ItalianoKenshin Kousai number of participants reached its record high with 243.000 people. GACKT’s message, [Please, come next year too]
The Kenshin Kousai that reached this year its 90th edition made a record high in visitors. This was the announcement made on August the 24th by the Kenshin Kousai Sponsorship office (Tourism promotion department) .
GACKT, leading protagonist of this festival, and Uesugi Kenshi interpreter commented “I want to bring this festival into being a representative festival of Japan”.
According to the city rappresentative, visitors were 2.500 on the night before the event, 33.800 on the 22nd, and for GACKT’s parade e re-enactment of the Kawanakajima Battle on the 23rd there were 209.400 visitors.
With the total ammount of 243.000 people, exceeding the previous record on the 2012 by 3.000 people. The city was blessed with good weather, and thanks to GACKT’s participation the number of one-day visitors that used the new Shinkansen line increased.
GACKT said “Since the temperature this year was lower than other years the number of people that suffered from heatstroke decreased, and that was a relief. Even though this is a festival that increased its number of participant year after year, next year I’m thinking about how new exciting elements could be added to make this a rappresentative festival of Japan, so it can succeed as a big event, and I want to work with the city representatives and its people” .
Mayor Murayama Hideyuki in an interview this morning, accompanied GACKT’s statement of “involving citizens more actively” saying “I think he was trying to say that spreading the value of the Kenshin Kousai is really important. There is history behind every local festival but, it’s necessary to think about the feelings of this 200.000 visitors first.
About the possibility of inviting GACKT to future events he replied “Will think about it with the Executive Committee.
The 90th edition came along with the opening of the Hokuriku region, “With this year participation he’ll be taking a break” said the hed of the Executive Committee — “I would like to see, the participants of Joetsu citizens, and I want to discuss what to do with the festival, including the next year’s guest to improve it”.
Source: J-times
Translation: GACKT ITALIA Team
© GACKT ITALIA