"Chodo Fes 2026" has been cancelled due to the forecast of severe weather caused by a typhoon. We sincerely apologize to all the performers and vendors who had made preparations for the event. To everyone who was looking forward to attending, we are deeply disappointed but hope to have another opportunity to hold the event in the future.
However, the *Yose* (traditional Japanese storytelling) performance by the "Bakazu-no-Kai" (a club of amateur rakugo storytellers living in Kyoto) and the live musical performance by "Furu-chan & Toshi-chan" will still take place. It will be an intimate "rainy-day program" featuring popcorn and *onigiri* (rice balls). Doors open at noon on Sunday, September 20, with the performance starting at 12:30 PM (scheduled to end at 2:00 PM). Please take care on your way here.
September 18, 2026 – "Chodo Fes 2026" Executive Committee
“Furu-chan & Toshi-chan” (left) and “Bakazu-no-Kai” a club of amateur rakugo storytellers living in Kyoto (right)
Overview
Organized by：Chodo Festival + Farming Organizing Committee
Date and Time: September 20 10:00-16:00 Free entrance
Venue: DAIS Ishinomaki（228-2 Uchinohara, Mano – Aza, Ishinomaki City） Map
About 15 minutes from JR Ishinomaki Station. 8 minutes from the intersection at the Inai Junior High School.
Program:
At the Barn
Morning Set: 12:00-14:00
- Rakugo Group “Bakazu No Kai” from Kyoto
- “Furu-chan & Toshi-chan” Music and Comedy Talk Show
- An Exhibit “The House Where Memories Reside – Towards Preserving the Memories and Spaces of Homes Damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake” by Tan Yanggu This work is a digital archive designed to preserve and pass on residential spaces—and the personal and familial memories embedded within them—that are being lost due to disasters and social changes. Focusing on a former home in the Yonomori district of Tomioka Town, Fukushima Prefecture, the project recorded the space in 3D data prior to its demolition and integrated this with the residents’ narratives and family photographs. By allowing viewers to freely explore the space, the work aims to reconstruct the lost home not merely as a record, but as a “vessel” that connects memories to the future.
Inquiries：todasyou@mbk.nifty.com 090-9630-6924 （Toda）
”Things Left Behind/Things We Leave Behind/Things Remain – Symposium on Remains of Everyone Gathering”
Symposium Report By Maron Shibuhaka (Japanese language only for now. English translation coming in 2024)
Photo Gallery
April 19 Wed.
Let’s go to a farmland!
DAIS Ishinomaki, located in the Mano ward of Ishinomaki city, will be slowly and organically formed as a multilayered cultural facility where different communities can jointly experience art, food, and nature in the area. Wild weeds have grown thick and the vast site that has been neglected will be regenerated as farmland by a group of amateurs.
April 20 Thu.
Performance art event #1 Diffuse reflection at night
Venue: Theater Kinemathica (Open 17:00, Start 17:30)
Cover charge: 2,000 yen (including 1 drink)
A series of approx. 10 minutes performances by 11 performance artists from Japan and abroad. The rich individuality of each artist explodes, expanding the possibilities of somatic expression. Many audience wondering “what is performance art?” Joined us at this rare opportunity for a special experience.
Photo Gallery
April 21 Fri.
Performance event#2 Ishinomaki as a Performance City
Various locations citywide.
Photo Gallery
April 22 Sat.
Performance Art Workshop
Venue: DAIS Ishinomaki
Fee: 2,000 yen (Plus 1,000 yen with the performance event on April 20)
Max. Participants: 20 (18 years or older)
1pm ~ 1:45pm
Béatrice Didier (Beligium) Workshop “HERE AND NOW WITH BODY”
Experimental theatrical exercises to confront and explore own ways of “being here and now”. Focus on breathing, controlling energy, concentration skill, and awareness of the body in relation to; space, time, other bodies, and an object as a “partner”.
2pm ~ 2:45pm
Hector Canonge (USA) Workshop “PERFORMING THE BODY”
Workshop that explores corporeal movement and somatic expression through the technique of somatic energy developed by Hector Canonge. Participants with no experience are invited to participate and express their inner performative self.
April 23 Sun.
Chodo-Festival participation
Participated in an outdoor performance (with Ishinomakiʼs diverse communities) + international cuisine + art exhibition “Sappari Chodo Stenenda-on(abbreviation: Chodo Fes)”.
Through a heterogeneous performance woven by diverse subjects, regardless of disabilities, nationality, or genre of art, we are able to promote the richness of nature’s way of life in this multi-purpose outdoor art event held in Mano, Ishinomaki City that reconsiders the meaning of art as a means of living and the philosophy of coexistence. The title is in the Ishinomaki dialect and means “I cannot sit still at all.” It was a praxis aimed at the future of the region and a circulative society by tickling the post-COVID pandemic norms with the “Chodofes thinking”.
