dance that is traditionally performed at the Buddhist soul festival Obon, offers a new way for these young descendants to reconnect to their ancestors’ culture. For most observers and some practitioners, the colourful dance represents Japanese culture and values that in a Bolivian context are commonly related to the socio-economic success of this immigrant minority. However, my analysis of Ryūkyūkoku Matsuridaiko will demonstrate that the dance furthermore serves the need to negotiate issues of identity among the younger generation of an ethnic minority of Okinawan ancestry within the Japanese descendant minority. Drawing on participant observation and interviews from several stays in Santa Cruz between 2013 and 2016, my analysis illustrates how this dance is used to express and negotiate identity issues between Bolivia, Okinawa and Japan and how it connects to larger discourses of a multilocal Okinawan community.

Journal

Contemporary Japan – Taylor & Francis

Published: Jul 3, 2017

Keywords: Ryūkyūkoku Matsuridaiko; eisā; ethnic identity; Bolivia; Okinawa

References

  • Identity and tea ceremony in Brazil
  • Symbolic ethnicity: The future of ethnic groups and cultures in America
  • Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko filial Perú: 15 años de brazos abiertos [Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko Peru chapter: 15 years with open arms]
  • Welcome home, Okinawa
  • The mechanisms of ethnic retention: Later-generation Japanese immigrants in Lima, Peru
  • How diasporic ties emerge: Pan-American Nikkei communities and the Japanese state