Is skateboarding really just a "competition"?There must surely be a charm born from street culture that cannot be fully described or captured by just wins, losses, or numbers.The international skateboarding event from Japan, "UPRISING TOKYO Supported by Rakuten", along with Yuto Horigome, who played a leading role, demonstrated that such feelings were not mistaken.

The “UPRISING TOKYO Supported by Rakuten” was held at the Ariake Arena, which has about 15,000 seats, over three days from May 26th to 28th.The event, sponsored by Rakuten, was inspired by the aspirations of Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Yuto Horigome, who aims to advance skateboarding as a sport and culture and has formed a strategic partnership with Rakuten. It was slightly different from the typical “skateboarding contest”.

“I want to increase the opportunities for young players in their early teens to shine. We want to promote skateboarding throughout the entire culture.”

How to materialize Horigome’s feelings towards the skateboarding world.

As a result, a vision was established to “deliver the appeal of skateboarding to everyone, and to become an entity that creates value.”In order to convey the unique appeal of skateboarding, it merges competitiveness and cultural elements. Not just to show the audience the competition for rankings, but also to let them enjoy aspects such as fashion and music.

The overall production was directed by Kenshin, a calligrapher who serves as the president of the Japan Contemporary Art Association. The artwork he created, which was on display in the venue, also became a topic of discussion. In addition, the sub-arena hosts events where children can try skateboarding, stalls of related brands, and merchandise sales. Food trucks are also set up both inside and outside the venue. And after the contest, there was also a live performance. On the first day, the YouTuber and artist group “Sky Peace” and the dance duo “BetRay” performed, on the second day the up-and-coming girls’ unit “GANG PARADE” and “ExWHYZ” performed, and on the final day, the world-renowned house dancer Miyu appeared with her instructed members as “Miyu Crew”.

Among the audience, there were probably some who were not familiar with skateboarding. Even so, surely by visiting “UPRISING TOKYO Supported by Rakuten”, one could fully enjoy the essence that shapes Skateboarding as a culture, couldn’t they? During times outside of the contest, the sight of spectators freely roaming around the venue as if they were at an outdoor music festival, more than anything else, demonstrated the success of this event. The words of Horigome at the press conference still linger in my mind.

“Not just the Olympics, but I also want to continue spreading street culture. Skateboarding really has a lot of depth. I think there are still many things that everyone doesn’t know about, so I’d like to keep telling people about the good parts.”

TEXT: Chiharu Abe