June 15, 2023
Fujikura Ltd.
Fujikura Ltd. (Director, President and CEO: Okada Naoki) is supporting the Bon Odori Festival hosted by the Kiba Ichi-Roku Neighborhood Association (Chairman: Ishikawa Toru), the neighborhood association in which the company's head office is located, and will provide a venue for the festival.
The Bon Odori venue will be the Center Plaza of Fukagawa Gatharia (1-chome, Kiba, Koto-ku, Tokyo) *1, which was developed by redeveloping the site of the former Fukagawa factory owned by Fujikura.
This Bon Odori Festival began 20 years ago in 2003, and is beloved as the largest festival in Koto Ward organized by local neighborhood associations, with food stalls run by local residents also being set up.
Every year, the event is held at Fukagawa Gatharia, creating excitement and a traditional Obon event that brings color to the downtown area, and has been nurtured by the local community. However, the event was postponed since 2019 in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The event, which will be revived for the first time in four years, is scheduled to be held on Saturday, July 15th and Sunday, July 16th (with a rain reserve day on July 17th), and is expected to attract a total of approximately 30,000 visitors (according to the organizers) during the period.
【point】
・ Fujikura actively provides the Fukagawa Gatharia complex, which was created through the redevelopment of the former Fukagawa factory, as a venue for local community activities.
・The largest Bon Odori festival in Koto Ward, organized by the local neighborhood association, is back for the first time in four years
During the event, a total of approximately 30,000 people (according to the organizers), including local residents, visited Fukagawa Gatharia.
Overview of the Kiba Ichi-Rokucho Association Bon Odori Festival
■Date and time: Saturday, July 15th and Sunday, July 16th, 2023, 6:00pm-9:00pm
* Rain reserve day: Monday, July 17th
■Venue: Fukagawa Gatharia Center Plaza
■ Organizer: Kiba Ichi-Roku Town Association
■Sponsor: Fujikura Ltd.
(The area circled is the Center Plaza of Fukagawa Gatharia)
Toru Ishikawa, chairman of the Kiba Ichi-Roku Neighborhood Association and representative of the organizers, spoke about the revival of the Kiba Ichi-Roku Neighborhood Association Bon Odori Festival after a four-year hiatus. "We had to postpone the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but I am truly pleased that we are finally able to hold the Kiba Ichi-Roku Neighborhood Association Bon Odori Festival after a four-year hiatus. This festival is a traditional downtown Bon Odori festival run independently by the neighborhood association, and is essential for maintaining horizontal connections in the downtown area. Since Fujikura provided us with the Fukagawa Gatharia as a venue 20 years ago, we have opened the doors to everyone living in the surrounding area, contributing to the creation of a town where many people can continue to live. Local elementary school students have been continuing preparations for this Bon Odori festival, practicing taiko drumming on weekends since April. This year, we will once again create excitement across generations, so please come and visit us."
(Photo of the 2019 Kiba Ichirokucho Association Bon Odori Festival, provided by the Kiba Ichirokucho Association)
(Photo: Members of the Kiba Ichi-Roku Neighborhood Association participating in the 2019 Bon Odori Festival)
Fukagawa Gatharia is an urban revitalization space redeveloped by Fujikura with the concept of "establishing a new identity for the Fukagawa and Kiba area."
While coexisting with the downtown area's surrounding environment, we will continue to work to create a town that is beloved by local residents and business people.
*1 "Fukagawa Gatharia"
This complex opened in 2003 after the redevelopment of the former Fukagawa factory site owned by Fujikura. With a view to preserving the culture and traditions of the downtown area and ushering in a new era, it is an all-in-one facility that includes office buildings, a large supermarket, a movie theater, a restaurant area, a fitness club, and more. Gatharia is a coined word made up of GATHER (to gather), AREA, and IA (a suffix derived from the Latin word for country or region), and represents an area where people and things gather.
