The 1st Tokyo Festival of Intangible Culture

Sufi songs from Pakistan, carnival music from Haiti, spirit dances from Tohoku: it's the kind of globe-straddling melange the capital hasn't been seen here since the demise of the annual Tokyo Summer Festival in 2009. Boasting a moniker that would make UNESCO proud, the inaugural Tokyo Festival of Intangible Culture aims to provide a meeting place for folk traditions from Japan and overseas. In the foreign corner, they've got Haitian party band Raram No Limit, Pakistani singer Sanam Marvi and a delegation of shamans and folk musicians from the South Korean island of Jindo. The Japanese contingent, meanwhile, includes Janga Nenbutsu-odori dancers and musicians from Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures, whose performances act as a prayer for the spirits of the dead.

July 11-12
Carnival Music from Haiti (Raram No Limit)
Sogetsu Hall

July 17
Sufi Songs from Pakistan, performed by Sanam Marvi
Bunkamura Orchard Hall

July 18
Prayer: Sacred and Ancient Songs of Miyako Island
Kioi Small Hall

July 20
Festivals of Death and Celebration on Jindo Island in South Korea
Sogetsu Hall

July 22
Placating the Spirits of the Dead: Jangara Nenbutsu-odori
Yurakucho Asahi Hall

July 23
Hayasu: Performances by Hayashi Ensembles
Kioi Hall

July 24
Feast of Dance
Kioi Hall

July 27
Narrative Genres of Vocal Music
Kioi Small Hall