Taiko Drums

Seattle’s Bon Odori, the Japanese folk-dancing festival, returned last weekend for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Organizers say about 3,000 people attended the 91st annual two-day summer festival.

On July 15, Taiko drums and singing echoed through the streets amid traditional dancing near the Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple at the edge of the Chinatown-International District. Onlookers greeted friends and families. For some, it's the first reunion since the pandemic paused such cultural events.

“I can get my grandma, a couple of my aunties, and my mom to come dance with me,” Arika Chinn said. That's why the "really old dances" are her favorite. “It’s really special.”

Chinn was dancing with her family. She's a freshman at the University of Washington and is a fourth-generation Japanese American. She was eating shaved ice, also called “kori,” with extra red beans and extra condensed milk. She has been coming to this event with her family since she was little.