"'Gujo Odori' Festivalgoers Dance Until Break of Dawn"

"'Gujo Odori' Festivalgoers Dance Until Break of Dawn"

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Welcome to "Learn Japanese from the News."
　
Join us as we learn Japanese and about the country through Japanese news stories.
Today's headline is…
　
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400年（ねん）続（つづ）く「郡上（ぐじょう）おどり」 たくさんの人（ひと）が朝（あさ）まで踊（おど）る
　
"'Gujo Odori' Festivalgoers Dance Until Break of Dawn"
This news story was published on NEWS WEB EASY's website on August 15th.
　
Now let's go over some vocab words that will help us understand what's going on.
　
盆踊（ぼんおど）り
Bon dance festival
Bon is an annual tradition where families honor the spirits of their ancestors. Usually we add the prefix 「お」and say 「お盆（ぼん）」. In most regions of Japan, it's observed in mid-August—from around the 13th through the 15th.
Bon-odori originally referred to ritual dances performed during the Obon period. Today they've become more like summer festivals where communities come together to dance and socialize.
　
浴衣（ゆかた）
Yukata are a type of casual kimono made of lightweight fabric, which make them popular attire for summer festivals.
　
げた
Geta are traditional wooden clogs or sandals.
　
Now, let's keep these words in mind as we listen.
　
「「郡上（ぐじょう）おどり」は、岐阜県（ぎふけん）郡上市（ぐじょうし）で400年（ねん）ぐらい前（まえ）から続（つづ）いている盆踊（ぼんおど）りです。去年（きょねん）ユネスコの無形文化遺産（むけいぶんかいさん）になった日本（にっぽん）の「風流踊（ふりゅうおどり）」という文化（ぶんか）の1つです。
郡上（ぐじょう）おどりは毎年（まいとし）7月（がつ）から9月（がつ）に行（おこな）っていて、お盆（ぼん）の間（あいだ）は夜（よる）から朝（あさ）まで踊（おど）る「徹夜（てつや）おどり」があります。
8月（がつ）13日（にち）夜（よる）、徹夜（てつや）おどりが始（はじ）まると、浴衣（ゆかた）を着（き）た人（ひと）たちが会場（かいじょう）の真（ま）ん中（なか）にある「踊（おど）り屋形（やかた）」の周（まわ）りで踊（おど）りました。踊（おど）る人（ひと）はだんだん多（おお）くなって、笛（ふえ）や太鼓（たいこ）の音楽（おんがく）に合（あ）わせて声（こえ）を出（だ）したり、げたの音（おと）を鳴（な）らしたりしながら楽（たの）しんでいました。
大阪（おおさか）から来（き）た女性（じょせい）は「このような日本（にっぽん）の文化（ぶんか）がこれからも残（のこ）ってほしいです」と話（はな）しました。」
Gujo Odori is a Bon dance festival that's been held in the city of Gujo in Gifu Prefecture for roughly 400 years. The festivities peak during the Obon period, when participants dance through the night.
　
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Now we'll break down a few sentences from the story that contain helpful expressions and keywords.
Let's start with the following sentence:
　
お盆（ぼん）の間（あいだ）は夜（よる）から朝（あさ）まで踊（おど）る「徹夜（てつや）おどり」があります。
　
"During the Bon festival there is "tetsuya-odori," where they dance from night till morning. "
　
徹夜（てつや） means "through the night."
The や in 徹夜（てつや） means "night." てつ comes from the verb 徹（てっ）する, which means "to follow through" or "devote oneself." So for example, if you stayed up all night talking with someone, you could say 徹夜（てつや）で話（はな）しあった.
　
The Gujo Odori festivities take place over about 30 days, and on four of those days the dancing goes on all night, that is, 徹夜（てつや）で.
　
OK, let's move on to our next sentence.
　
踊（おど）る人（ひと）はだんだん多（おお）くなって、笛（ふえ）や太鼓（たいこ）の音楽（おんがく）に合（あ）わせて声（こえ）を出（だ）したり、げたの音（おと）を鳴（な）らしたりしながら楽（たの）しんでいました。
　
" The number of people dancing gradually increased, and they were having a good time shouting and stamping their geta clogs to flute and taiko drum music. "
　
だんだん is an adverb that means "gradually." Here it describes how the crowd of dancers grew little by little. We can also use it to describe something like the sky at dawn by saying だんだん明（あか）るくなる, that is, "it's getting light."
　
When we want to say that something is changing rapidly or steadily, we use the adverb どんどん. For example, 人（ひと）がどんどん入（はい）ってきた means "More and more people came in."
　
And that's all for today.
　
The period between summer and fall is matsuri season, when festivals are held across the country. You can see a different side of Japan and feel the spirit of community that people have cultivated.
　
All right, be sure to tune in next time for more!
　
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