Sōran Bushi

Sōran Bushi (ソーラン節) is one of the most famous traditional songs and dance (min'yō) in Japan. It is a sea shanty that is said to have been first sung by the fishermen of Hokkaido.

The commonly known version of the song and dance is called Nanchū Sōran (南中ソーラン) and was created in 1991 at the Wakkanai Minami Junior High School. It uses the song and text of Takio Ito's Takio no Sōran Bushi from 1988, which is a modernized version of the original song with a faster rhythm and a more modern music and text. The choreography was developed by the Butoh dancer Jushō Kasuga, which includes acting ocean waves, fishermen dragging nets, pulling ropes and lifting luggage over their shoulders. The school received an honorable mention at the Folk Song and Dance Awards National Convention in 1992, and one year later the Grand Prix of the Prime Minister of Japan. This made the song and dance nationally known, so that this dance is taught in many schools across Japan as part of the curriculum.

During regular intervals of the dance, the words "Dokkoisho! Dokkoisho!" and "Soran! Soran!" are called. Those words were used in the past to encourage the fisherman during their work.