Japan's Dancing Plague Of "What The Hell!" | Historia Ephemera

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There are no end of strange movements throughout history. Ones that pose some every strange questions to the human psyche. Japan's "Ee Ja Nai Ka" could best be considered an Eastern equivalent to Europe's legendary "Dancing Plague". Both involved spontaneous dancing for days often due to unexplained events or miracles. What makes the "Ee Ja Nai Ka" more remarkable though is they occurred in the 1800s and was well recorded in both writing and artwork. The "Ee Ja Nai Ka" exploded between 1867 and 1868. Then, after barely a year, began to peter out as these "miracles" became less and less common. As is obvious, there was probably more to the random nature of these mass dancing spectacles...

The "Ee Ja Nai Ka" took place against a backdrop of total social meltdown in Japan. By the 1860s, the opening of trade to the West had sent Japan into a spiral of instability. Neither the established Tokugawa Shogunate nor the civilian populace could maintain Japan's collapsing feudal structure. A structure that had kept peace (and tranquility) throughout the country for more than 200 years. The "Ee Ja Nai Ka" then were a sort of mass, hysteric response to events beyond the people's control. But, when there is an opportunity, political players will always take the advantage...

 So why did this dancing plague (or madness) become so spiritual in Japan?
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Music:
Patino - "Sacred Lotus" (00:00-01:58)
Frédéric Chopin — "Galop Marquis", preformed by Aya Higuchi (01:58-02:09)
Nat Keefe & Hot Buttered Rum - "Come With Us" (02:09-05:23)
E's Jammy Jams - "Thunder Chant" (05:04-08:05)
E's Jammy Jams - "Tango Bango" (08:01-10:51)
DJ Williams - "The Missing 11th" (10:46-13:26)
126ers - "Golden Empire" (13:23-16:37)
Ben Elliott - "Journey To Paris" (16:38-17:10)
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All copyrighted media, images, and music respective owner(s).
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-Totman, Conrad D. Japan Before Perry: A Short History. University of California Press, 1981.
-Feifer, George. Breaking Open Japan: Commodore Perry, Lord Abe and the American Imperialism in 1853. Smithonsian Books/Collins, 2006.
-Wilson, George M. “Plots and Motives in Japan's Meiji Restoration.” Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 25, no. 3, 1983, pp. 407–427.
-WILSON, GEORGE MACKLIN. "Ee ja nai ka on the eve of the Meiji Restoration in Japan". Semiotica , vol. 70, no. 3-4, 1983, pp. 301-320.
- "Black Ships & Samurai" by John W. Dower: https://bit.ly/3oLow8N
-Apocalypse Now: An Alternate View of the Bakumatsu Years: https://bit.ly/3kfcvWt
-Possible translations of “ee ja nai ka” in Wilson, George M.: https://bit.ly/3j9zvoh
-Why Not? How Japan Danced Away Its Samurai Past: https://bit.ly/3o71RDw
-The End of the Edo Period and the Ee Ja Nai Ka: https://bit.ly/32aoVrI
-Carnivals, Creatures, and Calendars: Historical Rabbels and Art in Japan: https://bit.ly/35VG2i1
-Of Madness, Murder, and Measles: The Meiji Period (1868-1912) Craze for Pictorial Dictionaries: https://bit.ly/381Z5K9
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Possible Translations For: "Thanks For Watching"

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