Festivals and symbiosis project

Festivals and rites also function as devices creating a sense of togetherness in the areas, groups, and societies people base their lives upon, but at the same time they has always functioned as devices breaking down the oppressive element of the social structure. Festivals are also closely connected to myths and folktales, in which beliefs, joys, or esthetic concepts peculiar to each individual group are embedded. Since the 3.11, local festivals have been gathering more and more attention in Japan being reevaluated as devices maintaining the communities, but in areas stricken by disasters, people have no choice but to relocate, breaking up the communities or making their dissolution inevitable. The question is where and how do festivals, which can create new ways for people to be connected to each other, or bring innovation to the communal ties, make their appearance. Another question is what kind of reality does the ripple effect of festivals reach? The purpose of this study group is to gather many instances showing the present state of festivals from a variety of localities studied by the participating researchers engaged in different fields of study, and examine the possibilities and limitations of things festal, searching for universal properties inherent in festivals.