Urashima Dinner Theater

February 2007
Worst Valentine Date EVER!!!
I’ve been reminded that I haven’t shared the worst Valentine’s Date EVER yet…..so here it goes….. I had been wanting to go to the Urashima Dinner Theater for like as long as i had known it existed. I was talking to my friend Anna about it and we decided to take our husbands for Valentine’s Day. We made our reservations and bought the tickets ahead of time. The night of the event we carpooled down to Naha. We had been given decent landmarks to look for, so we found it without too much difficulty. There was only one other American couple there. That is usually a sign that I will love it and Ed will be simply, enduring. Dinner wasn’t so bad. I gave Ed my lobster. I can’t say I don’t like it, just haven’t been brave enough to try it to know if I like it or not. I was permanently traumatized in the Philippines by live lobsters at the market, and will just never be able to bring myself to put the pieces from inside those hideous looking creatures into my mouth! Ed said it was good and I’ll just take him at his word. (Although he wasn't too fond of the cheesey mixture thing on it...) The rest of our dinner was yummy, aside from a few other odds and ends things I didn’t feel like trying. I have to wonder if foreigners visiting America are just as leery of our fried mozzarella sticks and other such appetizers as I am of wormy, slimy, non cooked, fishy things…? The performances began and Ed pretty much knew immediately that he would rather have a bullet in his head then watch the next couple of hours of dancing. I’ll go into detail on all the dances below if you happen to be interested….Anna and i loved it and our poor husbands had each other to share their misery! I think this Valentines Day, 2009 is actually worse than this one in 2007…..i’ll share it later……

The theater was just an average looking place with a small stage. When we came into the theater our appetizers were already at our seat. It was the traditional salad of shredded cabbage and sprouts and such that we are served just about anywhere on island. There was also a bowl of miso soup and a bowl of soft tofu. During the first act our main course was served.

The first dance of the evening was the “Kagivade Fu.” This is traditionally the first dance performed at any concert or celebration. This is a happy dance that celebrates longevity of life. Usually this dance is performed by an elderly man and woman, but here it is done with two young women. The entire evening is performed by four ladies who continually change clothes for each of the dances. It is a happy dance, but it is slow in movement as it is a reflection of life after many years, so the movements are to reflect that of the elderly. Of course with all Okinawan music you here the “Ah-sah-sah-ha-i-ah-ah-sah-sah

Dance 2 was called the “Nuchibana.” The dancers used garlands of red and white flowers for this dance. These are supposed to be cherry blossoms that the dancers have picked from the Shirashihai river to give to their loved ones. The guys were fading…..

Dance 3 was the “Hatoma Bushi.” This dance comes from Hatoma island. This is a little island below Okinawa. It celebrates fruitful crops. It begins slow but really picks up. The dancers used umbrellas for this dance.

Dance 4 was called the “Umi no Chinbora.” Basically means “Ocean Conch Shell. The dance portrays young girls along the beach picking up shells to take back home to use for different things. The guys were rolling their eyes in quiet misery…….

Dance 5 was called the “Kurushima Kuduchi.” It shows the celebration of the festivals held on the islands of Kurushima and Yaeyama. While they danced you could tell that they were planting rice and gathering their crops and such. Ed was antsy by now wanting to know how much longer….?

Dance 6 was called the “Yotsudake.” This means “four bamboos” which is referring to the cool castanets the dancers hold in their hands and click to the music. I have learned to use these at other dances and they are cool, kinda like the ones from Spain, just a different shape and a little different hold between this fingers. The original use for castanets was for the ritual purification of the area that the celebration was being held. The hats that the dancers wear during this performance are called Hanagasa, which means flower hats. I have referred to them as “lamp shades” in other blogs. The kimonos the ladies wear for this dance are beautiful! They are made of genuine Okinawan bingata fabric.

Dance 7 was the “Tanchame.” This one showed the reflection of life in the Tancha hamlet of Onna Village. The dance showed young couples walking around. The men werecarrying oars for going to fish and the women were carrying baskets to hold the fish the men brought home. It was a more upbeat dance. Ed and Matt had the look of “Why, why, why….. and when will it be over, when, when….?!!!”

Dance 8, the last dance, was the “Taiko Bayashi.” The taiko drums were used with this dance. It was very entertaining to watch. The performers also showed some humor as they pretended to hit the drummers on the head with their drumsticks. I think the drums helped wake up Ed and Matt. The performance lasted 2 hours. I think Ed and Matt were done within about the first 20 minutes into the performance or when they had finished their meal. Whichever came first.

Following the performance we were able to go up on the stage and have our picture taken with the dancers.

Just a bit of tid bits in case ya wanted to know…..
Each of the dances shows the islands history, its people, and the life that once existed on this beautiful island. Dancers must train for atleast 3 years to learn the techniques needed to be able to perform at this theater. They must memorize the steps for more than a dozen dances, know their stage presence, be able to do their make-up and costume as well as have vocal talents as some of the songs require singing. Even after all the years of training, they still have to go thru a rigorous audition to even make the cast!