Dear the real stars of the festival,
Nothing was brighter than the smiles of the people who attended the festival. Overwhelmed by the boiling energy of the Red Marquee audience on the evening of the pre-festival party, moved to tears by the sight of joyous people dancing in front of the PA at the Green Stage or forming dance circles everywhere--even after all the acts had finished their performances--we all came to believe that each person we saw was a star. They were the heroes and heroines of this massive party.
Looking back on these moving moments of the festival, we have to realize it is not the organizer not the staff nor the musicians who created this big Matsuri, but rather the energy produced by that mass of people. The astonishing sights of Naeba's mountains, rivers, and sky certainly added to the overall vibe, but compared to the ever-shining stars in the audience, we have to admit that the landscape is just a backdrop for this giant theatre of massive celebration of life, love and peace. Like the milky way streaming through the night sky, which somewhere, somehow you have experienced, the infinite energy of these human stars gives enormous power to the performers who provide us with those thrilling moments of music and life. This year's Fuji Rock Festival provided significant evidence of this most important and never-to-be-forgotten element of what we call a festival.
We hear that The Music triumphed as a headliner on the White Stage, stating that Fuji Rock is the most beautiful festival in the world; and Berri Txarrak, the band from the Basque Country who left their emo-metal impact on the event as the very first performer of the year at the Red Marquee, mailed us saying they were amazed by the spirit of the festival. Fuji Rock used to be called the cleanest festival in the world, but now it is called the most beautiful, a sentiment that makes those of us who work for the festival feel proud. Still, we already know the feelings of the people who attend the festival and who shine so brightly.
To record every bit and piece, our staff left their respective jobs and headed to Naeba. Lacking sufficient sleep, they ran up and down, left and right, in order to capture those moments of happiness and joy. I, as the producer of this website, want to applaud them. Ever since 1997, when Fuji Rock festival was born, they are the ones who have recorded its history.
We hope from the bottom of our hearts that we can share our Christmases and Easters and whatever in celebration of our lives again next year. Until then, please be good and survive. We do know that there are those who have found a reason to be alive with the things they experienced in Naeba. Our wish is that this festival lasts forever.
I would like to give thanks to the photographers and writers, as well as our illustrator and programmer, all of whom were involved in the making of this Express.
photographers : Terumi Fukano, Koichi "hanasan" Hanafusa, Masuyo Hoya, Kunihiko "q-ta" Hatase, Tsuyoshi Ikegami, Yusuke Kitamura, Yoshitaka Kogawa, Izumi Kumazawa, Hiroshi Maeda, Ryota Mori, Takumi Nakajima, Hiroki Nishimura, Naoaki Okamura, Miyuki Samata, Toru Suguta, Saya38 Takahashi, Nozomi "wacchy" Wachi)
writers (Japanese version) : Rika "gorikka" Chiba, Takehiro "funa" Funabashi, Seiichi "ryoji" Hagino, Akiko "aco" Hatase, Sayaka "philine" Hondo, Mika "mimi" Iimori, Nobuyuki "nob" Ikeda, Kazuhiro "imakaz" Imafuku, Kanako "sleepy" Kikuiri, Miyo Kimura, Eriko "riko" Kondo, Natuski Nagata, Maki "nazu" Naduka, Taiki Nishino, Yoko "jet-girl" Oda, Fumino Okamura, Joe Takamatsu, Naomi Takubo
writers (English version) : Philip Brasor、Don Coglione、Shawn Despres、Donald Eubank、Sebastien-Philippe Fortin、Jason Jenkins、 Dominic Raos、Jeff Richards、Sean Scanlan、Jamie Tennant
illustrator : Mayumi Mitome
fujirockers.net cafe : Yoshiko Atsumi, Yamato Fujihara, Kenta Inobe, Bo-Mi Kim, Eriko Otake, Rie Tada, Shoji Terasaki
programmer : Tetsuya "walk" Mitsuishi
producer : Koichi Hanafusa
photo equipment supply : Nikon Corporation
written by Koichi Hanafusa
Reported by Jason Jenkins (2008.08.13 / 09:20)