Wednesday, July 19, 2023
On Monday, July 17th, from 2:00 p.m., representatives from local karaoke clubs gathered in the multipurpose hall of Hokuryu Town's commercial revitalization facility, COCOWA, to discuss "organizing karaoke clubs in the town," and the "Himawari Karaoke Club," a federation of Hokuryu Town's karaoke clubs, was established.
There are several karaoke clubs in Hokuryu Town, including the Heishui Karaoke Club (President: Kumiko Asano), the Singing Gathering (President: Hiroshi Mori), the Hokuryu Karaoke Club (President: Takao Yamada), and the Himawari University Karaoke Club (Director: Kazuo Kimura).
Each karaoke club group meets regularly, several times a week, to practice and engage in other activities. As for performances, there is an annual town cultural festival (sponsored by the Board of Education) where members can show off their beautiful singing voices.
Proposal to establish a federation of karaoke clubs in Hokuryu Town
Ryoji Kikura proposed the idea of organizing a karaoke club in the town and holding recitals several times a year.
For several years, Mr. Kikura has been working to promote culture and the arts, believing that in order for the town's elderly to live healthy lives, it is necessary to increase opportunities for interaction.
With the support of Mr. Kazuo Kimura of the Hokuryu Town Council, a forum for discussion has been set up.
Ryoji Kikura
"It's great to practice and have fun at each karaoke club. I would like to propose that we increase opportunities for everyone to enjoy singing together. To that end, why not create a town-wide organization, where people can sing together and hold performances in front of many people?
In Hokuryu Town, there are groups such as the Taishogoto Club, Karaoke Club, Kenshibu-kai, Hokuryu Taiko, Himawari Chorus, etc. In addition to the town cultural festival, why not start an association that brings together artistic culture and presents it several times a year?
Such meetings would provide more opportunities for elderly people to get out of the house, and some people would want to sing, while others would want to listen.
By creating such a group, we hope to encourage the performing arts culture of the town to speak to each other, expand our circle of connections both within and outside the town, join forces, and form various connections.
"I hope that through the performing arts culture of the Hokuryu townspeople we can express the richness of their hearts, bring everyone together and share the excitement and joy of feeling that something great has happened," is the proposal of Ryoji Kikura.
Kazuo Kimura
"The direct trigger for this discussion was the idea of gathering around 20 karaoke artists and having them sing songs as entertainment during the Shinryu Shrine festival.
Rather than ending this singing gathering as a one-off, we thought it would be a good idea to use this as an opportunity to continue the activities of the local karaoke group as before, and create a format where people who love singing and want to sing can all sing together.
"I believe that by using festivals and other events as an opportunity to increase the number of people who sing and get everyone singing together in a fun and energetic way, it will lead to the revitalization of the town," says Kazuo Kimura, a member of the Hokuryu Town Council.
Hiroshi Mori and Mitsuo Fujii
Takao Yamada and Shigenori Nakanishi
Kumiko Asano
Isao Hoshiba
Opinions of participants
- There had been talk for several years of holding a joint singing event for the group, but the plans were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors.
I think this talk of organizing all the karaoke groups together is a good thing. I hope it will come to fruition.
- I agree with the idea of organizing a group. If we want to get together and sing, we'll need a karaoke machine.
Each group uses different equipment, ranging from old to new. It can be difficult to set up every time you use it, and the volume and acoustics can be poor.
I think we also need to think about how to prepare for karaoke machines and other such equipment in the future.
- It is not just the karaoke machine that needs to be addressed; we also need to carefully consider how to handle administrative matters such as the actual preparations for the event.
- Anyone who likes singing can join, but I think it is a prerequisite that they belong to a group.
A wide range of opinions were expressed and heated discussions were held.
As a result of the discussion, the organization name and officers were decided, and it was agreed that future discussions would be led by the officers and secretariat.
Officers and decisions(Titles omitted)
- Organization name:Himawari Karaoke Club
- chairman :Kumiko Asano (President of the Hekisui Karaoke Club)
- Acting Vice Chairman:Kazuo Kimura (Head of Himawari University Karaoke Club)
- Vice President:Hiroshi Mori (Chairman of the Song Gathering Association)
- Vice President:Takao Yamada (Chairman of the Hokuryu Karaoke Club)
- Secretary General :Mitsuo Fujii (Singing Gathering)
- Secretariat/Accounting:Yuji Saito (Hokuryu Karaoke Club)
- Secretariat/Public Relations:Isao Hoshiba (Oushinryu Sword Poetry Dance Society, Japan Poetry Academy Gakufu-kai)
- audit :Shigenori Nakanishi (Hokuryu Karaoke Club)
- Advisor:Ryoji Kikura (Himawari University Karaoke Club)
- Membership fee:Small amounts will be collected as needed
With heartfelt gratitude for the growth of Himawari Karaoke Club, which shines like a sunflower...
With boundless love, gratitude, and prayers for the continued development of the Himawari Karaoke Club, where townspeople come together as one to enjoy music, culture, and the performing arts.
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◇ Interview and text: Ikuko Terauchi (Photography and editing assistance: Noboru Terauchi)
