Development of a Visualization Method for Motion-characteristic Distribution of Japanese Folk Dances - A Case Study of the Bon Odori Dance

Abstract

This study proposes a method to systematically visualize the motion-characteristic distribution of Japanese folk dances passed down in a certain area. This is accomplished by adopting an approach that involves analyzing motion-capture data collected from the dances. The visualization process in the proposed method consists of three stages. The first stage is the modeling of the relationship among motion-capture data, folk dances, and the settlements in which folk dances have been passed down. This relationship is modeled as a hierarchical-structure model. The second stage is the extraction of motion characteristics from motion-capture data streams. The motion characteristics of each data stream are summarized as a fourteen-dimensional feature vector. The third stage is the visualization of the motion-characteristic distribution of the dances investigated. Each of the dances is mapped on a two-dimensional scatter plot in accordance with the feature quantities obtained in the second stage. Information on the hierarchicalstructure model constructed in the first stage is also displayed. The analysis results for the distribution of Bon Odori dances showed that the proposed method could have almost completely visualized the motion-characteristic distribution of sample folk dances, while also demonstrating consistency with the knowledge of the dances acquired in the previous studies.

Development of a Cartogram Construction Method for Visualizing Japanese Folk Dance Distribution

“…The above regional variation of the relationship between the motion characteristics of the Bon Odori dances of Akita Prefecture and the geographic elements of corresponding regions has been poined out in several previous studies [4], [9], [40], [43]. However, it has never been schematically displayed until now.…”

“…As an example in which the above motion-characteristic distribution was considered, a study of Ref. [9] can be given. By using the method proposed in Ref.…”

“…By using the method proposed in Ref. [9], a set of multiple folk dances passed down in a certain area is analyzed altogether, and the distribution of their motion characteristics is schematically visualized. However, their relevance to the geographic elements of regional communities in which the dances have been passed down, the visualization of which is the main subject of this paper, is not considered.…”

“…As already mentioned in Section 1, we adopt the folk dance distribution model proposed in Ref. [9]. In the model, the relationship among Mocap data, folk dances, and settlements in which the dances have been passed down is represented in a hierarchical structure.…”

“…We adopt the folk dance distribution model proposed in Ref. [9], which represents the above relationship in a systematic hierarchical structure.…”