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It’s time to introduce you to an essential ingredient of yosakoi performances in the Kochi Yosakoi festival – the jikatasha music truck! The jikatasha (地方車) is so many things in one, and so much more than the sum of its parts.

Before the dancers even grace the stage, the jikatasha has taken pride of place at the front of the parade. The MC clears his throat, takes the microphone, and raises his eyes to a sea of dancers and audience members, their faces expectant. On the back of the jikatasha, the whole world can see him, and he can see the whole world.

The guitar thrums, the bass throbs, the MC sings out to the crowd. The jikatasha lurches forward and the performance begins!

(I’m really sorry for that corny poetic description, but I couldn’t really convey it in any other way!)

The jikatasha is a rolling musical stage on the back of a truck, and the pumping heart of the yosakoi team’s performance. It carries gigantic portable generators that supply electricity to a huge array of lights and powerful speakers.

Every jikatasha is lovingly decorated in each team’s design for that performance, often using the same elements and colours as the dancers’ costumes. It introduces the team's concept before the team even starts dancing, and also has space to convey the team’s name and major supporters.

And finally, perched at the top of the jikatasha, on a ready-made platform, is the yosakoi team’s band and cheer squad! They work their magic to inspire the team and audience alike to enjoy each performance with their full energy. The music has to be loud, to be heard over other teams' jikatasha and ensure that every member in the team can hear clearly, right down to the back row of the parade. For the people dancing in the front row it's like a rock concert right in your face!

To view a yosakoi parade from the back of a jikatasha is an experience like no other.

Actually, the reason we’re introducing the jikatasha is because it is the major goal of this crowdfunding campaign. It’s the largest single expense for any yosakoi team, easily exceeding ten thousand US dollars.

We really appreciate your support and donations, they’ll go directly towards constructing this fabulous vehicle. When our jikatasha is built, you’ll be the first to know, we can’t wait to show you more about the jikatasha in future posts!

- Will