OVERSEAS ACTIVITIES
I would like to report down below the mikoshi carrying in Berlin that was held on
May 15th 2016. Asitaski made a collaboration with the group that is stable in Berlin
creating a team called “Kashiwa ren” and all together carried mikoshi.
At Berlin’s largest cultural festival “Karneval der Kulturen”
It is one of Europe’s largest cultural festivals and it attracted over 1.5 million of
visitors.
Berlin, a multicultural city.
Berlin is a city where people of various nationalities, cultures and backgrounds live.
Once a year, sustained by the power of culture a Carnival connecting people from
various nationalities is held on a holiday called “Pentecost”.
There are 74 teams and around 5000 people taking part, nevertheless until now
Japanese culture has never performed.
People who participate at the event are strolling through the city of Berlin having fun,
enthusiastic and being proud of their own culture.
But Ms. Reiko Toshimori, who lives in Berlin, felt disappointed.
Half Japanese and half French, Ms. Toshimori has lived in Japan for a long time.
Currently living in Berlin she contacted me saying with regret that Japan was not
participating in this Berlin’s largest Carnival.
We have to be proud of our Japanese culture so please bring mikoshi at the Carnival!
I was moved by that consideration so I decided to start this project in Berlin.
Therefore on May 15th 2015 we managed to bring mikoshi in Berlin and got filmed
by many media as well.
In Berlin we have safely carried the mikoshi with the help of many people.
Asitaski will continue its activities trying to make people conscious about this sense
of crisis that permeate Japanese culture.