New Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has given a boost to folk dancers and officials promoting the traditional "dojo sukui" (loach-scooping) comic dance in Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture, after recently comparing himself to the stream-dwelling fish.
The preservation group Yasugi-bushi Hozon Kai, set up in 1911, hopes to see a sharp rise in the dance's popularity, said fourth-generation grand master Oito Watanabe, 66.
On the centenary of its founding, the group, which has about 4,000 members in 68 branches from Shimane Prefecture in the west to the Kanto region, wants to build on Noda's remark at special events, including a commemorative performance later this month in Tokyo, Watanabe said.
Yasugi officials said they also hope to capitalize on the prime minister's comment through increased sales of cultured loach, for which the city is renowned, and greater patronage of the local theater dedicated to the dance.
Noda likened himself to the humble fish in a speech prior to Monday's Democratic Party of Japan leadership election, quoting an aphorism, "A loach does not have to emulate a goldfish," by calligrapher and poet Mitsuo Aida (1924-1991).
