To support the growth of local communities and local people by helping the cultures of festivals to be passed on into the future
Festivals are not merely events that afford pleasure to participants. For local residents, festivals are said to have two important values. One is to build a trust-based relationship and a sense of unity. These can translate into “ties.” By gathering together and having discussions to hold a festival, people can develop a relationship built on trust. This relationship allows people to feel like helping each other when in need even on days other than the festival day.
The other value is to build character in various aspects. Needless to say, experiencing a festival is important. In addition, by doing so, local young people can deepen their understanding of local culture and learn from the older generations. In this sense, festivals support local communities as occasions for character-building education.
We believe that passing on the culture of festivals is indispensable for the continuous development of local communities.
To make local communities more vibrant by helping people rediscover the attractiveness of festivals
Long-cherished local festivals can enliven local communities and make the good points of a community more widely known when visited by many people. To enable a festival to act as a trigger for attracting many people from outside the community for such purposes as sightseeing or visiting their parents’ home, it is important to widely communicate the attractiveness of the festival through the effective dissemination of information. Festivals are meant to be for local residents in the first place. However, we believe that we can help communicate the attractiveness of festivals to people outside the community by using the properties of our group, which does business all over Japan.
With local people’s pleasure as the foremost priority, the DyDo Group will continue to support Japanese festivals so that passing on the culture of festivals and rediscovery of the attractiveness of festivals can lead to the invigoration of local communities.
Overview of DyDo Group “Matsuri” of Japan project
Activities to communicate the attractiveness of festivals
Activities to collaborate with and support local communities
① TV program
[By prefecture]
Local broadcasting stations individually produce an episode of a documentary TV series under the theme of their local festival. Each episode, which is broadcast locally, introduces the activities of those involved in the festival, and the history and culture of the relevant district so as to deepen understanding of and empathy with the district.
[Nationwide rebroadcast on a BS channel]
Carefully selected local episodes are rebroadcast nationwide to communicate the attractiveness of the festivals and districts to people all over Japan.
② Websites
The websites of DyDo Group Holdings and DyDo DRINCO introduce various information, including an overview and the significance of this project, the festivals we support this year, and the festivals we supported in the past.
① Collaboration with local communities
(Local governments, companies, schools and broadcasting stations)
With our “Matsuri” of Japan project activities as a springboard, we plan and implement events helpful in promoting tourism, youth development, and revitalizing communities, in collaboration with local communities and governments.
Furthermore, in cooperation with local broadcasting stations, we take vigorous measures to inform the public about the festivals and the related districts.
② Interactions and discussions with those involved in festivals
We furnish opportunities to talk directly with those involved about their proud local festivals. Through discussions about the challenges for local communities and the activities in this project, we work toward strengthening partnerships with local communities.
Collaboration: NPO (nonprofit organization) Nippon Matsuri Network
* The NPO Nippon Matsuri Network is a nonprofit organization established for festival research and dissemination of related information. Our collaboration with this organization allows us to enrich our social perspectives and carry out our activities from diverse viewpoints.
TV program
The program concept is “human documentaries associated with festivals.”
What forms the heart of the DyDo Group “Matsuri” of Japan project is the production and broadcast of a TV series. Each one-hour episode covers one local festival. In the form of a human documentary, the TV series introduces the realities of festivals and those involved all around Japan.
Collaboration with 34 community-based broadcasting stations all over Japan, form Hokkaido to Okinawa
The 34 locally-oriented broadcasting stations, which know a lot about their respective regions, each produces and broadcasts one episode a year. Each episode is uniquely titled following the common main title “DyDo Group Nippon no Matsuri” (DyDo Group “Matsuri” of Japan). These episodes do not serve merely as records helpful for posterity; they cover the details of the real lives of those involved in the festivals, including their smiles, tears, cooperation, families, conflict and growth.
Every Saturday, an episode is rebroadcast in turn on a BS channel to disseminate local attractiveness to every corner of the country.
The one-hour episodes, which have been broadcast locally on a prefecture-by-prefecture basis, are rebroadcast on a nationwide scale on the BS channel the following year. This stimulates tourism demand by making the festivals and relevant districts known to many people around Japan. In addition, nationwide broadcast can remind those living away from home of where they used to live.
Disseminate information about Japan’s Matsuri culture online to domestic and international audiences
In 2020, we at long last launched our online video streaming service. Set up to stream documentary footage of festivals from time to time, the “DyDo Group Matsuri of Japan Library” provides an environment in which videos can be viewed anytime and anywhere, delivering the appeal of Japan’s diverse Matsuri culture to domestic and international audiences.
Click here to access the Matsuri of Japan Library’s dedicated page.
Collaboration with local communities
Energy charging program
This program functions as a community contribution activity mainly for youth development and the revitalization of local communities.
In cooperation with companies and organizations that approve of the aims of the program, we charge people with energy through our activities. We invite children to a genuine festival for hands-on experience, and help them cultivate their sensibilities and sociality through interactions with local people, experiences in a natural environment, and social learning.
Part 1: Energy charging program in Tokushima (2018)
Co-hosted by: Toyota Corolla Tokushima and the association of bereaved families of traffic accident victims in Osaka
We invited traffic-accident orphans in Osaka and Tokushima to the program held in Tokushima.
We helped the children charge their energy through their participation in the Awa Dance Festival, which is an experience that can be enjoyed only in Tokushima, experiences in a natural environment, and social learning.
Showings of “Nippon no Matsuri” (“Matsuri” of Japan) episodes
We show “Nippon no Matsuri” episodes in theaters and invite local residents to attend free of charge. The audiences enjoy the impactful festival video on a large screen. (Showings are held around the country at the request of local communities.)
Example: Sanuki Film Festival 2020 (February 2020)
We showed an episode set in Aji-cho (Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture) at the Sanuki Film Festival, which is annually held in Kagawa. On the day of the screening, local elementary and junior high school students, who were invited as special guests, played taiko drums and other musical instruments to warm up the audience.
Others
With the “Matsuri” of Japan project as a springboard, we plan and implement events helpful in promoting tourism and revitalizing communities at the request of and in collaboration with local communities and governments, transcending the usual parameters of festivals.