Rogers describes these dances as "acts of fancy." The dances include: "Dance with Pennons," "Mourning Dance" (for off-stage soprano solo), and "Dance with Swords". They are dazzling in color yet rich, sonorous, and naive. Rogers' 1956 re-scoring of the dances for winds added a singularly unique composition to the repertoire. This edition represents the first full score available for winds. Three Japanese Dances is a composition of great clarity and detail.