Japan Pizza Festival 2024 (Fukuoka) Opening and memorial Ceremony Report

The Japan Pizza Festival 2024 was held for four days from October 17th to 20th, 2024, at Daimyo Garden City in Fukuoka. This year marks the third time that the event has been recognized by the Italian Embassy. Before moving to Daimyo Garden City, it was held in front of JR Hakata Station in Fukuoka. The event was organized by an executive committee consisting of Love FM International Broadcasting Co., Ltd. and several other sponsors. I participated as an interpreter in the opening ceremony and the memorial ceremony for Gaetano.

In his opening address, General Producer Tomohide Shitama (CEO of Aenaria Co., Ltd., hereafter referred to as Tommy) expressed his gratitude to everyone involved and mentioned that Fukuoka is the city with the highest number of Italian restaurants per capita in Japan. At the venue, six booths specializing in Italian regional cuisine, as well as Neapolitan pizza, were set up, adding color to the atmosphere. He also spoke of his hope that people would rediscover the charms of Fukuoka's unique agricultural products and seafood, including the black figs "Toyomitsuhime," a Fukuoka specialty, through Italian cooking techniques.

After the opening remarks, there was a guest speech by Anna Iele, Agriculture and Food Attaché at the Italian Embassy in Japan.

During his speech, he said that not only has Neapolitan pizza been selected as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, but its history can also be traced back to the frescoes in the ruins of Pompeii in ancient Rome. Indeed, when you look at a photo, you can see that the color, shape, rim height, and even toppings are identical to what we eat today, which is surprising. This news has become a hot topic not only in Italy, but all over the world.

Pizza fresco discovered in the ruins of Pompeii Photo (c) Archaeological Park of Pompeii

Is the picture on the far left a pizza from about 2,000 years ago? Photo (c) Archaeological Park of Pompeii

The year 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the Assocation for the the true Neapolitan Pizza, and the event also served as a celebration of this milestone. Several members of the association from Naples came to Japan, but one of its founders, the late Gaetano Fazio, was not present. He had come to Japan for the Japan Pizza Festival 2023 last year, and passed away suddenly after returning home.

Therefore, in their speeches, Tommy and Anna not only expressed their condolences for Gaetano, but also recognized his achievements, including having been awarded the Cavaliere of the Order of the Italian Republic.

For over 40 years, Gaetano has generously imparted his skills to over 100 Japanese pizza craftsmen (pizzaiolo), and his disciples are at the heart of Neapolitan pizza culture in Japan. Among his many disciples, Tommy is the one who trained the longest on the island of Ischia, and it is still fresh in our memory that he handed down the name of the restaurant, Da Gaetano, to the sixth generation, succeeding Gaetano, the fifth generation, at the ceremony held at this event in 2023.

This time, all the pizza chefs who participated from all over Japan wore matching T-shirts with a portrait of Gaetano. Pizza chef Yoshiyuki Okazaki from "Il Ritrovo", who participated from Wakayama City, was one of them. He honed his skills in Italy, worked at Da Gaetano in Fukuoka, and is now independent in Wakayama City.

On this day, wonderful live performances were held in honour of Gaetano, who also loved music.

The performers for Gaetano's memorial were Kinoshita Ryuya, an accordionist who graduated from the Bari Conservatory, and Ota Keisuke, a violinist who studied in Padua, Italy. The two are the hopes of Italian music in Japan, having even performed at the Matera Grottoes, a World Heritage Site, at the request of the Basilicata region. In Italian, the accordion is called Fisalmonica. I presume this means "manipulating harmony," which is quite a suggestive and apt name. I later learned from Kinoshita that 95% of Fisalmonica instruments are made in Italy. (Apparently the remaining 5% are made in China.)

It is an instrument of Italian artigianale (artisanal craftsmanship).

The three pieces played were as follows. All of them were technically refined, melancholic, and deeply moving.

1. Largo Cantabile by Giuseppe Tartini

2. "Claude's Tango" by Richard Galliano

3. "Jonetsu Tairiku" composed by Taro Hakase

And then, a toast was offered at the end of the opening ceremony, and the memorial ceremony for Gaetano Fazio ended without incident.