Operating Philosophy
Without forgetting the origins of the Yosakoi Festival, we will continue to be a team that inspires dreams in the children who will lead the next generation, brings vitality to the community, and is needed by everyone.
Never forget the origins of the festivalThey learn how to use the naruko (wooden clappers) from their parents and parade through the streets in matching happi coats and twisted headbands. Just like carrying a portable shrine, it’s natural for those born in Kochi to carry a naruko from a young age. They are carrying on this Kochi culture.
Give children dreamsWith loud noises, dazzling lights, and dancers in special costumes, we hope that the fun and exciting atmosphere of the festival will inspire children to dream. With that wish in mind, we continue to create this extraordinary world.
For a vibrant communityWherever the festival music resonates, people gather from all directions. Young and old dance together, and eventually, genuine human connections are forged. To help facilitate this, the festival organizers dance in as many communities as possible.
Creating a reason to live in this place
This is the SAIYA team’s slogan.
Kochi Prefecture faces serious issues with young people leaving the prefecture due to lack of jobs, inconvenience, and an aging population. However, Kochi possesses a genuine “culture” that attracts and unites people. This is the culture of “Yosakoi,” painstakingly created and developed by our predecessors. To introduce the authentic Kochi Yosakoi to the Yosakoi festivals that have spread throughout Japan…
This is one of SAIYA’s missions, born in Kochi.
At the same time, something SAIYA wants to achieve is:
“To ensure that every child in Kochi participates in the Yosakoi Naruko dance at least once before becoming an adult.”
In recent years, it seems that the barrier to entry for Yosakoi has become a little higher. For the future of authentic Kochi Yosakoi, we want everyone to experience Yosakoi at least once, and when they become parents, to tell their children, “Mom and Dad used to dance Yosakoi too.” And while teaching children how to use the naruko (wooden clappers), we hope they will also carry on the culture of fanning the dancers with fans from the roadside.
If children who grow up using naruko from a young age can take pride in Kochi, the home of Yosakoi, and if that becomes their “reason for living in this place,” then there is nothing more we could ask for.
Passing on the Yosakoi Festival to the next generation
With members mainly from Kochi City, and around 20 people from Aki City and Tano Town, we first participated in the Kochi Yosakoi Festival and Aki Summer Festival in 2010.
Thanks to everyone’s support, we now have over 100 dancers participating in the Yosakoi Festival every year, not only from within Kochi Prefecture but also from Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Kyoto, Okayama, Hiroshima, Tokushima, Okinawa, and other areas.
Originally, we wanted to liven up the summer festival in Aki City, the hometown of our first representative. This year, we’ll see who wins… it’s the Chamber of Commerce, after all… We hope to make Aki a prelude to the Kochi Yosakoi Festival, a festival full of various kinds of fun.
In 2013, we won first place at the 58th Aki Summer Festival, and received the “Powerful Award” at the Tatsuno Citizens’ Festival in Hyogo Prefecture. Then, in 2019, at the Yosakoi Festival, we were finally selected for the “District Competition Venue Association Encouragement Award” from among many Yosakoi teams, and tears welled up in our eyes.
We weren’t formed by people from famous teams, nor are we a team from a large corporation. We had no name recognition and limited funds, but we’ve grown little by little to get to where we are today. We create our own music and dances, even though we’re amateurs. We believe it’s good to have a team like ours among the Yosakoi Festival award-winning teams.
Although we’re young members, we’re working hard with the future of Kochi in mind.
We want to pass on the “Yosakoi Festival,” which we’ve experienced since childhood, to the next generation, and that’s what drives us.
Features of SAIYA
MUSIC
The lyrics and music are written by members of SAIYA. They only create two songs a year, one for SAIYA and one for the children’s team Chaiya, so no two songs are alike. Of course, the songs are also sung by members of SAIYA. They put everything into these one-of-a-kind songs.
Choreography
All the choreography for the banners, lanterns, and naruko (clappers) was created by members of SAIYA who truly understand the joy of festivals. The only thing that exists in their work is the desire to make the dancers look cool and have fun, and for the audience to enjoy themselves.
List of choreography articles [ja]
The traditional Japanese music troupe
This team, which now becomes rare, plays live music from its float. The Yatarō Taiko drum group, representative of Aki City, and the female percussionists play a musical ensemble that is the envy of children. They adorn the float with vibrant colors and pull the dancers along.
List of articles about the traditional Japanese music troupe [ja]
Flag
Furafu are large flags that are displayed alongside carp streamers during the Boys’ Festival in Kochi Prefecture. The SAIYA Furafu Group captivates the audience. Witness the masterful skills of the SAIYA Furafu Group as they make the flags flap overhead with a flapping sound.
Costume
The SAIYA costumes, created after numerous considerations, are extremely popular with the dancers. SAIYA are synonymous with the twisted headband. They wear these twisted headbands, which have been adapted to be accepted in modern times, and enjoy the festival with them tightly fastened.
Float
When you think of Kochi’s Yosakoi festival, you think of the huge floats. Lanterns flash and light up, people are making a racket on the back of the floats, and arena-class sound systems blast the music. Come and see the festival organizers’ pride and joy: floats packed with everything boys dream of.
Creating a reason to live in this place
Living in this land together with my companions
It’s not just about dancing Yosakoi; it’s about living in this place together with friends. Cherry blossom viewing, beer gardens, barbecues, sports days— SAIYA holds a variety of events throughout the year.
List of recreation articles [ja]
Community and social contribution activities
SAIYA has come this far thanks to the support of many communities and societies. With a sense of gratitude to these communities and societies, we conduct community and social contribution activities (Team Social Responsibility :TSR).
List of Community and Social Contribution Activities (TSR) [ja]
Tosa Mizuki Hanaguruma crest
The birth flower for March 18th (SAIYA Day) is the Tosa Mizuki (Cornus tomentosa). Its flower meanings are elegance, purity, love, and message.
With the desire to cherish and promote the Aki Summer Festival and the Kochi Yosakoi Festival, we incorporated the Aki family crest (Tachibana) and the Tosa domain crest (Tosa Kashiwa) to create a sophisticated design. We also expressed the drooping small flowers of the Tosa Mizuki, symbolizing our wish for the team’s development.
We hope to captivate audiences with our elegant and pure dance, and to pass on the joy and traditions of this Kochi Yosakoi Festival to future generations with love.
These are the feelings we have poured into this design.
The origin of the team name “SAIYA”
The Yosakoi Festival was born in Kochi. A Yosakoi Festival I’ve grown up with.
Even without a performance, if you enjoy the festival in a cool way, you can be captivated.
It’s not a contest, it’s a festival. That’s the Kochi Yosakoi Festival. Team SAIYA, dedicated to perfecting the “festival.”
Team Logo
The SAIYA team is dedicated to perfecting festivals. By placing “Matsuri” (festival) at the center of their logo, they express their desire to cherish the spirit of festivals. Below it, the team name SAIYA is placed so that people from other countries can also understand the team name. The two lines surrounding “Matsuri” represent the dynamism and sophistication of the Matsuriya team, carried on the letter “S” of “SAIYA”. The colors are a gradient from red to yellow, the SAIYA colors, expressing strength, friendliness, and brilliance.
Team Colors
The SAIYA team’s colors are a gradient from red to yellow. Red represents the passion, leadership, impact, strength, and emotion of the youth; orange represents the cheerfulness, friendliness, gentleness, warmth, kindness, sociability, energy, and smiles of the people of Tosa in southern Japan; and yellow represents the intellectual side, star quality, and radiance of the members. All of these elements come together to form the complete SAIYA team.
