The "Secret Story of the Birth of the Moving Pictogram" and the "Truth about the One Billion Yen of Budget " -- The Diffusion of the Canceled Official Program for the Opening Ceremony? What Will Happen to the Olympic Closing Ceremony --

2021年8月14日 22:01

This is an English translation of an article written and published in Japanese by のやまやの (Mr./Ms Noyamayano) on July 27th 2021 (JST) : "《動くピクトグラム誕生秘話》と《予算10億の真相》〜発売中止の開会式公式プログラム拡散？どうなるオリンピック閉会式〜." A couple of inks to a newspaper and the statement posted in the text which do not currently exist have been omitted. [*Translator's notes: Reflected updates in the links in the original article on August 22nd, 2121] Any issues caused by mistranslations are the responsibility of the translator. It would be grateful if you find any errors in this translation and let the translator know.

これは、のやまやの氏が執筆され2021年7月27日に公開された「《動くピクトグラム誕生秘話》と《予算10億の真相》〜発売中止の開会式公式プログラム拡散？どうなるオリンピック閉会式〜」の英訳です。文中に貼られた新聞記事等へのリンクのうち、現在存在しないものは省略しています。（翻訳者注: 2021年8月22日、元記事におけるリンク更新を反映させました。）誤訳によって生じるいかなる問題も翻訳者の責に帰すものとします。もし誤りがあれば翻訳者にご一報いただければ幸いに存じます。

The phantom "Opening Ceremony Program" was hastily cancelled due to reports that the show director had been dismissed. When I read an interview with Kentaro Kobayashi, the director of the show, I thought I had to write this article. The contents of the interview will be described later, but anyway, I would like to write down the facts here as much as I know, in an accurate, easy-to-understand and sequential manner. Then, how would you view this issue and what would you think about it?

❶ What Was the Problem with Kentaro Kobayashi's Contraption?

On July 22, 2021, Seiko Hashimoto, the President of the organizing committee, announced the dismissal of Kentaro Kobayashi, the show director of the opening and closing ceremonies.
The reason for this was that the words "playing mass slaughter of Jews" were used in a video of young comedians' sketches released in 1998, which was spread on the Internet, and a Jewish human rights group issued the protest statement. Hashimoto said that the reason was a "diplomatic issue."

The Wiesenthal Center, which is a Jewish human rights group, issued the statement of protest because they received the report that "the director of the Olympic opening ceremony had made fun of Jews in a past comedy, where he said 'Let's play Holocaust!'." It is quite natural that they would protest if they had heard about in such a way.

In fact, not only in Japan, but all over the world, it is still reported that the “director of the Olympic opening ceremony is someone who has joked in the past that he should 'play the Holocaust'."

This is, however, not true.

When I saw the 1998 contrived video in question, I felt that the context was very difficult to explain to the foreign audience.
It would be certainly easier to omit the original context and describe it as the “man who said, 'Let's play Holocaust'" in a short, straightforward sentence.

However, it is far from the ”truth”.

Let me try to explain the original context of the skit as clearly as I can to the foreign audience.
"In one of his past sketches, Kentaro Kobayashi used a black joke in which a duo with insufficient wisdom were thinking about a fictional TV show project and said, 'The producer got angry when we played the Holocaust with dolls’.”

Even if I tried to keep it as short and to the point as possible, I would not be able to remove the above content as context for explaining this skit. There are two main points which need to be conveyed precisely.
(1) As the word "got angry" indicates, Kentaro Kobayashi himself was aware at the time that "playing the Holocaust" was something which should not have happened.
(2) It was a laugh which made fun of the duo (themselves) in the play, saying that "The duo with insufficient wisdom does not even understand common sense that it is a bad thing."

In other words, the "truth" is:
"Kentaro Kobayashi is not a person with a dangerous thoughts who affirms the Holocaust."

Needless to say, even if that were the case, it was not a word which should have been used in any skits. The fact that he failed to take that into consideration at the time is something which should be so ashamed of and should be reminded of.
(As we will see later, Kobayashi actually embodied his reflections for the following 20 years.)

Therefore, when the announcement of his dismissal was made immediately in the situation that it was discussed as a "diplomatic issue," Kobayashi himself accepted the decision gracefully and immediately issued the apology (although the organizing committee should have carefully examined and explained the situation because it was a sensitive issue).

However, due to the difficult context of the story described above, we should be aware of the fact that the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization, was contacted with a nuance (i.e. as if he was a person with dangerous thoughts) that was not true, and that was the beginning of this uproar. The situation could have been different with just one way of communication.

If you read the full text of Kentaro Kobayashi's comments, which were released immediately after the news of his dismissal, you can see his sincerity in the text where he deeply regrets that time and apologizes gracefully.

"As pointed out, in the video software that was released in 1998 to introduce young comedians, a contrived line that I wrote contained an extremely inappropriate expression. (snip) I was in the business of entertaining people, and I should not have made them feel uncomfortable. I understand that my foolish choice of words at the time was a mistake, and I regret it. I would like to apologize to those who were offended."

❷ What Kentaro Kobayashi Has Been Doing for Many Years (edited)

There is an important point that needs to be cleared here.
It is the path which Kentaro Kobayashi has been on for more than 20 years until 2021.
In his above comments, he also wrote the following:

"When it was pointed out, I thought back to those days. I think it was the time when I couldn't make people laugh as much as I wanted to, and I was shallowly trying to get people's attention. After that, I realized what I was doing was not good, so I changed my mind and started to aim for laughter which would not hurt people."

■ 20 years of aiming for "laughter which doesn't hurt people”
In those days, when laughter was being consumed at a rapid pace in the world of television, Kentaro Kobayashi realized that "he should not get laughter by saying things which hurt people." He immediately distanced himself from the world of television and moved his field to the “theater," where he has been searching for and demonstrating "laughter which does not hurt people" for more than 20 years.

In fact, in his solo work "Potsunen," which he began in earnest in 2005, he has continued to declare that "he wants to seek 'laughter which requires no prior knowledge' and 'laughter which does not hurt people'."
From KENTARO KOBAYASHI WORKS | "The Strange and Ordinary Life of Mr. Potsunen” Portfolio

Also, in his book "What I Think for Contrast and Theater," released in 2014, he clearly states that one of "99 thoughts to be funny, beautiful, and mysterious" is "laughter which does not hurt people."
From: What I'm Thinking about and for Comedy and Theater : Kentaro Kobayashi - HMV&BOOKS online - 9784344026247

In this way, Kentaro Kobayashi has refined himself as a creator by correcting his own mistakes and developing his art and skills over the years.

■ Donation of advertising revenue from his comedy videos to support the reconstruction from disasters and the association for the disabled
In addition, Kentaro Kobayashi released his 100 comedy videos of "laughter which does not hurt people" for free on his official YOUTUBE channel, and had been using the advertising revenue from the videos to support the reconstruction from disasters.
From: Rahmens to Release 100 Free Comedy Videos, Use Ad Revenue for Disaster Recovery - Livedoor News (livedoor.com)

[*Translator's notes: Rahmens is a name of the comedy duo consisting of Kentaro Kobayashi.]

He also donated the advertising revenue from his solo activity "Potsunen" video to the Japan Sports Association for the Disabled, and during the torrential rain disaster in western Japan, he went to the disaster area and donated the proceeds from the sale of his goods. [*Added by the author on July 29, 2021]
From: Tweets on Twitter. (1) Screenshot of the video of "Potsunen" / (2) The victims of the torrential rain in western Japan

❸ Kentaro Kobayashi, Who Was Dismissed, and Keigo Oyamada, Who Resigned (corrected)

(*Substantial additions and corrections made on July 28, 2021; *The issues were organized more objectively)
Why was Kentaro Kobayashi dismissed immediately without any scrutiny of his achievements over the aforementioned 20 years? It may be because there was also the "matter of Keigo Oyamada," who resigned just before Kobayashi's dismissal in addition to the diplomatic issues.

Oyamada is the one who was in charge of composing some of the music for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
However, in one of his past interviews on magazines, Oyamada was exposed as having talked about bullying (violent behaviors) of the disabled when he was a student. After the Organizing Committee, which had initially defended him in the face of public criticism, changed its decision several times, he resigned at his own request on July 19, 2021. The following day, on the 20th, President Hashimoto announced that the music composed by Oyamada would not be used in the opening ceremony.

However, originally, the two cases should have been considered separately because of the "natures" of the issues were different.

■ The problem of the way of expression or the problem of human nature
Although both have in common the "mistakes of the past" of more than 20 years ago, the case of Kentaro Kobayashi is a "past problem of expression" in terms of word choice, and that of Keigo Oyamada is a "past problem of human nature" in the form of violent acts.

Changes in the "way of expression in the past" and "way of expression in the present" can be physically proven, while changes in "human nature in past" and "human nature in the present are difficult to prove.
I am pretty sure that no one will be able to give an answer which will satisfy everyone if they are asked about their humanity. This question which has no answer is also the cause of triggering a radical "cancel culture," which has led to the current issues.

In other words, Kobayashi was supposed to be questioned about "problems with the way he expressed himself in the past," but his case was confused with Oyamada's case and switched to "problems with humanity," which Oyamada was questioned about, and as a result, he was dismissed immediately without being scrutinized. *This was due to the irresponsible hearsay, which was not true (as if Koboayashi was a person with dangerous thoughts), as I mentioned in ❶.

❹ Staging and Pictograms for the Opening Ceremony and Drastic Budget Reduction

The man who had embodied reflection for 20 years was suddenly dismissed as show director of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony without any scrutiny of his achievements.
President Hashimoto announced that "she had confirmed that there were no individual parts of the event that Mr. Kobayashi was specifically directing alone," and that "preparations were currently underway to hold the opening ceremony as scheduled."

However, after the opening ceremony on the 23rd, it became a hot topic on the Internet that the style of the creator, Kentaro Kobayashi, was strongly exuded in the entire production.

■ "Pictogram" is Kobayashi's idea. An interview with Kobayashi about the official guidebook goes viral

In fact, there is something to back it up.
It is the "Official Program for the Opening Ceremony," which was cancelled due to the dismissal scandal. Although the program was canceled, the guidebook had already been shipped, and many people got their hands on them. The interview with Kentaro Kobayashi on the guidebook, the director of the program, was spread on the Internet, and it turned out that many of his ideas, including the popular "Pictogram-kun," had been incorporated into the program.

東京オリンピック開会式公式プログラム内の小林賢太郎ショーディレクターの寄稿(丸2ページが日本語と英語である)がこれ

個別演出がないのではなく全編小林演出(総監督)が実態だと思う。

クレジットから小林を除名し成果を武藤が簒奪し強行という印象

公益性を鑑みて公開する

広くリツィートを求む pic.twitter.com/XWdMjDz44X
— 中年ケニア•フルスロットル (@matsukaze1978) July 24, 2021

In the interview, Kobayashi said the following:

"I started the opening with a small world view because I wanted to deliver it to the hearts of individual people first, rather than to the world at large. I also lined up how to draw the motifs in each segment: point, line, plane, solid, and space... (*omission) I didn't try to explain the story clearly, but I hope it will come across as a natural response."
"A pictogram is a design of a three-dimensional human body on a flat surface, but I came up with the idea of returning the pictogram to a three-dimensional form and expressing it with a human body, hoping that it would become a nonsense funny."

Kobayashi also shared his thoughts about holding the Olympics in the Corona disaster.

"The desire of the athletes to aiming to the Olympics is very noble. But the voices questioning the holding of the Games also make sense. So I didn't want the contents of this ceremony to highlight the divide in opinion."

Preparing for the opening ceremony was a continuous process of adapting to the ever-changing conditions, and for that, the staging and planning team had been preparing by recreating the event many times to be ready when it was supposed to be held, they said.

■ Rather than increasing the production budget, it was reduced to one-fifth of the original budget
Kentaro Kobayashi responded to "inadequate communication" and "drastic cuts in the production budget," which other creators would have spurned. Preparing for it to be "put on hold" in the worst possible way, he worked as a team to produce the work to the best of his ability.

The budget for the opening and closing ceremonies, which the organizing committee has announced at 16.5 billion, has been allocated not only for on-site production costs, but also for all the other things which have arisen from the one-year postponement. One of them is probably the cost of securing resources which had been lost in MIKIKO's original proposal, and corona countermeasures.
As a result, the budget for the opening and closing ceremonies (four ceremonies) is said to be only one billion, a fifth of the original budget. The creators had to face and meet the demand for quality befitting a world festival in the tough conditions.

The idea of "Pictogram-kun" was also the fruit of a brilliant idea which was created to transcend language barriers and be enjoyed by people all over the world within such limited constraints.

Kobayashi concludes the interview as follows:

"I think that the fact that the Olympic Games are here will be a much bigger message than what message we give at this ceremony. If there are 100 people, there may be 100 different ways to perceive it. And I think the important thing is not to make everyone's ideas the same, but to respect each other's differences. We had to create the ceremony with various restrictions. The artists who participated in this project gave their talents as much as possible. And the long-time dedication of many people who have been involved in this project long before me is now taking shape. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony is the best we can do to express ourselves and to encourage the athletes who are the stars of this event."

At the end of the text, it was clearly written, "Directed by Kentaro Kobayashi."

❺ The Cancel Culture the World Is Horrified with

As I mentioned above, the director, Kentaro Kobayashi, had already reflected on his own mistakes of more than 20 years ago, and had continued to embody those reflections for the past 20 years.
Can such a person be summarily dismissed as "a director who wanted to play the Holocaust" without any scrutiny, and left to continue to spread untrue reports around the world?
Is the spirit of "Diversity and Inclusion" that the Tokyo Olympics stands for the spirit of not tolerating such people?

We have the power of imagination. It is also the power of caring. We should be able to imagine that his life will continue after the Olympics. I wondered if I should mention the book that was cancelled, but I decided to do so because I felt that I should speak out against the fact that something that should not have been cancelled in the first place is now being cancelled.
There are growing calls for Kentaro Kobayashi to be given due recognition for his talent and efforts.

The closing ceremony of the Olympics will be on August 8, 2021. After that, the Paralympics will follow.s using the same ideas of Kentaro Kobayashi, the show director, then the organizing committee should officially restore his honor.

As long as it is an official announcement, it can take any form, whether it is a press conference or a document.
For the Organizing Committee to correct his misinformation to the world (caused by the Organizing Committee's lack of explanation), to publicize his activities to date, and to once again honor Kentaro Kobayashi as a "director" may not only restore his own honor, but may also be a chance for Japan to regain its pride as the last conscience.

It is because, in the eyes of the world today, Japan's excessive "cancel culture" is being bitterly criticized and dismayed. (* Posted on July 28, 2021)

In an Israeli newspaper called "Haaretz," even the Jews concerned are calling for a reversal of Kentaro Kobayashi's dismissal, citing Japan's radical "cancel culture."

" (...) It’s clear to me that this isn’t Japanese craziness. Judging by the repercussions that “cancel culture” receives in the media, this lunacy is spreading throughout the world at a pace that would make the coronavirus envious.
The problem is that when in the name of offending Jews they fire a Japanese man who told a joke, only the Jews are allowed, if even they are, to come to his defense. All the others who defend him will be accused the same way. They’ll be denounced and risk being fired.
That’s why decent Jews must raise a cry that can be heard as far away as Japan: We weren’t hurt! We don’t care about a joke told in 1998, we’re not a shoji room divider made out of paper. Bring back Kobayashi and climb down from the rooftops."

I hope that the organizing committee will once again examine the facts and send out accurate information and a firm stance to the world before it is too late.

❻ Conclusions

There is a famous phrase, the "knowledge of ignorance." It is a phrase of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. "I don't know anything. I'm aware of that."

We slip our fingers on our smartphones, think we know something based only on shocking headlines and uncertain information, settle things only within ourselves, or release irresponsible words.
There are times when I am irresistibly afraid that we humans will find ourselves losing our ability to think and make decisions, and that we will one day turn into fierce monsters insensitive to the feelings of others by doing the above.

That's why "we have to be aware that we don't know anything and make an effort to know."
That's why "we have to be aware that we don't know anything and make an effort to know."
This is not the story of ancient Greece, but the smallest and greatest weapon we can have today.
Your "want to know" led you to this page.
But I don't want you to take this for granted, I want you to chew on it again in your own mind.

Hopefully, instead of reading this and thinking that you know about "Kentaro Kobayashi," you will read this and realize that you know nothing about him.

And if you feel like you want to know about him...
Books. Works of art. Videos. Documentaries. I want you to go and look for "Kentaro Kobayashi" himself.
I'm sure you'll find something there which you can't find in the excerpts.
I'll try to do the same. Because I'm sure I still won't understand.

Now that you have finished reading this, how do you feel?
That's what I want to know the most right now.
Thank you for reading to the end.

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