'O doru aho ni miru aho, onaji ahonara odorana son son (Dancing fool and watching fool. If both are fools, then dance, or you'll lose big)."
It's a verse from "Yoshikono," the song that pulses at the beating heart of Awa Odori -- the frenzied spectacle that engulfs Tokyo's Koenji district at this time every year with dancing and drinking as participants and spectators alike immerse themselves in both with equal gusto.
The 12,000 "dancing fools" and 1.2 million "watching fools " expected to help Koenji celebrate the 50th anniversary of its Awa Odori this Saturday and Sunday make the event the nation's biggest such festival and one of the wildest of any kind.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.