Partying with Mika's spirit

What a party!
100 friends gathered at Cafe Slow to celebrate Mika’s exhbition, “Hana-tachi no Natsukashii Ashita (The Flowers and their Nostalgic Tomorrow)”

Musicians dedicating their music were internationally well-known classical musicians Seppo Kimanen and Yoshiko Arai, jazz pianist Ritsuco Endo, and vocalist Fuyuta Matsuya. We showed a video message and song by singer Shigeko Suzuki, as well as parts of the recently completed film Kotsunagi, about the history of the dispute over traditional common lands in Iwate Prefecture. My friend Misago Chizuru, writer and Tsuda Juku University professor of public health, also spoke. My elder brother, the architect Goichi Oiwa, co-hosted the party with me.
This occasion also was a celebration of the Sloth Club’s tenth anniversary. It took place at the hub of our slow movement, Cafe Slow that relocated to its current location 14 months ago. Now, it’s only five minutes walk from Kokubunji station, about 20 minutes from Shinjuku. It is making its presence felt in the area as one of the best natural-food restaurants and a gathering place for cultural creatives in search of a new lifestyle that emphasizes ecology, natural birthing and parenting, and social justice. It is also the birthplace of the Candle Night movement, which has now spread all over Japan and overseas.
On the 18th and 19th of this month, Cafe Slow will host two more events celebrating the Sloth Club’s tenth anniversary. I will be there too.