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Tracing Ogasawaran Songs, Dances and Musical Instruments
Junko KONISHI
Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts
1-4 Shuri, Tonokura-cho, Naha-shi, Okinawa 903-8602, Japan
E-mail: ejkonis@gmail.com

Abstract
The relatively short history of the Ogasawara Islands enables us to trace the transmission of songs,
dances and musical instruments. Among those from various places, folk songs brought from Hachijo Island,
four other songs with Japanese lyrics, Nanyo-odori dances and their accompaniment songs from Micronesia
took root and came to be identified as Ogasawaran, especially after their designation as an intangible cultural
asset of the Tokyo Metropolitan area in 1987. In addition, foreign materials such as a slit drum called kaka,hula and steelpan were introduced and developed under the Ogasawara brand.
Key words :	kaka, Nanyo-odori, Ogasawara-daiko, Ogasawaran bon dance, Ogasawaran folk songs,
Ogasawaran hula, steelpan

1.	Aquapelagic Songs and Dances(1830s–1870s)
The songs and dances of Ogasawara (Bonin) are“aquapelagic assemblages,” i.e., possessing fluid,changeable and “watery” qualities (Hayward, 2012). In
1830, the first twenty-five settlers arriving from Hawai’i
can only be supposed to have brought western and Pacificfolk songs, dances and/or musical instruments for theirown diversion to Chichi-Jima Island. Since then,temporary visitors and settlers from various places havelanded (Robertson, 1876; Long, 2007) with their own
music and later, recordings. Although there are no recordsof these initial repertoires, one nursery song is a possible
example. “Tauchine [tautine]” is a traditional baby
rearing chant with a few-note melody pattern, thought tobe Chamorro in origin. Females chant this, whilerhythmically shaking a baby’s limbs (Long & Hashimoto,2005).

2.	Settler Wave from Hachijo Island(1870s–1944)
The Japanese government adopted an immigration
policy that boosted the number of Japanese settlers
gradually, starting from 1877 (Ishihara, 2007). The
majority were poor farmers from Hachijo Island. They
brought their impromptu song genres called “shomebushi” and “taiko bushi.” Shome is a call without any
specific meaning, bushi is a type of song, and taiko is alarge drum. They were performed in the Ogasawara
Islands at both private and public occasions such as atparties and the bon dance festival.
Global Environmental Research
23/2019: 069-072
printed in Japan“Shome bushi” declined in popularity and its usage
as an accompaniment for the bon dance has disappeared.
On the other hand, the drumming practice called Hachijodaiko in which two drummers beat both sides of the drum
simultaneously with a different rhythmic pattern has been
incorporated into Ogasawara-daiko practice. The “taikobushi” also survive as “taiko uta.”

3.	Introduction of Micronesian Marching
Dance (late 1920s–1944)
From 1914 to 1944, Ogasawara flourished as astaging port to the Japanese mandate of Micronesia. In
Micronesia, where first Western and then Japaneseculture were being brought in, the “marching dance,”
which is characterized by marching movements and adance leader shouting words such as “lep, rai, lep, rai”
(originating from the English “left, right”), was popular.
This might have been created by the Marshallese who
were inspired by the military drills of the German troops(Nagaoka & Konishi 2007). This dance form rapidly
spread to the Eastern, Central and Western Caroline
Islands and to Carolinians in the Mariana Islands (Fig. 1).
Ogasawaran individuals picked up the Carolinian
marching dance and the accompanying songs of theMariana Islands after the middle of the 1920s. One
Chichi-Jima disseminator was the Western descendant
Josiah Gonzales (1899–1935). He worked at the Nanyo
Kohatsu Kabushiki Gaisha company in Saipan and finally
returned to the Ogasawaras around 1934. The dancematerials he brought are currently called “Urame,”“Uwadoro,” “Gidai” and “Aftairan,” Melodies of theformer three dance songs are composed in a major scale©2019 AIRES

70J. KONISHI

Fig. 1 Possible diffusion of the marching dance.
( ) : a local name of marching dance, if any.

with regular beats (2/4), with the ending sounding like acalling. The original form of “Aftairan” is thought tohave been a command as with western military drills,“March along.”
The “Yoakemae,” another current form of dancematerial whose lyrics are written in imperfect Japanese,came later (Danki, 1982). This song is popular with thePalauans, but they say the composer/writer was aChuukese phosphate mining laborer in Angaur Island
prior to the Pacific War.

4.	Four Micronesian Songs Written in Japanese(1950s)Immediately before the Second World War, the entire
population of Ogasawara was relocated to mainland
Japan. In 1946, only the western descendants werepermitted to return to Chichi-Jima Island under the ruleof the U.S. Forces (1945–1968). Islanders’ contact with
Micronesians continued. In the 1950s, Able Savory(1928–2003) learned “Oyadono tameni,” “Parao no gochome” and “Remon bayashi” from a Palauan in Saipan.
These lyrics were written in imperfect Japanese as withthe “Yoakemae.” During and soon after the Japaneseperiod, Micronesians wrote songs in their common
language, Japanese, to express the hopeless longing oflove.
“Oyadono tameni [Because of his parents (?)],” issaid to be a lament song written by a Chuukese. “Paraono go-chome,” which was originally called “Koror nogo-chome [place name]” is a love song from a young
Chuukese man to a Palauan girl. “Remon bayashi [Lemontrees],” which was originally called “Lemongrass,” is a
Pohnpeian woman’s lament to her Japanese fiancé whonever came back to her island. They had promised tomarry (kabobo, in Pohnpeian) after the war when there
would be peace. In contrast to the sad stories in the lyricsof these songs, major scales are used for the melodies(Konishi, 2012).
Another song, “Marukibune,” formerly called“Angauru ko-uta” was transmitted to Ogasawara from
Angaur Island in the 1950s (Kitaguni, 2002). The originalversion might be “Koi no marukibune” written by Yutaka
Kadota (1907–1975) (recorded by Teichiku, 1937).
Though its origin is unknown, this song had been popularin Angaur Island and seems to have been reimported tothe Ogasawara islands.

5.	Resumption of Performance and Designation
as an Intangible Cultural Asset (1968–1980s)
Soon after the reversion of the Ogasawara Islands toJapan in 1968, Masayuki Asanuma (1911–1992) who hadlearned the marching dance from Josiah Gonzales started
to teach it to Japanese public servants and returnees forentertainment. In 1981, the marching dance, then called“dojin odori [indigenous dance],” which soundeddiscriminatory, was renamed Nanyo-odori (Dance of theTracing Ogasawaran Songs, Dances and Musical Instruments
South Pacific), and the Nanyo-odori Hozonkai (Societyfor Preservation of Nanyo-odori) was established (Fig. 1).
In 1987, the dance songs were recognized as“Ogasawaran folk songs (transmitted from the south)”and designated as an intangible cultural asset of Tokyo
Metropolitan area (below, ICATM). “Chichi-Jima shomebushi,” “Haha-Jima shome bushi” and “Iwo-To shomebushi” (transmitted from Japan) and “Oyadono tameni,”“Parao no go-chome,” “Remon bayashi” and“Marukibune” (regarded as being composed inOgasawara, but in fact, brought from Micronesia) werealso designated as ICATM (Tokyo Metropolitan
Government, 1987).

6.	Developing and Branding Songs and Dances(late 1980s–2019)
Since 1968, the village and Tokyo Metropolitan
Government have promoted the development of special
regional products. Riding this wave, Nanyo-odori and thefour Micronesia-originated songs have become
emblematic of Ogasawaran culture. The slit drum calledkaka was developed as a local musical instrument andexhibited at the “Furusato tokyo no kankouten (TokyoHometowns Exhibition)” in 1988, in conjunction with the20th Anniversary of the Reversion of the Ogasawara
Islands (below, ARO). This provided the first opportunity
for kaka players to perform with Nanyo-odori dancers.
Hula, which was introduced to the islands in 1997 bya single individual, has become a “folk entertainment”
among Ogasawarans. Almost three hundred performers,

Fig. 2 Nanyo-odori (2007) courtesy of Nanyo-odori.

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among a total islander population of 2,000, participate in
the annual Hula ‘Ohana performances. Ogasawaran hula
has an original repertoire accompanied by local songs.
Several drum groups such as Hasshoryu-daiko,Ogasawara taiko dokokai, Bonin-bayashi and Taiko-kaiidentify their performances as Ogasawaran. Hasshoryudaiko shows a consciousness of the original Hachijodaiko. Bonin bayashi’s original repertoire is a mixture ofHachijo-daiko and Edo matsuri bayashi [old Tokyofestival music]. They also perform as accompaniment to
the Ogasawara-branded bon dance festival and attract
young tourists.
The steelpan orchestra is yet another item under theOgasawara brand. With financial support from the village
government, Mighty Jamma, the “UK’s No. 1 Steelpan
soloist champion” and Breakfast Band were invited forthe commemorative festival of the 30th ARO in 1998. In
2003, the village purchased musical instruments, and theBonin steel orchestra was organized to perform at theopening concert of the 35th ARO. Subsequently, anothergroup, Loco Pan, was organized.
In this way, various elements have been assembled
in the Ogasawara Islands and developed as Ogasawarabranded songs, dances and musical instruments. They
contribute to attract newcomers and tourists.
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Hayward, P. (2012) Aquapelagos and aquapelagic assemblages.
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islands for moving people and the empire), Heibonsha, Tokyo.
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Kitaguni, Y. (2002) Ogasawara shoto no Minyo no juyo to henyo:sono koto hajime (Acceptance and changes of Ogasawaran folksongs: at the starting). In: Long, D. (ed.), Ogasawara Gaku
Kotohajime (Starting the Study of Ogasawara), 150–160,Namposhinsha, Kagoshima. (in Japanese)
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Robertson, R. (1876) The Bonin Islands. Transactions of theAsiatic Society of Japan, 4, 111–140.
Teichiku (1937) Koino marukibune (recorded music) (The dugoutfor lovers). Retrieved from http://rekion.dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/
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Junko KONISHI
Junko Konishi, Ph. D., is a professor at theFaculty of Music, Okinawa Prefectural Universityof Arts. Her research field is ethnomusicology,
specializing in the music, dance and performing
arts of the islands of Micronesia, Ogasawara andOkinawa that have been influenced by Japaneseculture. Currently, she is vice-president of theJapan Society of Island Studies, a member of the boards of directors of theSociety for Research in Asiatic Music, the Society for Ethno-Arts, andSoundscape Association of Japan, and a member of the Advisory
Committee of the Japan Music Expression Society.
(Received 11 October 2019, Accepted 22 December 2019)