This was submitted by Richard Watanabe from Arcadia, California, for Discover Nikkei’s Nima-kai Traditions: Matsuri photo activity.

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The Yosakoisoran Hiragishi-Tenjin group from Sapporo, Japan. Fusing the traditional soranbushi folk song of Hokkaido with elements of Yosakoi dancing, this group was 2011 champions in Japan. Yosakoi is from Kochi Prefecture, but has spread throughout Japan. A subset of the Hiragishi-Tenjin group participated in the 2012 Nisei Week Parade. Bringing various cultural things from Japan maintains that link to where our ancestors came from.