“Shachihoko”
The “Shachihoko” is a mythical creature that has a head of a cat and a body of a fish. It is known for its control of lightning; as such gargoyles of it’s caricature are found on the roofs of Japanese Castles to ward off lightning. The dance depicts a stormy Japan Sea and the emergence of the “shachihoko” rising and taking control of the waves.
“Soran-Bushi”
This dance depicts the life of the fisherman and different aspects of the sea. It will have movements such as the casting and pulling of fish nets, using small baskets to scoop and toss the fish from boat to boat, and the waves of the sea. “Soran-Bushi” comes from the Northern island of Hokkaido. The lyrics are in a strong regional dialect and usually have humorous descriptions to keep you in a joyful spirit. In old times, the fisherman would often sing “Soran-Bushi” as a way to pass the time as they worked. Here is a breakdown of the variety of moves in the dance:
1. Mizu-age — (pulling the fish from the water)
2. Ami-hike — (casting and pulling of the fish nets)
3. Tsukute-nagete — (scooping of the fish in small baskets and tossing them from boat to boat)
4. Nami — (crashing of the tidal waves)
5. Sui-heisen — (sea horizon)
“Yocchore”
This is a fun dance that is performed at a variety of festivals in Japan.
“Soran-Illusion”
“Net de Yosakoi”
“Gakko-Soran”
As with any cultural dance, various moves will depict everyday life depending on the local region. They range from coal-mining to rice harvesting, and in the case of this dance, it involves fishing. Movements in this dance include casting and pulling of fish nets, scooping and tossing the fish from boat to boat, and the waves of the sea, just like the song “Soran-Bushi,” in which it is derived from.
“Samurai”
“Samurai” has strong movements and tries to capture the Bushido spirit that is the staple of ancient samurai culture. This dance is combined with the fishing movements and has two parts, the fisherman in the middle between two waves. It’s a perfect example where Yosakoi continues to carry on traditional themes in a contemporary era.
K-State Yosakoi 
I would like to ask if their is a DVD of your performances available.
I teach in a very small community in the Mid-Missouri and would love
to encorporate your dances with our study of Japan.
You should definitely check out our video tab on our website, that is a majority of our dances. Also, on YouTube: specifically: (http://www.youtube.com/user/seiji306), you will find a lot of videos that we learned from and are used for teaching Yosakoi!! š
I was wondering if you guys had any tips on choreographing a Yosakoi dance. My friends in Japanese club decided to make a new one, since the one we were doing was 3 years old.
Nobody really knows what to do… Help?
It usually starts with the music first. Then we try to tell a narrative that will go along with the music. For example, we will show fishermen at sea braving storms, or taiko drummers, etc. Then we get into specific Yosakoi moves to create the basic dance. Lastly, we work on formations to move people around at specific parts of the dance. Once everything is complete, we’ll work on costumes that would enhance the dance’s story and movements. Hope this helps!
hi, I’m from Indonesia, one of a yosakoi dance club’s leader in Surabaya – Indonesia. It is nice to visit your website, feel like we have the same passion in Yosakoi dance. o(n.n)o wonderful!
Hello! Thanks for checking out our website š Glad you like Yosakoi dance so much!! Good luck with your Yosakoi team!!
Konnichiwa~
I’m in charge of my Uni’s Yosakoi & Bon Odori Club but I’m still fresh at this whole coaching thing. My senpais graduated and they’ve elected me to be the new head. I’ve learned Soran Bushi, Tanko Bushi, Tokyo Ondo and Kawasaki but I’m interested to learn a different form of Yosakoi as a surprise for my senpais during the Convocation Week.
I’ve contacted Seiji-san but her said since he graduated, he currently can’t help send some tutorial videos. Can you help me send a tutorial video of Tatsumaki and Samurai?
Please and thank you.Though I won’t force you if you can’t. I’m sure you’re all busy…
Do you happen to have the lyrics to the dance? I’ve been looking but the lyrics to soran bushi are the original version but i want the yosakoi soran bushi version…
Dear friends,
I am a member of Yosago Club from Saigon-Viet Nam. We really love your dance: Tatsumaki, how great it is , you know , your choreographing, your music, … And this ‘s really our honor if you guys give us permission to practice this dance. Thanks so much if you have a look over our Website ^___^ and pls let us dance Tatsumaki together !!. Thanks so much there. Pls answer to us at http://yosago.wordpress.com/ or YH mail: akirachan86@yahoo.com. Thanks again ^^
I’m just a fan of yosakoi dance. In my town we haven’t got the club for yosakoi yet. We learned yosakoi while taking Japanese language course few years ago..we got to perform during some Japanese cultural events at our language school, but since it’s closed, been a while we didn’t dance =(
Anyway, your site is really inspiring..if you don’t mind we’d like to learn the dance from the videos you’ve uploaded..^^ Really high spirited..and please stay that way! All the best for the K-state yosakoi and mina san no yosakoi spirit! Doumo arigatoouu..it makes us want to keep on dancing..^___^
Hello. My name is Tomas Trinidad and i’m the Exec Director of a New York based performing group “Yosakoi Dance Project – 10tecomai” . As one of the only dance performance groups in the US solely dedicated to spreading the knowledge of Yosakoi, i’m,happy to see a group like yours out there preaching thru dance and song and energy but most importantly teaching others about Yosakoi!!!
If any of you are ever in the NYC area, please contact us (info10teco@gmail.com ), as we are always looking to collaborate with groups who are interested in Yosakoi. We have videos on Youtube and we have a facebook page as well.
Thanks for helping spread the energy of Yosakoi!!! Gambarre!!
I know about your group! 10tecomai is very energetic. We were asked to participate in the DC Sakura Matsuri and found about your group when I was checking about the possibility of performing. Unfortunately, we were able to make the early deadlines. We are a very informal group, consisting of mostly students, and thus the memberships fluctuates year to year. If we are ever in the NY area, we will definitely contact you!