Bon Odori Festival 2010 in Penang
The annual Bon Odori Festival is here again! It is time for the local and Japanese people to come together and celebrate
this annual Japanese Festival at the Esplanade, Penang. The atmosphere was splendid despite the early evening downpour.
It was reported approximately 60,000 people were seen thronged to the Esplanade to celebrate the festival. Many ladies
were seen in their beautiful Yukata (Japanese casual summer kimono) and men in their brightly coloured Happi coats.
The festival kicked off with speeches by Chief Minister of Penang, Mr. Lim Guan Eng, Consul-General of Japan in Penang, Mr. Tetsuro Kai, and
State Executive Councilor of Tourism Development and Culture, Mr. Danny Law Heng Kiang.
This year the crowd was entertained by two Okinawan performing teams which are the Ryu-kyu Tamagusuku-ryu dancers and the
classical musical group Nomura-ryu. They gave an impressive performance of four types of Ryu-kyu dances accompanied by
the San-Shin, an Okinawan guitar. In addition, Mr. Hiroshi Koyama, an Enka ballad (country music) singer from Mie-Prefecture
in Japan wowed the crowds with his powerful vocals.
There were also local performances including the Bon-Odori dance by Sakura-kai and Malaysian Japanese Society members, Yosakoi dance by
the Pink Hibiscus Club, drum performance by students of the Penang Japanese School, and the Soran-bushi dance by Malaysian students
from Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Kubang Pasu and Sekolah Menengah Sultan Abdul Halim from Kedah and Sekolah Menengah Sains Tuanku
Syed Putra from Perlis.
The visitors enjoyed not only the Japanese cultural performances, but also Japanese and local food and games. The main highlight of the festival
is the fireworks display, sponsored by Japanese companies and the Penang Japanese Association. At 10 p.m, the sky was lit up by a brilliant
fireworks display which left the audience in awe.
The Bon Odori Festival is celebrated to honour the departed spirits of one’s ancestors and the celebration over here is proclaimed as one of
the most splendid Bon Festivals.
The Bon Odori Festival in Penang is co-organized by Penang State Government, Consulate-General of Japan in Penang, the Penang Japanese
Association, Malaysian Japanese Society, Penang Japanese Language Society, Japan Graduates’ Association of Malaysia-Northern
Branch, and Alumni of Overseas Technical Scholarships.
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Drum performance by students of Penang Japanese School |
“Soran-bushi” dance by Malaysian students from Kedah and Perlis
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“Yosakoi” and “Pompoko” dance by the Pink Hibiscus Club
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Nomura-ryu musical group playing the Okinawan guitar “San-Shin” |
Ryu-kyu Tamagusuku-ryu dancers from Okinawa
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“Hatoma-Bushi” dance by the Ryu-kyu group
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Mr. Koyama with his powerful vocals and karate stunts |
Bon-Odori dance by members of Sakura-kai, Malaysian Japanese
Society and Penang Japanese Language Society
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Beautiful fireworks display sponsored by Japanese companies and Penang Japanese Association
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