Furyu-odori Registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage!

　We are pleased to announce that, on Wednesday, November 30, the 17th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage adopted a resolution to inscribe “Furyu-odori: ritual dances imbued with people’s hopes and prayers,” which had been proposed for registration as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
　Furyu-odori dances include Kannoh-gaku from Buzen City, Fukuoka Prefecture.

1. Name

　Furyu-odori, ritual dances imbued with people’s hopes and prayers

2. Description of Furyu-odori

　Furyu-odori dances refer to folk performing arts in which people wear elaborate costumes and accessories and dance lively with flutes, drums, gongs, and other instruments, with the hope to dispel evil spirits and misfortune and live a peaceful life. They embody the spirit of furyu (attracting people’s attention with a gorgeous appearance) and include bon-odori, kouta-odori, nenbutsu-odori, and taiko-odori, among others.

3. Composition of the heritage

　The heritage consists of Chakkirako from Kanagawa Prefecture, which was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009, and other heritage extended by adding nationally-designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties (41 events) from all over Japan, including Kannoh-gaku from Fukuoka Prefecture.

4. Description of Kannoh-gaku        

　Kannoh-gaku is a very powerful and impressive dance that features dynamic and complicated movements by young and adult performers, as well as the rhythm and melody of the musical accompaniment that change with each performance. The dance is dedicated every other year at Otomi Shrine in Buzen City during the annual spring Jinko Festival. It is sometimes called Tenchi Kannoh-gaku because the performers are said to be in communion with heaven and earth (= Tenchi Kannoh) through the drum dance. It is also known as Kokugaku, which means that it represents Buzen Province.
　It was designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan in recognition of its extremely valuable role in preserving the original style of the performance, while the performers of many similar Furyu-odori dances have changed from young people and adults to children.