徳島の夏の祭り「阿波おどり」が閉幕

Welcome to Japanese Daily News. I'm Maya. Today is August eighteenth. In Tokushima, one of Japan's biggest and oldest summer dance festivals has just ended, after five days of music and dancing. Let's listen.

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

On the night of August fifteenth, in the city of Tokushima, a famous summer dance festival came to an end.

It means festival.

This festival is Tokushima's dance celebration for the mid-August holiday, with a long history of more than four hundred years.

It means history.

The dancers dance energetically, in time with the music of drums, flutes, and a traditional three-stringed instrument.

It means dancer — a person who dances.

On the final night, there was a grand finale dance. Many dancers became one and danced together.

It means last, or final.

Every year, many tourists come to Tokushima from all over Japan and from other countries.

It means tourist — a visitor who comes for sightseeing.

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

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

In Tokushima — a city on the island of Shikoku, in western Japan.

Five days — from the eleventh to the fifteenth of August.

The grand finale dance. Many dancers came together and danced as one to close the festival.

That's all for today. For more than four hundred years, the streets of Tokushima have filled with music and dancing every summer — and this year, once again, the city danced until the very last night. See you next time on Japanese Daily News.