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We want to create the space for people to think about what’s important through the culture and arts born through the wisdom and techniques that are needed to live in harmony with nature. That is the dream under which we changed our festival from one that was centered around outdoor concerts to one strongly rooted in local communities in order to give rise to a new community.
Our theme is “Children of Taiko” (everyone is a child when facing a taiko). The new Earth Celebration is a place for people of all different backgrounds, cultures and nationalities to connect with each other.
Of course, as a member of this community, Kodo will continue to participate in EC through the Kodo Village Concert, EC Theatre, the Fringe, workshops, and Experience Sado Programs among many others. We look forward to seeing you this year!
Earth Celebration Planning Committee
（1）Experience
There are many traditional arts and culture on Sado that have been preserved because Sado is an island. We hope you can experience a enriching time away from the city and interacting with local people. You will discover the inimitable and authentic pleasure of island life.
（2）Enjoy
Up until now, audiences have enjoyed Kodo in performance on large stages. This year, Kodo steps off the stage to make noise with audiences. We hope you enjoy this with us.
（3）Exchange
This year we’ve invited a traditional music ensemble from Vietnam that we encountered when we traveled there. Vietnam shares the same rice-farming culture as Japan; perhaps Japanese audiences will discover a familiar resonance in their music.
（4）Create Anew
For the children who visit us, the festival becomes a place where completely new perceptions are born, where they can encounter things they cannot in the city. The same is true for the children of Sado. All of Earth Celebration feeds the strength to live vibrantly and create the future.
（5）Evolve
Everything we experience, enjoy, exchange and create anew here is shared by everyone. People evolve, things evolve, the seasons evolve and times evolve. And thus a new community is born.
All of these activities connect not only with the duration of the Festival but with our daily lives. People and things connect with each other through the mediation of art and culture. The people who attend the Festival learn through their experiences and come to an understanding of one another. Perhaps the local economy of a region like Sado can give way to something richer than what a large economy of an urban center can provide. This is the thought behind the new Earth Celebration.
That’s enough philosophy. When you hear the sounds of the drums, now it’s your turn to become a “child of taiko”.
Since long long ago, humans have
In joyful times and in sad,
Lived by beating taiko
That’s why we are children of taiko
Since we were in the womb
Our mothers’ beat, our beat
We lived by listening and feeling
That’s why we are children of taiko
Doko doko doko
When we hear the taiko sound
Don don don
You see, our bodies start to move
Anywhere in the world, if you beat taiko
You don’t need words
Beat the taiko, and where shall we go
Together with the taiko, let’s keep going
That’s why we are children of taiko
That’s why we are children of taiko
