The connection between Hsinchu County and Japan’s Kōchi Prefecture was first formed at the 2013 Taiwan Lantern Festival. Since then, visits and exchanges have been conducted through annual cultural festivals and the Manga Kōshien high school manga championship. In 2017, the two cities signed a formal education and cultural exchange agreement to promote friendly interactions and collaboration. The Yosakoi Festival is one of Kōchi Prefecture’s most unique festivals. For this year’s 71st Yosakoi Festival, and for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Hsinchu County Magistrate Yang Wen-ke was invited to lead the Guangming Elementary School dance team delegation as they participate in the festival. The delegation departed for Japan today (August 10th). The dance team will perform at the festival, signifying a fresh start to the two cities’ exchanges after a five-year disruption, and an opportunity to showcase Hsinchu County’s profound art and cultural soft power!
Magistrate Yang said that, when the Yosakoi Festival Team from Kōchi Prefecture visited Taiwan in 2013 and performed at the Taiwan Lantern Festival, the Taiwanese public were deeply impressed by the Yosakoi Festival’s unique energy and passion. The visit to Japan this year is the seventh time that Hsinchu County has been invited by Kōchi Prefecture to attend the Yosakoi Festival. It is hoped that through mutual visits and exchange activities, the two cities can continue to build a profound international friendship in the future.
A spokesperson from Hsinchu County Government’s Education Bureau stated that Hsinchu County’s Guangming Elementary School Dance Team has represented Hsinchu County in multiple national dance competitions and always achieved brilliant results. The team has won the Outstanding Award in Taiwan’s Elementary School Group-A Modern Dance Competition for six years in a row. When the team represented Hsinchu County at Kōchi Prefecture's Yosakoi Festival in 2016, their splendid performance was highly admired by every group who participated in the festival, and they were presented with gold medals as a show of high praise. The dance team’s performance full of unique Taiwanese characteristics took the Yosakoi Festival audience by storm. To show appreciation and recognition, the Performing Arts Association of Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs awarded 19 gold medals to Guangming Elementary School. This far outnumbered the normal quantity of one or two gold medals, enhancing Taiwan’s reputation in Japan and further abroad. In response to this year’s invitation, Li Meng-yin, principal of Guangming Elementary School and leader of the dance team, and Hsu Chih-jen, president of the school’s Parents Association, led 42 teachers and students to participate in the event.
A spokesperson from Hsinchu County Government’s Education Bureau stated that this year’s Guangming Elementary School Dance Team performance is themed on “The Magpie Sings & the Tung Blossom Dances”. This was highlighted through the dancers’ gorgeous costumes that convey the colorful features of the Formosan blue magpie, a protected bird species in Taiwan. Formosan blue magpies with colors of “blue sky, white sun, and red ground” – the colors of the ROC national flag –merrily play and chase among tung flowers on the stage, bringing great energy to the world.
Guangming Elementary School Student Hsu Ho-ching shared that the dance teachers have incorporated that must-have prop for the Kōchi Yosakoi Festival – the wooden naruko clappers – into the choreography for this year’s performance. This way, they can flawlessly blend Japanese and Taiwanese culture. Students, teachers, and parents of the Guangming Elementary School Dance Team have all done their best to prepare for the performance. They hope, on the international stage in Japan, Taiwan and Hsinchu County can gain greater visibility, and that more people can learn about Formosan blue magpies and the Hsinchu County’s incredibly beautiful tung flowers. Student Wu Yun-le states that all the training and practicing is a lot of hard work, but the chance to perform in Japan is a can’t-miss!
Kōchi Yosakoi Festival opening night festivities were held on August 9; the official festival ceremonies are August 10 and 11; and the National Opening Ceremony and post-festival celebration are on August 12. In other words, the Yosakoi Festival takes place over four days in Kōchi City. August 10, the Guangming Elementary dance team will present one live performance in Kōchi Castle at 2:00pm and at Kōchi University at 3:00pm, then one performance during the National Opening Ceremony on August 12.
The delegation will visit Kōchi Prefecture Governor Hamada Seiji and Kōchi City Mayor Kuwana Ryūgo. According to trip schedules, they will also visit and learn about Japan’s tangible and intangible cultural assets as well as creative art and cultural industries in Kōchi and Shikoku regions based on the original Shōryūdō Japanese Cultural Assets and Arts Project, which include the Yokoyama Memorial Manga Museum, Higashiyama Kaii Setouchi Art Museum, the Towel Museum in Imabari, etc.