I realised how important it is to appreciate with body and mind, rather than according to logic.

While sharing an overarching agenda of “supporting ETAT”, there are no rules for everyone to follow. It is up to each individual to do what he or she wants to do. This is the smart approach taken by our leader, Kohey Takashima (CEO of Oisix Ra Daichi Inc / vice-director of NPO Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Collaborative Organisation). For example, Rina Tanaka, a fashion model, makes the best use of her own social network connections to spread the word about the festival to younger generations. Those who have their own businesses invite their acquaintances and expand the circle of fans – some of those have led to financial sponsorship with the operation of the festival.

Koichiro Yoshida, CEO of CrowdWorks Inc. which provides an online platform to connect people working from home with potential employers has become an owner of Matsudai Tanada Bank, operated by NPO Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Collaborative Organisation, and sends harvested rice to clients as a mid-yeargift. It is a true regional contribution, isn’t it? Kana Bougaki from Makuake Inc which runs crowd-funding platform and Toshiki Abe from Ridilover Inc which organises special tours highlighting social issues make the best use of their services to attract visitors to ETAT as well as to provide opportunities to learn in the region.

He thought he could make use of “asoview”, a platform which sells tickets for various amusement facilities and activity programs. In other words, he has arranged to trade the content of ETAT such as guided tours and events on the asoview platform and try to increase the number of sales of this content through digital marketing.

Art festivals in Japan in general are not yet equipped to utilise digital technologies. On the other hand, we have a certain confidence in having sold various experiences in different regions through making use of digital and online platforms. I soon realised this combination had a way to move forward and thus what we could do was obvious. Generally speaking, while I believe “good content” will definitely sell well, it can reach more people as long as we know when and how to provide the most appropriate information to where. I am very pleased to make a contribution to delivery of information through utilising digital channels.

Surely there were such opinions. However, I had a faith that the festival and asoview could mutually stimulate each other to grow when the energy of both were combined. The festival has a robust “core concept”andheart-warming stories that would be supported by everyone, and we know that they should exist in society. I concluded “making a decision of not to engage with the festival while knowing what we have could contribute to improve it would become a risk to the company in the long run”. Of course we invest our resources, including the support of our staff members, and it is not ideal if we make a loss. However, we have been continuing our engagement by focusing on its future prospects rather than immediate profits.

Looking back I was almost like the embodiment of logical-thinking before. I always tried to think through and resolve situations. As if how you feel was irrelevant. However, in the last three to four years, I have come to think that “the world doesn’t operate like that”. In reality, I sometimes think that it is often the case that the body and mind understand things much earlier and logic is used as a communication tool to retrospectively support such appreciations. Such shift in myself is not unrelated to why I am participating in ETAT now.

Contrasting with entertainments that have an emphasis on novelty, which epitomise the 20^thcentury, the demand for refreshing experiences through directly touching the long history and soil and air of a place, such as offered by ETAT, will expand in future. In particular a growing number of city dwellers would feel so. As asoview, we hope to bring the benefits of the digital domain to this multi-faceted festival in the way comfortable to us. This has wide potential, including working on the production of artworks by artists, as well as building better working environments for local people.

Laputa: Castle in the Skyis a film ultimately exploring the possibility of combining nature and technology. Presently, ETAT has managed to integrate the community with art through the tireless efforts of those who have been involved. At the same time however, digital technology seems to be regarded as something unfamiliar, like an alien. Once these elements are integrated, I would imagine we could succeed in building a world view that is close to the ideal scenario in this movie. As I think that has not been realised in any art festival yet, I would like to give us enough time and explore the best way forward with everyone.