午夜剧场

"The total number of hydrangeas on display is... 372 varieties. A Guinness World Records title has been achieved!"

As official adjudicator Koma Sato made the announcement, the venue, which had been hushed with tension, suddenly erupted in loud cheers and applause. When Mayor Kazuaki Sawamura accepted the official certificate with the widest possible smile, the gathered members of the press, who had been waiting for that moment, all clicked their camera shutters at once.

I have a somewhat unusual job as a "World Record Consultant." The scene described above took place in Hirata Village, Fukushima Prefecture. At "Jupialand Hirata," hydrangeas bloom in vibrant colors. On July 14, 2018, it was certified for the Guinness World Records title of "Most varieties of hydrangeas on display."

In March 2014, in Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture—located 30 km north of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant—students from Soma Agricultural High School led a Guinness World Records attempt. The record they challenged was the "Largest bean mosaic." Using soybeans and black beans, they depicted a samurai on horseback from the "Soma Nomaoi," a Shinto ritual that has continued since the Kamakura period.

The students spent three months preparing, supported by their teachers. It was a painstaking process of drawing sketches on one-meter-square cardboard pieces and tirelessly arranging two types of beans. For the final three days, they reserved a gymnasium and completed the artwork together with local citizens who joined in. The samurai warrior depicted across the entire gymnasium floor measured 300 square meters, far exceeding the 60-square-meter record set in the Republic of Kosovo in 2012. It was later certified as a Guinness World Records title. The event was widely covered by television and newspapers and was also introduced overseas.

I moved to Fukushima after the earthquake and have been supporting world record attempts as part of reconstruction efforts. A common sentiment among the challengers is: "The nuclear accident happened, but we are proud of Fukushima. We want the world to know that." This sentiment is spreading even further. To deliver that message to the world, I intend to continue supporting them until a Guinness World Records title is established in all 59 municipalities of Fukushima Prefecture.

New challenges will take place this March in Tamura City and this May in Koriyama City. Furthermore, preparations are underway in Fukushima City and Aizuwakamatsu City. If you have the chance, please come and visit the sites.