Ichigo Ichie 2019
- Moon Bui
- Sep 22, 2019
- 5 min read
“We are not cancelling the festival!” I said in the most determined tone, with my fists clenched at full force. I tried to calm my anger, which shocked my friends. It may be the first time they ever saw me so infuriated and so persistent, as opposed to my everyday calm and easy character. And they were right, I was always a neutral person who could easily agree with others. This was the first time I got so determined about my point that I could hardly care about anything else. I just wanted to prove myself correct.
Being a member in the board of director of a Japanese – Vietnamese Culture Club, I try hard everyday to broaden people’s perspectives on the culture of two countries. Every year, the club would organize a festival, called “Ichigo Ichie” as a way to spread awareness of Japanese culture to the public, who mainly knew about Japanese cartoons and comics. “Ichigo Ichie”, a proverb that stems from the tea ceremony culture of Japan, means “once in a lifetime encounter”. “Cherish each encounter as if it were a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Treat every meeting like it is the first and the last, and enjoy every encounter to the fullest because it may not come to you again”, (“Japanese Kotozawa: Ichigo Ichie - 一期一会” punipunijapan.com). The festival was an event meant for the junior years in the club, and my generation happened to be one of the first to organize it, so the stakes were high.
Knowing how we could affect the juniors later on with what we were doing today, we devoted our best and worked diligently for six months, all to create a one-day festival worthy of the spirit of “Ichigo Ichie”. However, problems struck down at the very last moment. Two weeks before the day of the festival, the location manager contacted and told us we couldn’t hold the festival on our agreed date, since the location was being prioritized for other use. Needless to say, we panicked while trying to look for a new place. Luckily, we did manage to find another spot that was open for rent on that day, but the trouble didn’t end there. The new location was not in an area that can attract attention from passing travelers, those who can contribute up to 50% of our profit. We were not confident about making it even in this new place and “debt” seems too heavy a situation for a group of high school students to face. What lied in front of us were three options. The first one was to postpone the festival for a week to keep our planned location and we would have to follow up with an apology to the public and potentially lose a large number of guests. Of course, carrying out the festival at a new location on the announced date was also an option, but doing so also meant facing the chance of not making things even. Our last option, which seemed to be the worst, was to officially cancel the festival and prepare for a bigger, better one the following year.
The last plan to me was just a bizarre move, but my friend, who was head of the Media department, clearly didn’t have the same kind of thought. “If we are gonna be losing guests and facing debts either way, we might as well cancel it now before any financial problems occur. We can always make a better one next year”, she said. However, there was no solid proof that we would be making a loss, I checked all the numbers of the intended guests on out social media, adding to the expected numbers of passers-by and interested visitors, there’s a high chance of making it even. I showed her my calculations, to which she finally agreed that we wouldn’t need to worry about financial matters.
“But what if we fail? Then our credibility will be lowered and we will face a tough time organizing a new festival next year”, she explained. “Then how do you think we will fail? What is “failing” to you? Because I’m confident that after six months of preparation, the only thing we are not sure about now is the location. The booths look amazing, the volunteers are on high spirit, equipment are also being taken care of”, I tried to convince her. “That’s right, but if we change our location, then unexpected problems might come up. If we can’t deal with the trouble then we will be leading the festival towards disaster!” she claimed. “Then don’t do it at a new location then, we make an official announcement and postpone it for a week to get our planned place”, I reminded her of this option. “Then we wouldn’t be sure if we can make it even or not. Because the numbers you showed were the amount of people intending to go that day, what if it drops drastically when we change dates? What is more if we postpone for a week and the festival fails to meet with expectations, our reputation will go down. I’m telling you there are many uncertainties that we can’t hope to avoid. Cancelling the festival is our safest move now”.
“We are not cancelling the festival!” I tried to calm down while persuading my friend. “First of all, I understand you are worried, I am too, but we have to think clearly about this”, I needed her to know that we were on the same boat, and I understood how she was feeling, but that is more the reason why we shouldn’t let emotions affect our decisions. “I don’t deny the fact that we will lose a number of guests, but there’s bound to be groups of other people who can make it that day. It’s impossible to satisfy everyone but in the end things will eventually balance out, there will hardly be any difference in the number of attendants. And whether we cancel the festival or not, our credibility and reputation will still be on the line”. At that point, I was sure that our reputations will be lowered one way or another, but I opted for the festival happening anyways. Because if we chose to cancel it, then the juniors next year would be the actual ones to suffer from our consequences, they would have to carry on our burdens, and that is just something I couldn’t tolerate. She seemed more convinced, but I could tell that she was still very worried. “Six months of work, all for one day, we poured in too much effort to just give up now. In those six months journey, we met new people, made new friends, and most importantly, our bonds became tighter. Every time we meet, I do my best to make sure that I’m doing everything I can, that you guys also give it your all, because who knows whether it will be our last time together or not? That is why I want to see this through until the end, because we might never get a chance to do this ever again. We, the board of directors for Ichigo Ichie, have a mission, and that is to give people this “once in a lifetime encounter” and also live to the fullest ourselves too”, I was crossing fingers at that point. I said what was necessary, and couldn’t think of anything else to persuade her. In the end, she finally agreed with me and adjustments were made.
One week later than the intended date, the festival happened. I still remember how in the mist of chaos, when the whole team was still running back and forth, I kept thinking how lucky I was being able to persuade my friend. Had she been more tough with her decisions or may be kept a calmer mind, the festival could not have happened. With that thought in mind, I rushed on to carry out the festival, turning it into one of the most successful festivals in the year.
Some activities at the festival
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