Eisa is a lively, high-spirited dance that has become one of Okinawa’s most notable performance arts. Eisa dances are traditionally associated with Obon celebrations but can also be seen throughout the year at locations such as Okinawa World and Ryukyu Mura.

For hundreds of years, eisa dances were reserved solely for Obon, the festival during which Okinawans honor deceased ancestors. During the festival, those offering prayers often recited incantations of a poem called "Iro Iro no Esa Omoro". This poem, along with more than 1,000 other poems and songs, is found in the Omorosōshi, one of Okinawa's oldest texts. (Omoro are chants that were sung throughout the Ryukyus during the 12th through 17th centuries. St. Taichu, a Buddhist monk, introduced many Buddhist prayers and chants to Okinawa and translated them to language that the island's commoners could understand. He gave musical melodies to them as well, and thus blended Buddhist prayers with local poems and songs. Many of these were recorded in the Omorosōshi .) Historians believe that over time, “Iro Iro no Esa Omoro” melded with songs from the Omorosōshi and transformed into a dance known as the esa omoro, the precursor of the thunderous rhythms and chants of today's eisa.

Historically, these prayer-songs were performed by either men or women, depending on the region in which one celebrated Obon. In Shuri and central Okinawa, where the eldest son of a nobleman was expected to learn sanshin, dance, and other high-class arts, eisa was passed from male to male. But in more rural areas such as the Ogimi and Kunigami regions of Okinawa, priestesses played dominant roles in religion and thus learned the esa omoro's chants and dances.

As eisa was a dance for the dead, the costumes of the dancers were originally made in muted earth tones. Most of the costumes were made of bashofu (a cloth made from banana fibers) and incorporated straw waistbands or headbands.

Eisa took a turn toward its modern appearance after the Meiji Restoration of 1868. During the first few decades of the Meiji era, modern folk songs arose as adaptations of traditional Buddhist incantations. Village youth associations began to mingle with increased frequency, watching each other's eisa performances and taking bits and pieces that they liked.

World War II, however, brought almost total destruction to Okinawa, devastating the island physically and economically. Spiritually, Okinawa also received a significant blow, although it was far from a fatal one. Like a phoenix from the ashes, the island's citizens began to rebuild their communities and reinstate their annual traditions. Some of those traditions came back in their original form, and others, like eisa, got a facelift. Competitions between eisa troupes developed, and judging criteria quickly centered on costume design, drumming technique, and dance synchronization.

Music continues to be central to eisa performances today, especially taiko (drums). Within each troupe are separate contingents of ōdaiko (barrel drums, usually red in color), shimedaiko (smaller, laced drums), and paranku (hand drums) players. Rounding out the percussionists are individuals with cymbals and Yotsutake castanets. Sanshin players also play a vital role in the music of eisa, though their sound often takes a backseat to the pounding of the taiko.

Taiko players not only pound on their instruments, they also leap and twirl through the air. Accompanying them are dancers waving fans and kerchiefs. All move together in geometrical patterns, and are clad in brightly-colored costumes. Each village has unique costumes for eisa performances, differing not only in color, but also in construction. Eisa performers in northern Okinawan often sport light, cotton kimono, while their central Okinawan counterparts don uchikaki (vests) over white or black t-shirts. Dancers from southern Okinawan sometimes wear costumes with bright leggings. Females usually wear navy blue kimono that feature square patterns of white.

Running and weaving throughout the performers are white-faced comic characters known as nakawachi and marumun. (Though some villages don't have such characters during their eisa performances.) Since eisa dancers perform during the heat of summer, they must stop and rest, and while they do, these jokesters keep the crowd entertained. They are also responsible for bringing water to thirsty performers.

Eisa performances held during Obon still contain vestiges of their Buddhist roots. Though performers move from home to home along their route through the village, stopping at homes that have paid for individual performances and on street corners where locals have gathered, they always begin with nembutsu, or Buddhist prayer-songs, in the kami-ashagi, or local place of worship. They then begin the all-night task of escorting spirits back to the spirit world, concluding Űkui (escorting day) and Obon.

One of the unmistakable sounds of summer on Okinawan is that of local eisa troupes practicing on sticky, sultry evenings, preparing for Obon or for the island's eisa competitions. Though many learn basic dancing and drumming techniques as youngsters in school, the practice countless hours each summer to learn new routines in preparation for Obon and the eisa festivals.

The two most popular eisa events are the All-Okinawa Eisa Festival, held annually at Koza Athletic Park in Okinawa City, and the 10,000 Eisa Dancer Parade on Kokusai Street in Naha City. Both are open to the public and showcase Okinawa's cultural heritage for locals and tourists alike.

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