Sado Okesa

Sado Okesa (in Japanese: 佐渡おけさ) is a Japanese folk song that originated in Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture.

Sado Island
Entrance to Sado Gold Mines, now cloded and a tourist attraction

General

"Okesa' or "Okesabushi" is a style of the Japanese folk songs that is said to have originated in Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture. They typically describe the dialog between a man and a woman in love, and were sung there when the seamen drank sake together. These songs were brought to Sado Island by these seamen who worked on the Japan Sea route of sea transportation.

Sado Okesa was sung in various versions in a few villages of Sado Island. During the latter half of the Meiji period, it already was a favorite song of those who worked in the famous gold mines of Aikawa on Sado Island.

This song became nationally famous in 1921 when it was broadcast in All Japan Folk Song Festival. It is now also a favorite Obon festival dance music for the people in Niigata Prefecture and its neighboring prefectures.

Lyrics

One of the various versions of the lyrics goes:

References

See also

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