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Nano-Mugen Festival
Annual music festival in Japan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Nano-Mugen Festival (officially ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION presents NANO-MUGEN FES., Japanese: アジアン カンフー ジェネレーション プレゼンツ ナノ-ムゲン フェス) is a music festival usually held in Yokohama, Japan.[1]
The festival is hosted by Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation, who invites various other artists from around Japan and internationally to perform at the festival. From the 2005 edition, the band also started producing a compilation album featuring music of each invited artist for that year's festival.[2]
In 2025, the festival was to be held overseas for the first time, with dates in both Yokohama, Japan and Jakarta, Indonesia.[3][4] However, the Indonesian leg was cancelled a few days prior to the festival.
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Background
The festival started as a band project, with Asian Kung-Fu Generation becoming familiar with artists from outside Japan and had formed an idea to perform together. Gotoh stated that he wanted their music to reach audiences beyond just Japanese listeners, and so the festival was created to "bridge that gap".[5]
Name origin
"Nano" comes from the unit prefix nano, which Gotoh described as the smallest unit he and the band knew at the time.[5] "Mugen" comes from the Japanese word 無限 (mugen) meaning "infinite" or "eternal". This means that the title is an oxymoron.
According to Gotoh, he had an "image of something expanding endlessly from the smallest point" and therefore is "a title about expanding from the smallest unit to a place beyond measure."[5]
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Festival history
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NANO-MUGEN FES. (Shinjuku LOFT)
The first Nano-Mugen Fes. was held at Shinjuku LOFT on August 11, 2003. It was a single day festival featuring five total acts.[6]
NANO-MUGEN FES. (Yokohama CLUB24)
The second festival was held on December 17, 2003 at Yokohama CLUB24.[6]
NANO-MUGEN FES. in Budokan
The third festival was held on July 1, 2004 at Nippon Budokan.[6]
NANO-MUGEN FES. in OSAKA
The fourth festival was held on August 9, 2004 at Osaka Namba Hatch.[6] It is the first edition to feature international acts.
NANO-MUGEN FES. 2005
2005 was the first festival to he held at new permanent venue Yokohama Arena, and the first to feature a compilation album.[7]
NANO-MUGEN FES. 2006
The festival became a two-day event in the 2006 edition.
NANO-MUGEN FES. 2008
Whilst the organisers received offers from bands wanting to participate in 2007, a decision was ultimately made to postpone the festival so that Asian Kung-Fu Generation could focus on performing at other festivals and events.[8]
The festival returned to Yokohama Arena in 2008, once again for two days.[9]
NANO-MUGEN FES. 2009
Welsh band Manic Street Preachers was originally scheduled to appear, however their participation was cancelled due to the sudden illness of bassist Nicky Wire. Refunds were given upon request.[10]
NANO-MUGEN FES. 2009 (pre-event)
Prior to the main festival, the band also hosted events in Osaka and Nagoya on July 9 and 10, along with a solo show in Tokyo.[11]
NANO-MUGEN CIRCUIT 2010
In lieu of a full festival in 2010, the band instead hosted a tour with stops in four cities across Japan.[12]
NANO-MUGEN CIRCUIT 2011
Held in three cities across Japan.
NANO-MUGEN FES. 2011
Nano-Mugen returned to Yokohama Arena as a two-day festival.[13]
NANO-MUGEN CIRCUIT 2012
Held in four cities across Japan.[14]
NANO-MUGEN FES. 2012
NANO-MUGEN CIRCUIT 2013
Held in six cities across Japan.[15]
NANO-MUGEN FES. 2014
2014 was to be the final annual Nano-Mugen Festival, and the most recently released compilation album.[16]
NANO-MUGEN FES. 2025
After an 11 year hiatus, Nano-Mugen Festival is due to return in May and June 2025 and held across two cities in Japan and Indonesia.[3]
The first wave of artists to appear was revealed on 3 February 2025.[17] The second wave was announced on 10 March 2025, along with the first wave of artists to appear in Jakarta.[18]
On 19 May, festival organisers announced the cancellation of the Indonesian leg of the festival.[19]
NANO-MUGEN CIRCUIT 2025
On the first day of Nano-Mugen Fes. 2025 in Yokohama, it was revealed that Nano-Mugen Circuit would return, this time as a "split tour" between ASH and Asian Kung-Fu Generation.[20]
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References
External links
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