Ondo (music) - Folk Music and Obon

Folk Music and Obon

Part of the Japanese Obon celebration involves participating in the local community dance. The tradition of the Bon dance, or Bon Odori (盆踊り) dates back a few hundred years, and it is usually accompanied by the local tune. In recent times, however, new music has been used for Bon dance accompaniment, including late enka hits, and new music written specifically for bon dancing. The "ondo" rhythm has always been common in Japanese folk music, but even the newer music written for Bon dances has been written in this style. It is so common to find names of newer music with the word "ondo" attached to it. For example, the Pokémon Ondo, the Naruto Ondo, the Hunter x Hunter Ondo, the Doraemon Ondo, Ojamajo Doremi Ondo Kyoryu Ondo, etc. To be fair, even non-ondo music is starting to make the bon dance scene. The selection ranges from traditional sounding enka, such as Hikawa Kiyoshi's "Zundoko-bushi," to more modern non-Japanese hits, such as the Beach Boys's "Kokomo."