The fun tune you hear is "Kanpai Okoku", the theme song of a civil group that aims to improve the Yokogawa area. “Let's promote more outside dining!” So they say everywhere, but what makes Yokogawa city so different is its residents are almost overjoyed to be a part of the town. In spring, there is "Fushigi Ichi" Market, which prides itself in having over 20 years of history. During summer, there is a riverside "Gawa" Festival, and in autumn, people dress up for the Yokogawa Zombi Night in celebration of Halloween. In short, the whole year is filled with events that come to be thanks to the residents’ voices. But why so many? The chairman of the Yokogawa Shopping Street Association, Mr. Murakami, told us that it has something to do with the people who loved subculture.
The pioneer of it all was a movie theater, "Yokogawa Cinema". The renovated movie theater that opened in 1999 thanks to its current owner, Mr. Mizoguchi, had presented an opportunity for young people to get involved with the promotion of the town. Yokogawa Cinema, having shown many independent movies handpicked by Mr. Mizoguchi from all over the globe, attracted many of the film students from nearby Hiroshima University. The students asking Mr. Mizoguchi to one day show their own movies in the theater was just a natural outcome. When their movies were finally shown at the cinema, many young people would show up on the streets of Yokogawa. Locals were surprised to see so many of them.
As time went by, the cinema became a hub of entertainment for many new cultural trends, some even unrelated to movies. Mr. Mizoguchi recalls "many unusual moments". Back then, the city of Hiroshima didn't even have any concert halls. People who loved music couldn't get a chance to see their favorite bands live anywhere, much less locally. That’s how culture fans came to notice the cinema. "We would really love it if this band came to Hiroshima," begged the fans, hoping the cinema could serve as a concert hall. Bands like Strange Reitaro and Beat Crusaders, now more commonly known in the culture scene, were some of the bands who performed there. Eventually, people viewed it as more than just a movie theater.
Young people with an interest in Yokogawa Cinema started to get more involved with the association of Yokogawa Shopping Street. Coincidentally, the renovation plan of JR Yokogawa Station and the restoration project of the first-ever Japan-made bus commenced during the same period. A movie director, Daisuke Miki, whose independent works were shown in the cinema, was selected to promote the bus for Yokogawa. A 60-minute, low-budget movie about Yokogawa was successfully shown at the theater and attracted more than 3,500 visitors.
Young people taking the lead and creating culture was a feast for the eyes of the locals. Their approach meshed into Yokogawa's fun mentality of coming up with spontaneous events. The open-minded locals welcomed a new culture that people brought in, willing to embrace something fresh. The fact that Halloween Night, where locals dress up in costumes and parade around the town, continues to this day shows just how much fun they're eager to have.
Finally, Mr. Murakami notes, "This area used to be an anti-flood pond to keep the castle from getting water damage. For 400 years, while the public disregarded us, it nurtured its independent and spontaneous mentality." The locals here are just a little bit selfish – in a good way.
Culture that someone created impacts someone else, connecting people and things together. This, in turn, becomes the culture of Yokogawa.
