Added to inquiry!
DOCUMENTARY

Oni-kenbai: Prayer in Motion

DOCUMENTARY 2012 30 mins Episode(s): 1 English English
The Oni-kenbai demon sword dance has been passed down from fathers to sons to grandchildren, with no additions or amendments for generations.
Not simply a dance to pray for happiness, it's to ensure the spirits of ancestors of both dancers and viewers are kept alive, while driving away evil.

This is the demons' gift they want to leave behind.

  •  

    The 40th Otsuna Festival -Invigorating a Community-
    2018 30 mins

    [Festivals of Japan Season 2] Half-naked men pull on a giant white rope. Eighty meters long and about a ton in weight, the rope is the central focus of the Tosa City Otsuna Festival. Originally an Edo Period tradition, the festival was brought back by people hoping to energize a community...
    more details
  •  

    Finding Dad

    Award of Excellence at the Media Arts Festival. Jiro, a chef, is engaged to Satoko, a kindergarten teacher. Jiro has not seen his father for 11 years, since his parents got a divorce. Jiro decides to send a wedding invitation to his father, but when his mother finds out, she...
    more details
  •  

    The Thousand Cherry Blossom Trees of Eboshiyama Park
    2017 30 mins

    [Festivals of Japan Season 1] Akayu Hot Spring in Yamagata Prefecture lost much of its bustling energy due to large fires that occurred in the late 1800s. Wishing for the recovery of their city, local volunteers created Eboshiyama Park. Later, as vitality slowly began to return to the city through...
    more details
  •  

    A young girl Wisteria dance- Arakawa ward, Tokyo
    2018 30 mins

    [Beauty of Japan Season 2] "Wisteria Maiden" is one of the most popular dance pieces in traditional Japanese dance (nihon buyo). Performing on the stage is 8 year-old Nona, who has a French father and a Japanese mother. She takes lessons at the Fujikawa style dance school headquarters in Minami...
    more details