Toward a Society Where We Can Say, “This Is Wrong” — Festivals, Human Life, and a Hierarchical Society That Refuses to Change Sunday, October 18, 2026Reiwa 8 ー　Day 52 of Hospitalization ー　8 Days Until Discharge

1. I Am an Outsider

I read an article about the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival.

One story stayed with me: when someone dies in a festival-related accident, the bereaved family may feel that they have caused trouble for the festival or feel apologetic because a community event has to be canceled.

Someone has died.

And yet, why should the family of the deceased feel as though they have inconvenienced the festival?

I lived in Osaka for many years, but I have no personal connection to Kishiwada. I do not know the entire history of its festival or all the feelings and traditions that local people have passed down through generations. I am, after all, an outsider.

I believe that outsiders should be careful when expressing opinions about traditions with a long history. There may be circumstances that are difficult to understand from the outside. I also recognize that there are people who love their festival, devote enormous effort to preparing for it, and value the bonds it creates within their community.

Even so, there are things that I cannot help feeling are wrong.

Does being an outsider mean I must remain silent?

Does a tradition become something that outsiders must never question simply because it belongs to a local community?

When human lives are at stake, must decisions still be made exclusively within that community?

2. What I Have Experienced in a Male-Dominated Society

Perhaps I react so strongly to these issues because I have experienced considerable hardship in male-dominated environments throughout my life.

There were things I felt were wrong.

Why do they continue doing things this way? Why can they not change when a better approach is available? Why does nobody voice their doubts?

Even when I felt this way, speaking up did not mean that others would immediately understand me.

Organizations have their own logic. There are customs that have continued for years. There are the wishes of people in positions of authority and the complicated relationships among those around them.

Being right is not always enough to move things forward.

Even when I said that something was wrong, my words did not get through. Even when I raised questions, things did not change easily.

When such experiences continue for a long time, even speaking up can become exhausting. You begin to wonder whether you are the one who is mistaken, or whether it would be better to stop saying anything at all.

But just because everyone has stopped speaking about a problem does not mean the problem has disappeared.

Perhaps it has simply become invisible.

3. What Does the Word “Tradition” Protect?

Festivals embody local history. They represent people’s pride and connections that extend across generations. I have no intention of casually dismissing these things.

But are preserving a tradition and continuing to do things exactly as they have always been done really the same thing?

If a practice involves a risk serious enough to cost someone their life, surely it is reasonable to consider changing it.

If the number of people willing to take part is declining, surely the scale of the event can be reconsidered.

If some people are afraid to participate, their choice not to take part should also be respected.

And if people cannot easily refuse because of local relationships or hierarchical pressures, can we truly call their participation voluntary?

If dangerous behavior continues and all that follows is a warning or a request to be more careful, what purpose do the rules serve?

Human beings are not always strong enough to act according to their conscience alone. They may follow the crowd. They may fear being excluded by their peers. They may be afraid to be the only person who objects.

Is that not precisely why society has rules, responsibilities, and laws?

I do not believe that a festival should be allowed to operate without clear and effective measures to protect human life simply because it is a tradition.

4. Who Will Bring About Change?

It is easy to say that people in the community should discuss the problem among themselves.

But in a hierarchical society where customs have continued for generations, who can voice an opposing opinion? Who can propose changing a dangerous practice?

If some people cannot speak up within their own community, should we not also consider examining the problem from outside it?

Municipal and prefectural authorities, police, fire services, and others with their respective responsibilities and powers could meet with festival organizers and community representatives. Together, they could identify specific measures needed to prevent accidents.

They could establish safety requirements that must be followed.

They could clarify what action would be taken if those requirements were not met.

If a serious accident occurred, they could investigate its causes and consider what must change to prevent another tragedy.

Rather than simply asking people to be careful, they could establish a system that ensures the rules are actually followed.

Of course, the extent to which public authorities and police can intervene depends on the law and the way each festival is organized. Respect for local culture is also important.

Even so, should matters involving human life be left entirely to the goodwill and voluntary efforts of the local community?

That is where my doubts begin.

5. Can People Change Through Requests Alone?

I do not believe human beings are as strong as we sometimes imagine.

Even when rules exist, some people do not follow them. They may conform to the group or put their own customs first. They may think that ignoring a warning is acceptable as long as they can get through the moment without consequences.

Is that not why society has laws and holds people accountable when they violate them?

What responsibility should be imposed when dangerous behavior is repeated? If safety requirements are ignored, can an event be suspended or its procedures revised? If an accident occurs, who should be held responsible, and in what way?

I believe these questions must be clarified in advance.

Of course, it is not as simple as saying that whenever an accident occurs at a festival, someone must automatically be punished. Criminal liability requires the relevant legal conditions to be met. Whether compensation for damages is owed also depends on the specific circumstances and the legal responsibility involved.

But that does not mean responsibility can be left ambiguous simply because the event is a traditional festival.

If dangerous behavior results only in a warning and nothing changes, or if rules can be ignored without any real consequences, there is a risk that those rules will become nothing more than formalities.

The answer is not to punish everything indiscriminately.

Instead, we need to make clear what is prohibited, who is responsible for ensuring safety, what measures will follow if rules are violated, and how responsibility will be established when an accident occurs.

Both the people organizing the festival and those participating in it should understand these arrangements.

Rather than relying solely on individual conscience or a community’s willingness to regulate itself, we need a system in which the rules intended to protect people are actually followed.

Unless we go that far, will the same things not happen again and again, no matter how many warnings are issued or how many times an event is suspended?

6. Even as an Outsider, I Want to Say That Something Is Wrong

I do not know everything about the Kishiwada Festival. Nor can I claim to understand every feeling held by the people who live there.

For that reason, I cannot casually reach a conclusion from the outside.

Even so, if there are circumstances in which bereaved families feel that they have inconvenienced a festival because someone has died, I believe we must stop and think seriously about what that means.

If there is an atmosphere in which people who do not want to participate feel unable to refuse, that too deserves our attention.

If dangerous behavior continues and the response never goes beyond verbal warnings, the system itself needs to be reconsidered.

I am not saying that everything should be prohibited by law. Nor am I calling for festivals to disappear.

I simply do not want the protection of human life and the preservation of tradition to be treated as opposing goals.

Surely, it is only by making the protection of human life our starting point that we can pass traditions on to the next generation.

I have experienced what it is like to say that something is wrong in a male-dominated society and find that my words do not get through.

That is why I believe what I do.

When we point out something that is wrong, our words should not simply provoke resistance and then disappear. They must lead to discussions that can bring about social change.

We need a society in which the people who speak up are not the only ones who suffer, but one that listens to their concerns, examines the facts, and changes its systems when necessary.

I am an outsider.

But when it comes to protecting human life, I do not believe that being an outsider means I must remain silent.

A society should never require people to risk their lives in order to preserve a tradition.

And I hope we can build a society where people are not only free to say that something is wrong, but where their voices can lead to meaningful change.

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