STUDIES ON JAPANESE FOLK-DANCE / 体力科学

ABSTRACT

In order to study the relative metabolic rate and its relations with the heart rate in Japanese folk-dance “Min-Yo”, nine popular varieties of “Min-Yo” of Akita and Aomori, composed from the recreational point of view, were selected and examined by Douglas Bag method, and at the same time the appearance frequency of the movement of the dances was analyzed from the physiological point of view.<BR>Results obtained were as follows<BR>1) The degrees of the relative metabolic rate of the dances were middle or heavy, and among them “Akita Ondo” showed the highest valve, 3.95±0.89, and “Hachinohe-Kouta” showed the lowest, 2.39 ± 0.24. Individual variations were noticed even with the same dance, and skillful dancers showed higher values than less skillful ones.<BR>2) As for the changes in heart rate, dances with higher relative metabolic rate show higher heart level in exercise, and those with lower rate showed lower changes. The coefficient of correlation of relative metabolic rate (heart rate in exercise/heart rate at rest × 100) with heart rate index showed a high value, r=0.973 (p<0.01) . The regression line of the latter (y) against the former (x) was, y=0.065x-5.75.<BR>3) Analysis of the movement showed that regardless of the dancing time, dances with high relative metabolic rates involved more intense bodily movement and greater motions, and that those with lower rates involved lighter movement and smaller motions even when the appearance frequency of movement was high.