by Joseph Kamiya, OAA volunteer/videographer
Now that summer is officially gone, folks here at the Okinawa Association of America are winding down from Obon Festivals, Nisei Week, and other summer activities. The OAA was once again honored to represent Uchinaanchu in Los Angeles with their participation in the Nisei Week Grand Parade, having over 50 volunteers and Geino-bu (Performing Arts Commitee) dancers trekking across Little Tokyo! We were also proud to have members of affiliated groups such as Ishihara Minyo, Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko, Shima Minyo, and Tamagusukuryu Kansen-Kai representing Okinawa in the Tanabata Festival, Taiko Gathering, and Nisei Week’s Closing Ceremony Ondo!
For those who weren’t able to attend this year’s Nisei Week festivities (or for those who want to re-live the experience), we’ve compiled a top-5 list of the best Nisei Week videos that we could find on YouTube. If you have a video that didn’t make the list, please drop the link in the “comments” section at the bottom of this page (or on our Facebook page)!
5. Mochi Bytes!
This 4.5 minute segment from Mochi Bytes captures various moments from the Nisei Week Grand Parade and Tanabata Festival on August 12th, including a candid interview with members of our very own Tamagusukuryu Kansen-Kai, Yonamine Keiko Ryubu Dojo!
(click on the video below to watch or click here)
Here is a 21-minute photo montage that beautifully captures the Grand Parade in its entirety (you can see the OAA volunteer banner/flag carriers and Geino-bu dancers around the 13:48 mark)! These gorgeous photographs were taken by Aleksandr|Photography.
(click on the video below to watch or click here)
3. Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko @ The Taiko Gathering
The L.A. branch of Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko — always a crowd favorite! — performed at the Nisei Week Taiko Gathering and an audience member, Mike Du Bose, was able to capture a great angle with his video camera… and the audio quality is EXCELLENT (sometimes it can be difficult to maintain the epic volume of taiko)!
(click on the video below to watch or click here)
2. Ryukyu Koyashi @ The Tanabata Festival Opening Ceremony
Here is an AMAZING performance by Ryukyu Koyashi (featuring members of Ishihara Minyo and Shima Minyo: Yuki Shingaki, miwaLyric, Yoshiaki Chinen, and Ryoji Inatsugi on acoustic guitar)! The video captures their entire set, which includes “Asadoya Yunta,” “Ashibina,” and “Hounen Ondo.”
(click on the video below to watch or click here)
1. Nisei Week Closing Ceremony Ondo
Someone was able to record the ENTIRE Closing Ceremony Ondo performance by Minyo Station (43 minutes) — who performed everybody’s favorite Obon Festival songs — along with another amazing performance from miwaLyric and Yuki Shingaki for “Asadoya Yunta” (at the 15:23 mark and one more time at 35:35)!
(click on the video below to watch or click here)
Bonus: OAA Geino-bu @ The Nisei Week Grand Parade
As a bonus, here’s a video montage featuring our 35+ Geino-bu dancers in the Grand Parade! I filmed the entire 40-minute parade route — which had the dancers dancing to “Shima ya Wakanatsu” and “Kawachi Otokobushi” at least 5 times each — and then edited all of the footage down into two 3-minute highlight videos (the 2nd song is still being edited).
The Geino-bu dancers, who are mostly volunteers, deserve a lot of credit and praise for enduring and performing beautifully (and non-stop) throughout the streets of Little Tokyo! Otsukaresama!
(click on the video below to watch or click here)
Find any videos that should have made it onto the list? Post them in the comments below or on our Facebook page!
Also, don’t forget to check out our Nisei Week photo galleries!
Please click on one of the links below to view the photos:
Parade Gallery #1 | Parade Gallery #2 (Video Stills) | Ondo Gallery
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