高知の夏の踊りの祭り「よさこい祭り」が開幕へ

Welcome to Japanese Daily News. I'm Maya. Today is August eighth. Tomorrow in Kochi City, on the island of Shikoku, one of Japan's most famous dance festivals begins — thousands of dancers fill the streets, with small wooden clappers in their hands. Let's listen.

Now let's break it down, sentence by sentence.

From tomorrow, August ninth, in Kochi City in Kochi Prefecture, the big summer Yosakoi Festival begins. The festival continues for four days, until August twelfth.

It means a festival.

The Yosakoi Festival is a dance festival born in Kochi. It started in nineteen fifty-four, and this year is the seventy-third time.

It means to dance.

The dancers hold small wooden tools in their hands — a kind of clapper. They dance with lots of energy while making sounds with the clappers.

It means a sound.

Each team wears beautiful costumes. The music and the dance are all different for each team.

It means a costume, the special clothes you wear for a performance.

You can watch the dancing at sixteen places around Kochi City. There are also many places where you don't need money.

It means a place.

This year, two teams from other countries are also taking part. For the team from Indonesia, this year is their first time.

It means for the first time.

Let's listen to the whole story one more time.

Time for a short quiz. Listen and try to answer.

Four days — from August ninth until August twelfth.

One hundred ninety-seven teams.

That's all for today. From tomorrow, the streets of Kochi will be full of music, colorful costumes, and the sound of wooden clappers. If you visit Japan in summer, a dance festival like this is a wonderful thing to see. See you next time!