Relay Talk

KANIWA Hirokazu (General Incorporated Association Music
on Street Corners＠KAGAWA Representative Director)

Global city of cultural happiness

My childhood memories growing up in the Takamatsu Marugamemachi Shopping Street include the hustle and bustle of the shopping street and the feeling of the occasional breeze from Takamatsu Port on my skin. From my classroom window at Jonai Junior High, I could see Tamamo Park and beyond that, the tranquil Seto Inland Sea.
As the second son in our family, I moved to Tokyo after high school and found work there even after graduating university. I worked in media, such as record companies and TV stations, and played drums on weekends, touring the live music clubs of Tokyo. A major turning point arrived, though, after I got married and we had our second daughter.

My older brother, who had taken over the family’s bag business, passed away, and I had to return to Takamatsu. It was just before I turned 40. It was an unexpected fate, and at the beginning, my days in Tokyo appeared in a dream.

From around that time, the social landscape also changed dramatically with the development of the Internet and the shift to nuclear families. In 2007, around the time the Ichibangai Dome was completed as part of the redevelopment of the Marugamemachi Shopping Street, the concept of “music on street corners” sprang to mind.

I wondered if we could create new richness and enjoyment in the city by providing opportunities for people to share smiles and excitement with each other through live music and street performances. I hoped that such performances could become memories of assuredness for children.

Together with my colleagues, we launched Music on Street Corners@KAGAWA and we took part in creating lively festivities over the 105 days of the Setouchi Triennale 2010. It was a momentous event for me. The concept of “MUSIC BLUE: Echoes on the Blue of Setouchi,” which was conceived at the time with an image of music and expression creating new attractions in the local area, and “Mother Port,” a reference to Takamatsu Port, became the themes of our subsequent activities.

Thanks to everyone’s support, we have been able to create many scenes in various places through music, street performances, food, and so on, and in 2019, we received the Kagawa Prefecture Culture and Arts Award and the Shikoku Shimbun Culture Award.

Now, looking back at my time in Takamatsu, I sincerely believe that it has been a huge joy to have created a new narrative, not in a big city, but in the landscape of my hometown, and I am happy to have met so many colleagues with whom I could share this feeling.

Previously, we invited a French performance group that performs all over the world, and later they chose Sunport Takamatsu with the Seto Inland Sea in the background as the front page for their website.

I firmly believe that Takamatsu, Kagawa can become a “global city of cultural happiness,” creating its own unique charm woven by the warp of culture and weft of nature, where people’s happiness in enjoying culture radiates a true light and leads to tourism. I have great dreams for the future of this city which I have the privilege of calling my hometown.

Relay Talk

KANIWA Hirokazu (General Incorporated Association Music
on Street Corners＠KAGAWA Representative Director)

Global city of cultural happiness

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Relay Talk

KANIWA Hirokazu (General Incorporated Association Music on Street Corners＠KAGAWA Representative Director)

Global city of cultural happiness

Photo

Share

KANIWA Hirokazu (General Incorporated Association Music
on Street Corners＠KAGAWA Representative Director)