LETHBRIDGE, Alberta — The sound of the naruko returns to southern Alberta. KOKUYOSA, the North America International Yosakoi Festival, holds its second edition on September 19–20, 2026 at Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden in Lethbridge. Twelve teams and some 150 dancers from Japan, the United States and Canada will perform, and admission is free.
Yosakoi is a high-energy Japanese festival dance born in Kochi in 1954, danced today in more than 30 countries. KOKUYOSA became the first international yosakoi festival ever held in North America when it debuted in Lethbridge in 2025, drawing 14 teams and about 2,000 visitors, with coverage in Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun and a Kochi Television documentary.
What’s new in 2026
- Twelve teams, from Kochi and Tokyo to Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Lethbridge’s own Setsumai Yosakoi — plus Ōzora JCAM Yosakoi, a brand-new team born from a KOKUYOSA workshop in Winnipeg
- Special guests: Chika Tamura, one of Japan’s leading yosakoi choreographers, and Yoshihiro Kaneko, vocalist of the yosakoi band Narutaka
- Local performers on the main stage: taiko drummers, Okinawan Eisa dancers and local dance academies
- A free public workshop morning on Sunday — anyone can learn the basics and join the mass dance
“When you hold a naruko, language stops mattering,” says co-founder Emiko Tanaka. “Last year we saw dancers from three countries and an audience of two thousand become one circle. This year we want Lethbridge to be in that circle with us.”
KOKUYOSA 2026 is supported by the Government of Alberta, the City of Lethbridge, Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden, the National Association of Japanese Canadians and the Calgary Japanese Community Association, along with community sponsors, and is endorsed by the Consulate-General of Japan in Calgary, Kochi Prefecture and other organizations in Japan.
📍 Sept 19 (Sat) 9:30–18:30 & Sept 20 (Sun) 9:00–12:00 · Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden, Lethbridge · Free admission · Day Guide
カエデ文化協会(カルガリー)は、第2回北米国際よさこい祭り KOKUYOSA 2026 を2026年9月19日(土)・20日(日)、レスブリッジの日加友好庭園で開催します。日本・アメリカ・カナダから12チーム・約150名の踊り子が参加、入場は無料です。
昨年の第1回は北米初の国際よさこい祭りとして14チーム・約2,000人を集め、読売新聞やテレビ高知のドキュメンタリーでも紹介されました。今年は、春のウィニペグでのワークショップから生まれた新チーム「大空JCAMよさこい」が初出場。ゲストに振付師・田村千賀さん、「なるたか」ボーカルの金子佳弘さんを迎え、太鼓や沖縄エイサー、地元ダンスアカデミーも出演します。
19日(土)は9時半のパレードからコンテスト2回戦、17時49分の表彰式、観客も参加できる総踊り(18時19分)まで。20日(日)午前は誰でも参加無料のワークショップです。当日ガイドはこちら。