Hello everyone,
I know you can do better right?
Say "Hey"!!
I am Shunsuke Moriya, who was just introduced.
I'm from Hokkaido.
And there is a campus festival going on today.
Looking back, the campus festival four years ago
when I was a senior in college was a turning point of my life.
Today, I will talk about that and also Kirikirimai,
a student organization in Tsukuba University specializing in Yosakoi Soran,
and its principle, a concept, "Universal" Soran.
Now I want to ask you something.
If you know what Universal Design is, please applaud.
(applause)
I guess some of you do.
I guess there is many ways to think of it,
but I think that Universal Design means a design
that is very easily used by anyone regardless of if one is handicapped or not.
It is different from "Barrier-free" which targets on removing one's handicap.
Universal Design is convenient for everyone.
Then can you guess what is our "Universal Soran"?
If you have seen Kirikirimai, please applaud.
(applause)
Universal Design is mixed with Soran-bushi - then what is that?
Now I want to talk about my three sensational encounters that lead me to Universal Soran.
It was a big impact on my life and I want to talk about it.
First, this is O-chan in the picture.
There was an encounter with O-chan who is a photographer.
I majored in gymnastics studies at Tsukuba University.
And I was a senior in college I established a Hokkaido student association in Tsukuba University.
I met him then. He just started a graduate program in psychology.
He is totally blind. He cannot feel the light.
He had an accident that caused him the blindness
when he was in Yamagata University, before his graduate program,
Before the accident he was able to see the world.
And he takes pictures. The picture on the upper left are his pictures.
He travels all over the country. He stays in someone's home and travel around.
He also makes movies and writes lyrics for songs.
The encounter with him was very inspirational.
The same year I met him, in August 2008, I went back to Hokkaido.
I went to Hakodate and visited Universal Film Festival of which O-chan was an executive committee.
The concept of the film festival was to make it enjoyable for anyone.
"The way movies are shown should be 'universal.'"
Please look at this picture.
It includes subtitle even though most of the audience are Japanese.
It served to help the people with hearing disabilities or those who cannot keep up with fast movements on screen.
Or this person next to the screen translates into sign language.
Also there are pictures provided.
It was drawn as a BGM to tell the audience of what is going on in the movie,
giving signs such as "animals are screaming",
"violin music are played" in pictures so that anyone can enjoy.
They also provided a day care center for mothers and made extra spaces for audience in wheel chairs.
I saw this "space" where literally everyone can enjoy.
That was inspirational, and I thought that is wonderful.
It was August of my senior year. So that was also my second encounter.
The last is a student festival of Hokkaido student festival.
Before that I never danced Soran-bushi although I am from Hokkaido.
I danced it for the first time when I was a senior.
It was truly fun.
The event was held by Hokkaido student organization
but the organization of other prefectures also joined us for the dance.
You can also see these beautiful old ladies in the back.
They are members of Yosakoiren from this Tsukuba City.
We danced together.
It was so fun.
So after that in October 15th, which is a birthdate of Kirikirimai,
we decided that we should dance Soran-bushi as a team and that is why we established the group.
We named the group Kirikirimai.
But if we were going to do it, I wanted to have a definite concept that distinguishes our team from others.
And we said, "Let's make a space that anyone can enjoy with Soran-bushi"
just like that Universal Film Festival.
That is how we came up with the concept "Universal Soran".
Now I want to show you a movie.
We did not know how to realize "Universal Soran".
We invited O-chan to be part of our team but the problem was that he could not see.
How do you memorize a new movement of a dance?
(Audience): "Eyes".
Thanks, yes, eyes.
We see the dancer. recognize the movement and memorize it.
But O-chan cannot see.
Please see how he coped with it.
This person in the center is O-chan.
He is in a chair.
See how he touches the person next him.
Now he is recognizing that person's detailed movement, recognizing it and naming that specific movement.
We shout the name of the next movement during our dance and this is how everyone
including ourselves who can see
can enjoy the dance together with O-chan who cannot see.
We just need a twist - touching, listening, putting them into words so that he can be part of us.
Those who cannot see, those who has pain in the ankles, those who cannot hear well, those in wheel chair
all we need to do is to come up with a method so that all of us can dance together.
With such principles, we learn the dance.
But we wanted to create a space that is even more enjoyable,
not just for the dancers but also for the audience.
And that is when we thought of a visual performance
which was also realized in the Universal Film Festival.
We arranged the Soran-bushi that way.
We put words to the movements such as tossing.
Soran-bushi is a dance based on the movements of fishermen hunting herrings.
So it includes the movement of hauling the net, grabbing a fish and tossing it.
And we put words to their movements simultaneously along with the music
so that those with visual impairments can understand.
And those who have hearing impairments or the first-time audience can understand that
at the moment the dancers are describing the movement of tossing, for example.
They can participate and enjoy together in the same space.
That is why we include visual performance.
But that's not all.
There are more things we can do to everyone's need, there are no limits, and we do more for it.
The four years have passed.
While not forgetting the original concept, we enjoy the Kirikirimai.
All these twists and considerations have made us into a team of Kirikirimai
After these four years the members of Kirikirimai are from all over the place.
The ladies in the 60s give us rice, saying "We harvested it, please eat!"
We are so happy to get rice for free since we are just students.
The elementary school students challenge in Pokemon games against Med students.
We talk about different cultures with those who come from abroad or those who have studied abroad.
We talk about so many different things.
We share different values and the way of thinking.
There is no place like this, it is a place where everyone can come and enjoy,
that is what I feel about Kirikirimai.
It is a place that everyone can everyone - that includes when we dance and when we just sit down and talk.
It also includes being able to enjoy it with you, the audience.
This is all the purpose of Universal Soran.
The challenge is that there are so many different people.
When I was a student I used to only hang out with other students in campus.
But now I am with people from all over with different values gathering through Universal Soran, aiming for the same purpose.
I want to pass on this culture to all of you and the world, that is the purpose of Universal Soran.
But my bigger purpose is to have the society in which the word "Universal Soran" is no longer relevant.
If it is irrelevant, it means that such society of Universal Soran is taken for granted.
I want to end the speech by saying that to create such society is my ultimate purpose.
But that is not the end yet!
I want to end by enjoying this space with the audience of today and the others who might be watching this through movie.
"Let's enjoy with us"!
I want to enjoy this day with you all.
I guess you might be a bit tired but please stand up!
The members of Kirikirimai, please enter the stage!
We will dance Soran-Bushi!
I will include the visual performance too.
I am guessing that not many of you have danced Soran-Bushi before.
Your movements are on the focus so I want to give you a small lecture on all the movements.
We will simultaneously translate into English.
The members of Kirikirimai, please thank all the audience who danced with us!
Thank you!