It's summer in Okinawa, that means it's time for the Eisa festival, held in July Taiko drums are played by brightly clad dancers in a noisy and colorful event. Eisa takes place on the streets and in fields and each town in Okinawa has its own variation of Eisa tunes. Eisa is equivalent of Japanese obon when dead anscestors are said to return. This superb 2 CD set features three performers, the omnipresent Toru Yonaha joined by Hirokazu Matsuda and Kazutoshi Matsuda, the songs focussing on two areas of Okinawa on each CD. Musically, the banging of taiko drums are accompanied by stern male unison vocals, sanshin, the occassional wistful flute and plenty of chants of 'heeya sa sa, haiyeea!'
