Nihon Gen'yasai Sanrizuka

Overview

The Nihon Gen'yasai was an outdoor music event held from August 14 to 16, 1971, at Tenjinmine in Narita, Chiba Prefecture. Kenji Aoike's 23-minute film documents the two-day event, where rock bands including Zunou Keisatsu and LOST AARAARF, jazz performers such as Masayuki Takayanagi, and avant-garde performance troupe Zero Jigen gathered and performed in support of the struggle between students, farmers and the government over the construction of Narita Airport on rural land in Chiba Prefecture. The festival was held one year after the Osaka World Expo in 1970, and in contrast to this highly organised and commercial national event, the Gen'yasai represented an alternative form of mass gathering celebrating counterculture, collectivity and free expression.