On May 3, 2024, street performer Giriyak Amagasaki, who has been dancing on the streets for more than half a century, held a performance called ``Soul Dance'' at Maruyama Park in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City. Under the blue sky, he performed his 93-year-old performance in front of a large crowd of onlookers.
Since performing on the streets in 1968, Giriyak has made pilgrimages to disaster-stricken areas in Japan and abroad, including Tokyo and his hometown of Hokkaido, and has earned him the nickname "legendary street performer." She has been dancing in Kyoto since the 1970s, a city she has a special fondness for, and last year, after the coronavirus pandemic, she returned for the first time in four years.
When he appeared in a wheelchair holding a well-worn paperback shamisen, there were shouts of "Japan's best!" In time with the Tsugaru Jongara Bushi, he expresses himself by moving his hands, which are trembling due to a chronic illness he has suffered from for many years. He received applause as he danced with onlookers and stood up from his wheelchair with Kuroko's support.
At the end, he performed the classic trick of rolling on the ground and dousing himself with a bucket of water, and was surrounded by many people after the performance. Giriyak Amagasaki said, ''I will continue to dance, risking my life.''
