Ee ja nai ka — “Isn’t it good?”: Joy, Protest and Upheaval at the End of Edo
In chaotic times, people find delight in the absurd. Take Japan’s 1860s “Ee ja nai ka (isn't it good?)” movement: It was a mix of protest and party—dancing, mocking, and rebellion echoing a society in flux. Noisy, messy, and rejecting the rigid social norms of the time. Ee ja nai ka started in the last year of the Samurai era, Edo, and faded in the first year of modern Japan. . Like Portland’s inflatable costume dance party, it reminds me that when times are tough, we crave joy. Humans want to laugh. Dance. Cope with it and start healing. Not through threats and violence, but through laughter and compassion. And a little spark of madness.