BON-UTA, A Song from Home (盆唄)

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A Song from Home

March 11th, 2011 The Great East Japan Earthquake

Due to the nuclear disaster,

the residents of Futaba are still under evacuation.

They've been scattered to regions throughout Japan.

Summer 2015 4 years after the earthquake

Motomiya, Fukushima 80 km away from Futaba

Evacuees of Futaba rehearse a BON-UTA, a song to honor ancestors.

Hisakatsu Yokoyama Bon-Dance Drummer and Drum Maker

I can't get the sound right.

I haven't played in so long.

Since the earthquake?

Yeah, not at all.

My voice is coarse.

It's our first rehearsal since we left town.

In Fukushima?

We used to play together often,

but this is our first time since the earthquake.

Futaba is dying.

So we have to play the Futaba Bon-Uta somewhere to keep it alive.

Motomiya, Fukushima Hisakatsu's place of evacuation

"Sendan Taiko Futaba, Fukushima"

Great collection!

I don't play so well, but I love to collect guitars.

This is a real Fender Telecaster.

I got it after graduating high school.

I'm an electrical engineer, and this guitar is the reason I became one.

Back in junior high, rock n' roll was popular.

Hisakatsu

But electric guitars were so expensive that I couldn't buy one.

And no amplifier, either.

So I made the guitar myself. When I played it, it sounded fine.

So I went to a technical high school and became an electrical engineer.

Bucchan.

Did you adopt him?

Yes, he came yesterday.

I made all the taiko in here.

I made taiko for about 20 years.

Totally self-taught, I made them my own way.

Do you make taiko here, too?

Not since I evacuated.

Why not?

I always made drums at night, after work.

Peeling wood and stretching the drum skin make a lot of noise.

I don't want to disturb my neighbors here.

How is your home back in Futaba?

It's totally ruined. They classified it as a "difficult-to-return zone".

When I get permission to return,

I wish I could stay forever.

For example, when I go to my drum-making room,

I end up looking for things I forgot to take with me.

Even though I know there's nothing left to take.

I do the same in another room.

My time there passes in a blink, and it's hard to leave.

Heading to Futaba

Good morning.

Driver's license.

Here's mine.

Here you go.

Everyone's license, please.

Everyone's? Why?

The rules have changed.

What if they don't drive?

Any ID is fine.

If they don't have one?

Then next time.

The rules keep changing.

All the time.

Entry to Futaba is permitted only 5 hours per day.

That used to be a butcher shop.

It's destroyed.

The town looks so different.

That was a bicycle shop.

Right.

That was a barber shop.

There's nothing left now.

How terrible.

Haruo Imaizumi Bon-Dance Drummer

Stop the car over there.

Twelve microsieverts.

Is that high?

It's high radiation.

A wild boar.

And a small one.

I wonder if the neighbors have come home.

Even temporarily.

This is my friend's house. Three of us used to play here as children.

Yo-chan.

Where is he now?

He moved to Yokohama to work as a taxi driver.

Welcome to my haunted house.

When the nuclear power plant was built,

my father started working there.

Before that, he was a truck driver.

His pay was so low.

Our family really struggled.

We were one of the poorest families around here.

What's this room?

It's my playground.

We played guitar and pretended we were a band.

Let's see how it sounds.

Oh, it's all right.

It's the first time I've played in a difficult-to-return zone.

And the first time since the earthquake.

It's exciting.

So peaceful.

Ai Iwane Photographing Fukushima and Hawaii

The shutter is wide open?

Is it dry plate photography?

No.

It's film.

Here we go!

OK!

We're shooting!

Lift up your faces.

Stay there!

It's turning. OK, we're done!

Hello, I'm Hisakatsu Yokoyama.

I love the Bon Dance passed down to me in my hometown, Futaba.

It hasn't been held since the earthquake.

Ai told me that there's also a Bon Dance in Hawaii.

It's a Bon-Uta of old Fukushima immigrants, performed every summer.

To see it with my own eyes,

I went to Hawaii with my old friend, Haruo.

Ai helped us as a guide

to meet the descendants of Fukushima immigrants in Hawaii.

Maui, Hawaii

Paia Mantokuji Soto Zen Mission

During the Bon period every summer in Hawaii,

descendants of Japanese immigrants worship their ancestors.

Maui Taiko

These performers are mainly Japanese Americans.

Kay Fukumoto Leader of Maui Taiko

In Japan we play only one song repeatedly.

For two hours.

But in Hawaii they play 20 songs.

The Bon Dance has evolved here.

It travelled from Japan to Hawaii and became even more beautiful.

They have a true Japanese spirit.

People of all races wore kimonos very nicely.

And their dance was beautiful.

I was surprised to see how earnestly the locals danced.

I guess we really do love the Bon Dance.

Yes, I've loved it since I was a kid.

Over 100 years ago,

a Bon-Uta was brought into Hawaii by immigrants from Fukushima.

Fukushima Ondo

A lot of dancers gathered

More dancers than ears of rice in autumn

This song was passed down to Kay by her father.

Albert Sadao Watanabe Kay's father

So your grandfather brought the song?

Yes, from Fukushima.

Did you also perform when you were young?

Yes, and I played the drums.

It was fun and exciting.

Is your dad or grandfather in this picture?

My dad.

I see.

Tomio Watanabe

His name's Tomio.

Amazing.

Fukushima City, Fukushima

I'm Isao.

Isao & Keiko Watanabe

We're the family of Kay, the Maui Taiko leader.

"Dedication of merit for ancestors"

This year's harvest is great

There's plenty of ears of rice

This Bon-Uta was brought into Maui.

Immigrants from Fukushima played their Bon-Uta, Fukushima Ondo,

and it became popular across Hawaii.

Fukushima Ondo of Oahu Soto Mission of Aiea, Taiheiji

This year's harvest is great

There's plenty of ears of rice

Fukushima Ondo of Hawaii Island Puna Hongwanji Mission

This year's harvest is great

There's plenty of ears of rice

Summer 2016 5 years after the earthquake

Difficult-to-return zone.

There's a gate when you get off the highway.

Thank you.

Do you have everything?

Let's go.

It's hot.

The tombstones fell during the earthquake.

Tokyo Electric Power cleaned up the graveyard

and put the stones back up.

Chizuko Imaizumi Taiko Drummer

This view used to be nicer before the quake.

We used to play like ninjas.

We threw can lids against that pillar.

Who was a better ninja?

Me.

Don't remember.

I was better.

We often saw ostriches here.

When you were young?

No, after the earthquake.