Earth Celebration Archive

日本語

Toshio Kawauchi, fondly known as "Hancho," was the founding leader of Kodo and a driving force behind the creation of Earth Celebration (EC). He loved to travel, but he also had an image of a home base—a kind of harbor where they could always return. That vision led him to develop the concept of Kodo Village, and it was within that way of thinking that EC was born.

“We want to invite the people we meet on our journeys around the world and introduce them to the people of Sado. We want to share Sado, Kodo’s home, with visitors from Japan and around the world.”
Until then, Kodo’s activities had mostly been about traveling beyond the island, connecting with people and exchanging through performances. With EC, we dreamed of creating a cycle that would bring that back to Sado.

Looking back at EC’s history, it has never remained the same. It’s changed and evolved over the years, and that journey has brought us to where we are today. Along the way, we’ve come to feel that this festival truly belongs to us—it’s something we’ve built together. This has been the driving force that has kept us going.

Now, as our activities have branched out in so many directions, EC has become even more special—a time when, once a year, we all come together to create something as one. It’s only possible because of the people who gather, take part, and most importantly, the support of the local Sado community. We can never forget that EC exists because of them.

Atsushi Sugano

Managing Director, Kodo Cultural Foundation Earth Celebration Managing Director (1995–2022)

1988

AUG. 14 (SUN)–AUG. 21 (SUN)

Guest Artists: Seitaro Kuroda, Kenji Nakagami, Eiichi Arai, The Bow Gamelan Ensemble (UK), The Chinese Percussion Ensemble (China), Elvin Jones (USA), Cecil McBee (USA), Yosuke Yamashita (Japan), Ryo Kawasaki (Japan) , The Drummers of Burundi (Burundi), Yoshihiko Amino (Historian), Shinichi Nakazawa (Religious Anthropologist), Junzo Kawada (Cultural Anthropologist)

1989

AUG. 23 (WED)–AUG. 26 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Samul Nori (Korea), Hamza El’Din (Sudan), Seitaro Kuroda (Japan), Toshinori Kondo (Japan)

1990

AUG. 16 (THU)–AUG. 18 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Love, Joy & Peace Emsemble featuring Lecei Wright (USA), Terumasa Hino (Japan), Pung Cholam (India), Shiram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (India), Shuji Murasaki, Akitoshi Asano, Shun’ichi Majima

1991

AUG. 20 (TUE)–AUG. 22 (THU)

Guest Artists: Milton Cardona & “Eyá Aranla” (USA), Suar Agung (Indonesia), Aja Addy (Ghana)

1992

AUG. 20 (THU)–AUG. 22 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Doudou N’Diaye Rose Percussion Orchestra (Senegal), Kazutoki Umezu (Japan), Aja Addy & Adjeley Mensah (Ghana)

1993

AUG. 19 (THU)–AUG. 21 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Kangsadan (Thailand), enegades Steel Drum Orchestra (Trinidad & Tobago)

1994

AUG. 18 (THU)–AUG. 20 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Costa Caribe (Venezuela), Seoul Ka-mu-ak Performing Arts Company (Korea)

1995

AUG. 17 (THU)–AUG. 19 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Bulgarian Voices “Angelite” (Bulgaria), Babatunde Olatunji (Nigeria), Toshio Sato (Sado Island)

1996

AUG. 18 (SUN)–AUG. 24 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Donal Lunny (Ireland), Marie Brennan (Ireland), Liam O’Maonlai (Ireland), Sharon Shannon (Ireland), Nollaig Casey (Ireland), Kiyohiko Senba, Kazutoki Umezu, Kazumi Watanabe, Kaori Kitsu, Shinichi Kinoshita, Kazunori Sato, Reichi, Kazuto Shimizu, Yoichi Okabe, Bakabon Suzuki, Kenji Suzumoto, Yoshiko Hosaka, Takefumi Kobayashi, Aja Addy (Ghana)

1997

AUG. 20 (WED)–AUG. 23 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Donel Lunny Special (Ireland), Renegades Steel Drum Orchestra (Trinidad and Tobago), Yosuke Yamashita, Katsumi Watanabe, Leonard Eto, Steve Eto, Hideo Yamaki, Suar Agung (Indonesia), Doudou N’diaye Rose ercussion Orchestra (Senegal), Aja Addy (Ghana)

1998

MAY. 14 (THU)–MAY. 16 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Red Willow Dancers （U.S.A.）, EPO, Shigeharu Sasago, Ryo Watanabe, Kazumi Watanabe, Marcos Suzano （Brazil）, Hideaki Masago, Masami Endo

1999

AUG. 19 (THU)–AUG. 21 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Huun-Huur-Tu （Republic of Tuva）

2000

AUG. 17 (THU)–AUG. 19 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Kazumi Watanabe and “The Drumsco”, Kazumi Watanabe, Jacky Micaelli （France）, Shuichi ‘Ponta’ Murakami, Kozo Suganuma, Akira Jinbo, Tetsuo Sakurai, Kim Duk Soo’s SamulNori （Korea）

2001

AUG. 16 (THU)–AUG. 18 (SAT)

Guest Artists: The Zakir Hussain TAAL Ansemble (India)

2002

MAY. 9 (THU)–MAY. 11 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Vozes da Percussao （Brazil, Puerto Rico）

2003

AUG. 21 (THU)–AUG. 23 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Badenya les Frères Coulibaly （Burkina Faso）

2004

AUG. 19 (THU)–AUG. 21 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Fanfare Ciocarlia （Romania）

2005

AUG. 18 (THU)–AUG. 20 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Carlos Núñez, Koji Kakinuma

2006

AUG. 17 (THU)–AUG. 19 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Tamango’s Urban Tap

2007

AUG. 16 (THU)–AUG. 18 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Zakir Hussain （India） , Dilshad Khan （India） , Ryukyu Geino-dan , Yosuke Yamashita , Giovanni Hidalgo （Puerto Rico） , Tamango （French Guiana） , Mio Matsuda

2008

AUG. 21 (THU)–AUG. 23 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Olodum

2009

AUG. 15 (SAT)–AUG. 17 (MON)

Guest Artists: BLOF

2010

AUG. 19 (THU)–AUG. 21 (SAT)

Guest Artists: A Filetta

2011

AUG. 18 (THU)–AUG. 20 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Ranaei Family, KO no kai

2012

AUG. 16 (THU)–AUG. 18 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Hiromitsu Agatsuma

2013

AUG. 22 (THU)–AUG. 24 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Hiromitsu Agatsuma, Takuro Iga, Harei Aine

2014

AUG. 21 (THU)–AUG. 23 (SAT)

Guest Artists: BLUE TOKYO, DAZZLE, Tetsuya Kajiwara

2015

AUG. 20 (THU)–AUG. 22 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Leonard Eto, Suar Agung

2016

AUG. 25 (THU)–AUG. 27 (SAT)

Guest Artists: Bac Ha, Traditional Music and Performing Arts Ensemble (Vietnam)

2017

AUG. 17 (THU)–AUG. 19 (SAT)

Guest Artists: BRAHMAN, Tetsuya Kajiwara, EIJI SUZUKI,　Drums & Voices, Masakatsu Takagi “Yama Emi”

2018

AUG. 16 (THU)–AUG. 18 (SAT)

Guest Artists: PInO, TATSUO, Tatsuya Hasegawa (DAZZLE), Shinji Arai (DAZZLE), Takaya Sato (BLUE TOKYO), Haruki Matsuda (BLUE TOKYO), Yusuke Ishii (BLUE TOKYO), Michael Schack Belgium/Roland), Chitose Hajime, Anna Sato, Arisu Sato, Dr.kyOn