Shinya Ishizuka
I've participated in the Komei Festival 12 times. If I had to say one way or the other, I remember kind of disliking the festival in the past. I didn't like being in front of people, and I liked doing something in front of people even less. But as the time for the festival approached this school year, I found that the old me had completely disappeared. While it's a little sad to realize this so late, I think everything about the Komei Festival is wonderful, including the plays and performances. I really feel that participating in The Lion King was the most fun thing I have ever done.

Atsushi Kikukawa
Up until last year, the teachers put everything up for the exhibitions in the school during the festival. But this year, the students did it themselves after discussing where and how best to display their work. We stayed after school and attached our works to display paper and then hung those in the locations we had decided on. The next day, all of the other students in group five looked at the work and checked to see if any of the work was crooked or bent. Planning and putting up our work was fun, and I was really happy with what we had done when we were finished.

Satomi Yoshida
I have a lot of great memories from the Komei Festival this year. I played Rafiki, the baboon in The Lion King. There was a part where I had to sing by myself, and the thought of doing so made me more nervous than I'd ever been before. When we first started rehearsing for the play, I didn't have any faith in my ability, but as we continued to practice I got used to singing alone. When the time came for the performance, I was still nervous, but I was happy that I was able to do better than I ever believed I could. My eyes were brimming with tears after it was over.