Linking Pinkies at Kurdish Newroz: Kurdish Festival Practice, Anti-Racist Performance, and Public Space in Contemporary Japan
Year: 2026
Type: report
Abstract: This essay reflects on Kurdish Newroz held at Akigase Park in Saitama, Japan, on March 22, 2026. Focusing on govend, a Kurdish circle or line dance, and especially on the small gesture of linking pinkies, it considers how music, dance, and bodily connection can hold a place against discriminatory disruption. Reading Newroz in Akigase alongside the author's experience with pungmulnori in Kawasaki, the essay asks how performance practice can make public space livable, audible, and shared under pressure.
DOI: 10.17613/mfc5p-yqd29
Author: Tanaka, Rieko
Institution: Joshibi University of Art and Design
Language: English
Topic: Arts and Performance Studies
Subfield: Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7166338237
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