Name

Le Pont International Music Festival Ako & Himeji 2026

Le Pont is the French word for “Bridge” and is affectionately known as the nickname for both the Ako International Music Festival and the Himeji International Music Festival.
The name of the festival embodies music director Daishin Kashimoto’s wish to “create a peaceful and happy world and to cherish the bonds between people by using music as a bridge.”

Purpose

After world-renowned violinist, Daishin Kashimoto, who has connections with Ako and Himeji, proposed holding a “handmade”music festival like the ones in Europe, in which musicians play in their hometowns or towns with which they are closely connected, and in which audience and performers are brought closer together, the International Music Festival in Ako was held in fall 2007, and the Le Pont International Music Festival Himeji in fall 2008. After that, the cities of Ako and Himeji alternated the hosting of the music festival between them, but in 2012, the two cities co-hosted the festival for the first time.