People Landscape in KANAGAWA｜Learning about sustainable community activities from Fujino Town: Art festival that lights up abandoned schools

Interview & Text: Akiko Inoue Photo: Masamasa Nishino

The beginning of the “Hikari Festival,” an art festival that lights up the lights of hope in closed schools.

- First of all, please tell us how the Hikari Festival started.

Kazuhiko Hakamada (H): None of the members currently running the Hikari Festival have been involved with it since the first time. So this is the story I heard from Mr. Tsutomu Shimada, who started this festival, and after the Makigo Elementary School was closed down, Mr. and Mrs. Tsutomu and his wife Naoko established what is now the Makigo Labo (* I started an art space (shared atelier). However, to the locals, it just seemed like artists came from Tokyo and started something, so we started the Hikari Festival to get people to know more about our activities.

- In 2003, this school building began to be reused as Makigo Lab, and the Hikari Festival began in August 2004. Please tell us a little more about how Makigo Lab started.

Dentetsu Odashima (O): It seems that Mr. Chikara and his friends were looking for places other than Fujino where artists could stay and work, and when they came across this former Makisato Elementary School, they fell in love at first sight. I imagine they were captivated by the view of the pink school building as they climbed the slope leading to the schoolyard on a sunny day. I think he said that he managed to persuade it to happen.

Makigo Lab (former Makigo Elementary School), venue for the “Hikari Festival”

O: Originally, this elementary school was not built by the government, but by the local people out of necessity. It was a self-made elementary school, with the land provided by someone else, the building built by everyone, and the teachers found from within Tokyo to run it. In short, it is an extension of the Terakoya.

H: Apparently the building was blown away by the Ise Bay Typhoon in 1934, and at that time they were actually holding classes at a nearby temple.

- Is that so!

O: So this building is the second generation. I'm already 55 years old.

- By the way, what is the origin of the name Hikari Festival?

O: This is also a rumor, but isn't it because the focus was on artists who work with light?

H: The founder, Chikara, is also a video artist, and the fact that he had many writing-related writers among his friends may have had an influence. However, other than the image of a light show, the underlying theme of ``lighting up the light of hope in an abandoned school'' has always been there.

- I see. "Hikari" is an abstract word, so it can be interpreted in many different ways. What kind of artists and groups are currently using Makigo Lab?

O: The room I'm in now is Fujino Denryoku's office, and there's also a guitarist, a team called OVERHEADS that does a light show, a non-profit organization called the Natural Parenting Friends Association, a space designer, and a sound artist. As for what we're doing, we're all doing what we like (lol)

H: There are the basics like I just mentioned, but there are probably many people who are doing a lot of other things besides that.

- So the ``Hikari Festival'' is created by a mix of these artists, artists invited from outside, and local people. Is there anything that has changed compared to the early days and now?

H: The scale is getting bigger and bigger, but I don't think the style has changed much. At first, admission was free to make it easier for people in the area to come, but as it grew year by year, it became impossible to do it for free. (*Admission fee is 3,500 yen for 3 days)

- Still, it's super cheap...! First of all, can you enjoy it for 3 days with this amount? ! I remember being surprised by that.

O: Isn't that so? That's what I said (lol)

H: There was talk that it would be a little easier if it was a little higher, but I just couldn't decide...

The encounter between Mr. Odashima and Fujino Town

O: The first time I came to Fujino was because of the Hikari Festival.

- What was your first impression?

O: I found the flyer at a record store in Tokyo and went there, but I was really surprised. Many of the festivals back then were pretty predictable, but at the Hikari Festival, the artists and people I'd never heard of, and I didn't even know this town existed, so I got interested and brought my wife and kids there. I went there and tried it. Then I heard an old man singing in the elementary school playground... (lol) By the way, that old man was Shigeru Yokoyama of Siegel-do .

Art showroom created in a renovated former pharmacy

- That's shocking...! Was this experience the reason you decided to move from Tokyo to Fujino?

O: I didn't immediately decide to move here, but it was a big opportunity.

By the way, on the way home that day, when we were having trouble finding a bus to take us back to the station, a car appeared in the darkness, and there was an old man who gave us a ride to the station, even though we were strangers. Furthermore, the last train was gone at the station, so I was once again at a loss when a person who was also passing by came to pick up my daughter from the station and offered to take me to a nearby inn and put her in his car. Meanwhile, the girl came from the station and got into the passenger seat, but we didn't pay any attention to her and talked about all the things that had happened that day, until we got home and got off the car. "Who are you guys?" (lol) When I explained the story, my daughter said, "Good day then," and left. When I saw that, I thought, ``How natural.'' That's why, after visiting Fujino for the first time, those impressions remain deeply etched in my mind.

- How long did it take before you moved after that incident?

O: About four years.
Even after that, I would go for drives on holidays, and since my wife was influenced by the ideas of Rudolf Steiner, we would also go to see Steiner schools . Apart from that, I was living at my wife's parents' house at the time, so I knew it was time to move out, so I started looking for a house. But I didn't end up living in Fujino right away, so I searched various places like Okinawa and Ibaraki, and when I hit a dead end, my wife suddenly found a house in Fujino on Yahoo! Real Estate and said it was cheap, so we went to see it. Well, I guess that's what I ended up deciding on.

- There were many twists and turns, and in the end it felt like Fujino called me.

O: That's how it felt.

Meeting between Mr. Hakamada and Fujino

- Mr. Hakamada, please tell us why you decided to move to Fujino.

H: In my case, the time from when I learned about Fujino to when I moved here was quick. The first time I came to Fujino was when I was just starting out as an assistant and working as a photographer in Tokyo, and a friend invited me to visit Fujino to listen to a UA concert.

- That was when UA was still living in Fujino. About how many years ago?

H: About seven years ago. It was a live performance at “Cafe Restaurant shu” , but why such a small place? I remember thinking that. On the way, UA said he was going home for a day because he had a child (lol) There were a lot of Fujino's friends in the audience, and there were various conversations with UA, and they were like, ``Ah, this kind of live... I thought that was interesting.

- What a luxury!

H: It was so much fun that I remember talking with the owner, Shu, after we finished.

Around that time, I started thinking about living in the countryside, and two months later, I decided to end my life in Tokyo. I was looking for a place to start a farm, and at that time I learned two words: "permaculture" (*a design system for creating a permanent sustainable environment for humans. I searched for ``meal/accommodation places,'' ``power,'' and ``systems for exchanging knowledge and experience''), and I found a place in Azumino, Nagano that looked like I could do what I wanted to do, so I called there. However, it was winter and there was no one around, so no matter how many times I tried, I couldn't get through.Meanwhile, another friend invited me to go to Fujino, so I stopped by Shu's shop again. .

- This is your second visit.

H: Yes. At that time, Shu pulled out a radish and handed it to UA, and we watched from our seats as the two exchanged words like, ``I can't take that much home.'' Then I saw Shu-san and he asked me, ``Do you have radish?'' (lol) I said, ``Oh, then...'' and that's when I met Shu-san again. From there, I talked about how I wanted to run a farm, and jokingly said, ``I want to work here.'' At first, he said, ``I can't pay my salary,'' but in the end, Basically, I was like, "Well, how about we make one?" (laughs)

So I started helping out the day after tomorrow, and ended up living there for about two and a half years. That was the reason for my migration. There, I learned about working in the fields from Mr. Shu, listened to interesting stories at night, and was introduced to many people, so I had a bigger impact after coming than before I came.

- Mr. Hakamada's progress was quite rapid (lol).In any case, from what you two talked about, I got a good sense of the Fujino people's lack of caution and tolerance. How is the Hikari Festival connected to Mr. Hakamada?

H: Shu's shop had a stall at the Hikari Festival, so I participated as a stallholder at the 5th festival. That's the beginning, right? After that, Mr. Chikara, the founder, became involved in the management from the 7th festival, when he decided to graduate from the Hikari Festival.

What is Fujino Electric Power? !

*Fujino Electric Power HP

-By the way, is it correct to say that Mr. Odashima is the representative of Fujino Electric Power?

O: Fujino Electric Power is not an organization like a company, but a team of people who like each other and come and go.

- Do you have an image like a circle?

O: Yeah, yeah

- Why did you choose solar power generation among the various natural energy sources?

O: There is no selection process there. I thought it would be nice to be able to generate my own electricity, so I looked online and found solar panels for sale. There were others, but they weren't priced so easily. However, solar panels were created in a flash.

- I heard that the electricity for the Hikari Festival and Makigo Lab are all powered by Fujino Electric Power's natural energy.

O: First of all, for the Hikari Festival, we have been using 100% in-house power generation since the 8th edition. However, when you say that it is Fujino Electric Power's electricity, the nuance is different. What Fujino Electric Power did at the Hikari Festival was simply coordinating the layout of the power supply at the venue, but there was another person who brought the power supply, so many people were involved. . Also, we recently realized that the Hikari Festival has been running on in-house power generation since the first time, although not 100% of the time.

H: I think they just didn't make a big announcement.

O: We simply didn't do the daring part of turning off the breakers in the school building and gymnasium and replacing them with our own electricity, but we instead used renewable energy for all additional power sources.

- I see. There was a new generational change, but that part of the mindset was naturally shared. On the contrary, I thought it was amazing. By the way, when I went around Fujino town today, I saw charging stations everywhere. I believe this is one of Fujino Electric Power's activities, but what was its purpose?

O: Going back to the beginning, I received a large number of old used solar panels. As a way to make use of it, we started a project to make Makigo Lab run 100% of our own power, but to be honest, it's not going well at all, and to be honest, we're currently at a deadlock. you know…. I found out that the amount of power generated was lower than expected, and that the battery was empty after three days, and if I ran it in that state, it would drain the battery. That's why we haven't achieved 100% for Makisato Lab.

However, the reason why I initially decided to make the lab self-generated was that one, it could serve as an evacuation site for local people in the event of an emergency such as an earthquake, and the other was that we could all use surplus electricity even during normal times. I thought that if people could use it, they could do something interesting. One way to use it during normal times is as a charging station. I think the excitement started when people who came to play with electric bicycles or motorbikes thought that if there was one in a major hub where people gathered, they could charge it while having a cup of tea.

Charging station inside Fujino Art Village
*Currently, there are four charging stations in Fujino (Fujino Art Village, Village 2 Sunhills, and Nichiren Cafe)
It is located in Tekuteku/Shinohara no Sato). You can also charge your mobile phone, so please take advantage of it!

- Mr. Odashima, who originally worked in a job unrelated to electricity, what was the background behind your decision to lead Fujino Electric Power?

O: There are two steps to that. In 2008, the Transition Town activity started in Fujino, and there were various activities within it, one of which was the idea of ``Let's generate our own electricity.'' There was a group that started talking about it. I thought this sounded interesting, so I quit Moribe, who was the manager at the time, and joined the group.

- He was the manager of Moribe...! So does that mean that it all started out of pure interest?

O: That's right. So actually, at first I was consciously careful not to get caught up in the Hikari Festival. It seems like it's going to be difficult (lol), but I gradually started to get involved in it, which is the other step I mentioned earlier.

8th Hikari Festival held using 100% renewable energy

O: Up until the 7th episode, I maintained the stance of being a customer and helping out where I could, and at the 8th episode, at first I was just listening to the story from a distance, thinking, ``Hmm...''. However, that was the year the earthquake occurred, and we were wondering what to do during the discussion.

H: That's right. After the earthquake, some members evacuated to Kyushu, some remained in Fujino, and others went to Tohoku, and we continued to watch the situation in Fukushima with no end in sight... But I guess everyone was thinking about the Hikari Festival somewhere in their heads. Meanwhile, a message from Mr. Chikara appeared on the mailing list, and I think everyone was inspired by it and started to take action.

O: That's right. At that time, there was talk of 100% in-house power generation, but I hadn't said I would do it yet.

H: But we were told that if we were going to do this, we'd have to hire someone to do it.

O: If I remember correctly, after that meeting was over, I received an email saying, ``Would anyone like to do this?'' When I read that the next day in the smoking room at work, I had an impulse and thought, ``Oh, I want to do that.'' But on the other hand, I also felt like, ``...this is bad.'' I intuitively felt that if I gave up at this point, I wouldn't be able to balance it with work. So, I decided to take some time to consider both of these feelings for a week before making a decision. So a week later, I was still determined, so I thought, ``Okay, let's do it!'' and I replied, ``I'll do it.''

- So you decided to get fully involved in the Hikari Festival, which you had been stubbornly keeping a close eye on up until now. What was the driving force behind Mr. Odashima?

O: For me, the reason I chose this lifestyle was not because of electricity, but because of festivals. I really admired the brilliance of the people who create the festival. I had a strong admiration for the performers and behind-the-scenes people, wondering what was going on in the minds of those who stood on stage. This is where electricity comes into play, and without electricity, the machines behind the scenes wouldn't work, and the performers wouldn't make any sounds...I was really excited by that kind of relationship. From that point on, I had to quit the company, and as expected, it was tough...

- As expected (lol)

H: There are quite a lot of people who have had many things change due to the Hikari Festival. In my case, I'm single so it doesn't matter, but when Tecchan (Mr. Odashima) raised his hand, honestly everyone was like, "Wow, Tecchan decided..." (lol) )

- But in other words, it has a charm that rivals that.

O: Yes, there was a proud charm to that role at that moment.

- And as a result, you achieved your goal of holding a festival using 100% renewable energy, right?

O: At first, even within the Fujino Electric Power team, there was a lot of resistance to getting involved with the Hikari Festival, but I was the only one who showed up to the Hikari Festival and was doing my best on my own. But gradually, the Hikari Festival and Fujino Electric Power's activities began to overlap, and on the day of the festival Fujino Electric Power's friends volunteered to help out here and there. So, when the festival was over, things had settled down in such a way that it didn't feel strange at all for people to say, ``Fujino Electric Power was responsible for the power source for the Hikari Festival.''

Fujino Town was an evacuation destination during the war, and what is its charm as a gathering place for artists?

- I heard that Fujino was the place where Transition activities first appeared in Japan. How did "Transition Fujino", the movement that created Fujino Electric Power, come about?

O: A man named Hidetoshi Enomoto happened to be at the Transition Town movement , which was born in a small town called Todnes in England. That experience reminded me of Fujino, so I brought it back to Fujino and started this activity.

- So, like the Hikari Festival and Transition activities, various things have flowed in from outside and come together to form Fujino into what it is today. This may have something to do with the fact that Fujino was a place of evacuation during the war. I heard that over a dozen painters and sculptors, including Tsuguharu Fujita, Genichiro Inokuma, and Kazu Wakita, were living as evacuees. Being able to be tolerant and not resist what comes from the outside may be one of the reasons why Fujino is who he is today.

O: It seems like the evacuation group, including Leonard Fujita, was the first generation, and we are said to be the fourth generation.

- I see. Art festivals are being held all over Japan these days, but what's happening in Fujino Town has a mysterious charm that doesn't fit into any of those categories. How do you both feel as parties involved?

H: When I previously made a PV for Fujino Town, I wanted to know why Fujino is said to be a town of art, so I interviewed Jun Sato (an artist who is said to be the elder statesman of Fujino). In the absence of tourism resources, art was the only way to revitalize the town, so the government spent money to create an ``art path'' and there were apparently many other ideas as well. . However, according to Mr. Sato, it seems that they were viewed with a rather cold eye. But one day, an initiative called Art Sphere came to support the arts, and I heard that the first thing they did was gather artists living in Fujino.

- I see. The first art festival called Art Sphere was held in 1988.

H: Until then, he had only been creating his own works while enjoying his life as an individual, but it seems that he was able to connect with various people in Fujino through this opportunity. During that encounter, he said, ``Wouldn't it be fun to do something like this?'' and that it was great that a relationship was formed. After all, people connect, become friends, and what comes out of that is a big thing, and I think that's similar to the Hikari Festival.

O: Yeah. I guess that's it. What's amazing about Fujino is that his connections with people extend to every aspect. Moreover, everyone has the strength to respect others, connect with each other, and not judge others.

H: Also, when I say, ``I want to try something like this,'' the older people tell me, ``Keep doing it!'' And that kind of feeling will be passed on to the next generation.

- As I listened to your story, I started to think that Fujino is an even more attractive town. Lastly, would you like to say anything to those who have not yet visited the Hikari Festival?

H: The festival is held at an elementary school cherished by the old men who attended Makisato Elementary School, so as we were involved with them from the preparation stage, we grew to like this elementary school more and more each time we held it. It's coming. That's why I hope I can convey that feeling to the people who come. Also, people who visit often say things like, ``The nature here is so beautiful,'' or ``The vegetables are delicious,'' and I'm sure they'll appreciate the charm of Fujino that locals don't usually notice. I also think it's important that it makes you realize.

O: I like it, I'm sure. Local old men too. I really enjoy it when people come together, have a lively atmosphere, and enjoy what we serve.

I'm sure you'll find someone or something that will make you feel comfortable! I think it would be nice if you could come and play.

- Thank you very much.

Slogan displayed inside the classroom of the former Makigo Elementary School

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