About Earth Celebration (EC) Since 1988, Kodo, a world renowned taiko ensemble and Japan's most internationally acclaimed performing arts group, has held an annual music festival called "Earth Celebration” (EC), produced in cooperation with Sado City. For nearly a quarter century, EC has been a venue for Kodo to invite artists they have met in their travels back to its home of Sado Island to engage in unprecedented musical collaborations. Under the theme "Tataku" (to beat a rhythm), the most primal human expression, and set against the rich natural splendor of Sado, EC seeks an alternative global culture through musical and cultural collaborations with artists from around the world. QR Code and video production by SET Japan. www.setjapan.com As the name suggests,"Earth Celebration" transcends borders and cultures to bring a brilliant collage of art and music to a very special corner of the world. Next summer, come celebrate with us. Earth Celebration Sado Island, Japan Japan’s longest running music festival, described by the New York Times as “Japan’s leading music event.” Outdoor concerts, workshops, free fringe performances, an open-air market, and more! The annual international performing arts festival hosted by taiko ensemble Kodo and Sado Island Traditional Sado Performing Arts
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About Earth Celebration (EC)Since 1988, Kodo, a world renowned taiko ensemble and Japan's most internationally acclaimed performing arts group, has held an annual music festival called "Earth Celebration” (EC), produced in cooperation with Sado City. For nearly a quarter century, EC has been a venue for Kodo to invite artists they have met in their travels back to its home of Sado Island to engage in unprecedented musical collaborations. Under the theme "Tataku" (to beat a rhythm), the most primal human expression, and set against the rich natural splendor of Sado, EC seeks an alternative global culture through musical and cultural collaborations with artists from around the world.
QR Code and video production bySET Japan. www.setjapan.com
As the name suggests,"Earth Celebration" transcends borders and cultures to bring a brilliant collage of art and music to a very special corner of the world. Next summer, come celebrate with us.
Earth CelebrationSado Island, Japan
Japan’s longest running music festival, described by the New York Times as “Japan’s leading music event.”Outdoor concerts, workshops, free fringe performances, an open-air market, and more!
The annual international performing arts festival hosted by taiko ensemble Kodo and Sado Island
Traditional Sado Performing Arts
Shiroyama ConcertsThe Shiroyama Concerts, EC's main concert events, take place up on the hill in Shiroyama Park's lush green surroundings. This is the outdoor stage where Kodo releases all inhibitions and makes the most of performing on the group’s home of Sado Island. In addition to presenting their own unique programs here, Kodo also invites artists who have traveled from across the globe to this very special corner of the world for one-of-a-kind collaborations that transcend language and cultural barriers. Each year EC offers three Shiroyama Concerts with different programs daily. A star-filled sky and the chirp of cicadas complete this natural outdoor arena. What better place to celebrate the earth?
"Superlatives don't really exist to convey the primal power and bravura beauty of Kodo." - Chicago Tribune (USA)
Earth Celebration Featured Artists Between the Years of 1988 to 2011 Include the Following: Elvin Jones (USA), Yosuke Yamashita (Japan), Drummers of Burundi (Burundi), Hamza El'Din (Sudan), Love, Joy & Peace Ensemble (USA), Pung Cholam (India), Suar Agung (Indonesia/Bali), Aja Addy & Adjeley Mensah (Ghana), Milton Cardona & Eya Aranla (USA), Doudou N'Diaye Rose Percussion Orchestra (Senegal), Renegades Steel Drum Orchestra (Trinidad & Tobago), Kangsadan (Thailand), Costa Caribe (Venezuela), Seoul Kamuraku Performing Arts Company (Korea), Bulgarian Voices "Angelite" (Bulgaria), Babatunde Olatunji (Nigeria), Donal Lunny Group (Ireland), Kazumi Watanabe (Japan), Red Willow Dancers (USA), Huun-Huur-Tu (Russia/Tuva), Kim Duk Soo's Samul Nori (Korea), Jacky Micaelli (France/Corsica), Zakir Hussain (India), Giovanii Hidalgo (Puerto Rico), Airto Moreira & Flora Purim (Brazil), Badenya les Freres Coulibaly (Burkina Faso), Fanfare Ciocarlia (Romania), Carlos Nunez (Spain), Tamango's Urban Tap (USA), Olodum (Brazil), BLØF (Netherlands), A Filetta (France/Corsica), Ranaei Family (Iran), KO no kai (Japan)
KodoExploring the limitless possibilities of the traditional Japanese drum, the taiko, Kodo is forging new directions for a vibrant living art-form. The taiko is something you experience viscerally as the sound of the drum travels from the player and reverberates in the body of the listener. Since the group's debut at the Berlin Festival in 1981, Kodo's ongoing "One Earth Tour" has brought the experience of the taiko to 46 countries around the world for over 3,500 total
performances. Spending about a third of the year overseas, a third touring in Japan and a third resting and preparing new material on Sado Island, Kodo strives to both preserve and reinterpret traditional Japanese performing arts as they develop new styles that transcend all genres and borders. Since 1988, the group has had the pleasure of inviting artists they have met in their travels back to their home of Sado Island to engage in unprecedented musical collaborations at this annual international music festival.
WorkshopsWorkshops provide participants with the opportunity to play music, make handicrafts, and experience the magic of performing folk arts from all over Japan, not to mention the vibrant traditional arts of Sado Island.
Fringe EventsThe Fringe stage is an open venue where EC guests can share some of their own artistic expressions in performances that are free and open to the public. Everyone is welcome to apply, regardless of performance genre or experience.
Harbour MarketIn many ways the Harbour Market is ”EC Central” and it’s the perfect place to eat, shop, or relax on the lawn where you'll find friends listening to live performances, dancing, playing drums, laying back, and enjoying the best of EC's carefree atmosphere.
ExhibitionsEC Exhibitions range from showcases of local Sado crafts to the artwork of Kodo members and guest artists. Rare photo exhibitions can also offer an inside look at the history of Kodo and Earth Celebration.
Local ToursWith so much to do over EC weekend, you may find it hard to find time to explore the island. For those who can only stay a short time, we offer local sightseeing tours that feature the beauty and historical assets of the local Ogi peninsula.
For event details, please visit the official EC Website. http://www.kodo.or.jp/ec/
Various Events One of the goals of Earth Celebration is to foster mutual understanding through shared experiences. Our aim is make EC a festival not just to observe, but to actively participate in as well!
What Guest Artists Have to Say About Earth CelebrationEC is a unique event . I t e n j o y s t h e s a m e impeccable product ion values as everything Kodo does . The under l y ing r e s p e c t f o r n a t u r e i s reflected in the way it is organized, and this adds grace to every detail. I felt
privileged to play to the EC audience, because the people were there for the spirit of the festival.- Donal Lunny (Ireland. EC Guest Artist ’96, ’97)
I love the a i r and the people of Sado with all my heart. I think Kodo, who make their home here on this island, feel music in the same way that I do. Timing (breath) is very important when it comes
to music. If the timing is right, music can be created together without words. We are proving that now [at Earth Celebration].- Aja Addy (Ghana. EC Guest Artist ’91, ’92, ’97, ’99. Died 2002.)
My EC experience sti l l resonates in my body as i f i t was yesterday. It was amazing to be in an environment where e v e r y t h i n g i s f o r t h e essence of the love of life. Working with Kodo was an amazing spiritual
journey from the beginning to the end and very inspiring. I wish for the people of the planet to find a way to celebrate the earth with the same passion the Kodo players demonstrate. I am looking forward to giving back to the earth all the rhythms she provides.- Tamango (French Guiana / USA. EC Guest Artist ’06, ’07)
To join the Kodo drummers was more than a great musical experience—it was to encounter a way of living and feeling music that is no longer abundant in the so-called civilized world. I was especially surprised by Kodo’s total devotion, their
amazing work capacity, their sacred modesty, their love for tradition and, at the same time, their acceptance of "contemporaneity." But above all, by their contagious joy that no human being can resist. All these are aims I probably have not experienced since my musical adolescence. Without a doubt, all this made me feel a "Kodo piper", who dreams of bringing together again the Celtic lands ends with the small paradise of Sado, where we all felt at home.- Carlos Nunez (Spain. EC Guest Artist '05)
Akadomari Port ⇔ Teradomari PortHigh Speed Boat: 1 hour
Narita AirportTokyo
Echigo Yuzawa
Niigata
Ryotsu PortNiigata Port
Teradomari PortNaoetsu Port
Naoetsu
Ogi Port
Akadomari Port
The main Earth Celebrationvenues are in Ogi
Sado Island
Harbin
Seoul
Shanghai
Narita Airport
Niigata Airport
TokyoKyoto
OsakaFukuoka
SapporoVladivostok
Khabarovsk
Guam
PacificOcean
Sea ofJapan
Japan
Earth Celebration Practical InformationScheduleHeld annually, typically in mid August for three days over a weekend. Nightly main-event concerts are held in the early evening.
Event Details & TicketsGuest artists, concert schedules, workshop lineup, & other event details are announced in May and tickets go on sale in early June. Workshop participation and fringe performance applications also open in June.
LocationMost event venues are held in Ogi, a small port town on the southern peninsula of Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture.
TransportThere are increased bus services operating during Earth Celebration to make it easy to get to Ogi from accommodations all over Sado Island. Some rental cars and bicycles are also available. Details on public transport to the EC venue and model courses for transport to Sado are listed on the EC website annually.
LodgingHotels, Japanese inns, cabins, and campsites are available. Advance bookings are recommended.
SightseeingSado Island is a great place for cycling, diving, hiking, and camping. Make the most of your stay with an extended visit. There are local festivals held on Sado Island throughout the summer where you can see the locals upholding traditional dances, songs and music. Earth Celebration hosts “Sado Takigi Noh Theatre” pre-events every year before the festival begins. Sado and Niigata Prefecture are famous for rice, and Sado’s clean water and cool climate makes for excellent rice and sake (rice wine). Sake breweries offer tasting tours so you can find one to suit your palate. Great rice coupled with the ocean’s bounty means you won’t find fresher or tastier sushi! Sado offers the best of traditional Japan in a local, friendly, and easy to explore scale, with stunning natural scenery and historical sites.
Sado IslandFrom the early 17th century, when one of the world's richest gold mines was discovered, Sado Island served as a keystone in Japan's economy and a vital stopover for the kitamaebune trade ships that plied Japan's coast stretching from Osaka to Hokkaido. These ships brought not only trade but a lively cultural infusion. As a result, Sado has over thirty Noh theaters dotted throughout the island, it is not uncommon for farmers to hum refrains from the Noh repertoire as they work their fields. Together with its three genres of puppet theatre and a wealth of festivals held throughout the year, Sado has been referred to as a "floating treasure chest" of traditional culture. Sado is not only favored with lush mountain scenery encircled by the sea, it is also the last Japanese home of the severely endangered Japanese Crested Ibis (Nipponia Nippon). In 2011, Sado Island was defined by FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations Organization) as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).
Inquiries: Earth Celebration CommitteeKodo Cultural Foundation (Kodo), 148-1 Ogi Kanetashinden, Sado, Niigata 952-0611, Japan
Travel to Sado IslandThe closest major airport to Sado Is. is Niigata Airport, which has both domestic and international connections. The fastest way to reach Sado Island from Tokyo is by bullet train (shinkansen) to Niigata, and then a jet foil or
ferry to Sado. Ferry services run regularly in the summer to three ports on Sado Island. Model courses for access travel are announced on the festival website each year when tickets go on sale.For visitors to Japan, we recommend coming to Niigata using a JR pass or JR East pass (available for foreign
tourists).JR Pass http://www.japan-rail-pass.com/ (For travel anywhere in Japan)JR East Pass http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/eastpass/ (For travel from Tokyo to Naoetsu or Niigata Ports)
For inquiries about Sado Island, sightseeing information, and accommodations, etc, please contact the Sado Tourism Association.
