Aiming for a symbiotic society, a step towards a new future through the power of art - Kagayaku Mirai ga Mieru Kanagawa 2021 -

This summer, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics were held.
Under the scorching hot Tokyo sun, the fierce battles between players from each country were well worth watching even on television.
This summer, as the world's attention turns to Japan, Kanagawa Prefecture and the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be hosting a series of online programs as part of the "Tokyo 2020 NIPPON Festival," an official cultural program of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to serve as a symbol of solidarity that transcends all borders.

"ONE - Our New Episode - Presented by Japan Airlines," one of three programs sponsored by the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, has the theme of "Towards the realization of an inclusive society." The program aims to highlight the unique personalities of each individual, such as those with disabilities, gender, and nationality, and to encourage encounters and interactions that will lead to people feeling the value of each individual, becoming aware of them, and developing empathy and resonance, thereby creating an opportunity to bring about changes in awareness and behavior.
This program consists of two projects: "Our Glorious Future ~KANAGAWA 2021~" and "MAZEKOZE Island Tour."
This time, we will be focusing on "Our Glorious Future ~KANAGAWA 2021~Kagayaku Mirai ga Mieru Kanagawa 2021", hosted by Kanagawa Prefecture and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee.

■Our Glorious Future ～KANAGAWA 2021～KANAGAWA 2021, where the future shines

Kaiji Moriyama © Sadato Ishizuka

This is a streaming program where artists dance, sing, act, and perform on the stage of the Kanagawa Prefectural Music Hall and other buildings (= Momijigaoka Cultural Zone) designed by Kunio Maekawa, a pioneer of Japanese modernist architecture. Viewers will not be able to take their eyes off the direction by the elite in each field.
The cultural zones of Koyogaoka are home to dance, theater, art, music, and crafts. First, let us introduce the unique directors and curators who take charge of each section and create the programs.

Kanagawa Prefectural Music Hall from the stage "Momijigaoka Culture Zone" © Hata Ryo

"The Future of Dance" features Kaiji Moriyama, a dancer and choreographer from Kanagawa Prefecture.
In 2005, he was praised by the New York Times as a "phenomenal dancer" for his work "KATANA," and was invited to the Venice Biennale in 2007. In addition to performing works both in Japan and abroad, he is actively engaged in expressive activities in a wide range of media, including the Japan Committee for UNICEF's "Global Handwashing Dance," making videos while visiting and staying at welfare facilities, and supervising elementary school textbooks.
The stream will feature the collaborative work "LIVEBONE" series by Kaiji Moriyama, Kozue Hibino, and Kosuke Kawase, with the theme of "each individual body is different." The series will feature guest artist Omae Koichi, a dancer with a prosthetic leg, and a new video produced at Kanagawa Prefectural Music Hall, a masterpiece by Maekawa Architecture. In addition, solo performances by Kaiji Moriyama and Omae Koichi, as well as "WONDER WATER," a performance that vividly depicts the diverse creatures that coexist in the ocean, will be released in sequence.

Dance Section Performance Image

The Future of Theatre will feature Tada Junnosuke, a director from Kanagawa Prefecture and head of Tokyo Deathlock.
We explore modern social issues from texts from all over the world, from classics to modern plays, novels, and poetry, past and present, and we also hold numerous workshops and creative productions with people who are not theater specialists at schools and cultural facilities, as well as many international co-productions with Korea and Southeast Asia.

Junnosuke Tada ©Toru Hiraiwa

The "Shiruyarukawaruiruodoru Project" being streamed this time is a project directed by Junnosuke Tada that aims to take a step towards realizing a symbiotic society by getting to know yourself and others. It will feature interviews with people who are engaged in activities that provide hints and inspiration for symbiosis, documentary footage of workshops, and a ceremony with the motif of Bon Odori to commemorate those who have passed away, those who have been lost, and for the future of us who are here now.

"The Future of Art" is by Yu Fujikawa, curator at Chigasaki City Museum of Art.
Specializing in contemporary art and education, he has planned many exhibitions and programs that utilize the environment and space to stimulate people's five senses. The exhibition "The Road to (and from) the Museum" (2019), which he planned after researching artists, people with disabilities, and the local community, was highly praised and attracted attention from all quarters as a new attempt at art aimed at a diverse range of people.
The works of the five artists selected by Fujikawa will be set among Kunio Maekawa's architectural complex, and will be created in response to the space, with tangible and intangible elements such as people, living things, light, sound, and wind. In this time of great change, these works that stand in empty spaces will create a moment to reflect deeply on the presence of humans that were originally meant to be welcomed, and to ponder the coexistence of modest beings with diverse things.
Yu Fujikawa ©Ben Matsunaga

In the "Music" category, there will also be a live performance by Salsa Gum Tape, a rock band based in Kanagawa Prefecture formed by Tetsu Kashiwa with members who have disabilities, and a collaboration between Western and Japanese music by the shakuhachi player Kifu Mitsuhashi, who is active both in Japan and overseas. Both will be streamed live and highly enjoyable, realizing multicultural coexistence. Please look forward to it.
A live performance by rock band Salsa Gum Tape

Finally, the "Crafts Section" will feature works by Maeda Masahiro, a leading contemporary crafts artist who has been creating works based in Yokohama, Kanagawa for over half a century, as well as other ceramic artists representing Kanagawa.
The talk show on the theme of crafts and food, featuring cooking magazine editor-in-chief Ueno Hiroo and others, is also not to be missed.

The videos will be released on the official website ( https://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/docs/yi4/portal.html ) in due course.
Please come and see it.

Draw pictures you like. Sing what you want. Create what you imagine. Write sentences.
I believe that the key to realizing greater diversity in the world and a society where people can coexist together is for everyone to first find and express what they like, what they are like, and what they want to do.

I hope that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the cultural festival, Tokyo 2020 NIPPON Festival, will be an opportunity for you to take a step towards your future.