An update on the American Consulate video shoot to be held today (3/21): The gathering time is from 3:30 at the parking area of Ninomaru Park; rehearsals and shooting will last from 4:00 to about 6:00. Everyone is welcome, whatever nationality! I have reposted the original mail from the consulate below. - William
Dear U.S. citizens in the Kumamoto, We wanted to let you know about a project we are organizing at the U.S. Consulate in Fukuoka that we were hoping you might help us with. As we approach the one-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Kumamoto, we wanted to convey to the people of the region America’s continued solidarity with them, and we also wanted to let them know how touched and inspired we have been by their positivity and resilience after the disaster. In this spirit, we are developing a “tribute” music video to Kumamoto, adapting and performing the Kumamon Taiso exercise routine and song. The video is a joint project by the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Fukuoka are together with other American agencies and organizations in Japan and the Kumamoto Prefectural Government. You can get a feel for the original version of the Kumamon Taiso, if you don’t know it already, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBBZop5j6D0. Maybe you saw a previous video that we made together with the Embassy and other Consulates in Japan, which became a viral sensation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xuXlpvWw1I). We hope this video will have a similar reach. We are hoping to have a big group join us for the climatic shot of the video at the grounds of Kumamoto Castle on the afternoon of March 21, from 4 – 6 pm (please RSVP so we can let you know more details and if there are any changes). If you have a sense of people who might be willing and interested to participate, please spread the word.