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Yoko Ono and John Lennon in 1973
Festivals & Live Culture

One Step Festival 1974: Japan Builds a Five-Day Rock City

In Kōriyama, One Step assembled around forty acts and more than seventy thousand visits across five major concert days, becoming one of Japan’s largest outdoor rock events of the 1970s.

31 July–10 August 1974 programme; major concerts 4–5 & 8–10 AugustKōriyama, FukushimaFestival
Bernard Gotfryd · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.

Edition timeline

  1. Kōriyama City's official history states that One Step Festival took place in 1974 around Kaiseizan Park / athletics stadium.

    Kōriyama City's official history states that One Step Festival took place in 1974 around Kaiseizan Park / athletics stadium.

  2. The broader event ran from 31 July to 10 August, while the main outdoor rock concerts were staged on five days: 4, 5 and 8–10 August.

    The broader event ran from 31 July to 10 August, while the main outdoor rock concerts were staged on five days: 4, 5 and 8–10 August.

  3. The city describes it as the largest-scale outdoor rock concert in Japan at the time.

    The city describes it as the largest-scale outdoor rock concert in Japan at the time.

  4. About forty acts appeared and the five principal concert days drew more than 70,000 people in total according to the municipal source.

    About forty acts appeared and the five principal concert days drew more than 70,000 people in total according to the municipal source.

  5. Artists included Yoko Ono, Yuya Uchida, Hiroshi Kamayatsu, Julie Sawada, Tatsuro Yamashita-related early work and many other Japanese performers.

    Artists included Yoko Ono, Yuya Uchida, Hiroshi Kamayatsu, Julie Sawada, Tatsuro Yamashita-related early work and many other Japanese performers.

Why this event matters

This is a major Japanese anchor page. The city archive is unusually strong, so use exact municipal distinctions between the larger festival period and the five main rock-concert days instead of simplifying everything into one weekend. Kōriyama City's official history states that One Step Festival took place in 1974 around Kaiseizan Park / athletics stadium.

Lake Isuzu in Kaiseizan Park
Lake Isuzu in Kaiseizan Park in a later photograph, used as site geography rather than event documentation. Miyuki Meinaka · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.

Place, site and audience

The broader event ran from 31 July to 10 August, while the main outdoor rock concerts were staged on five days: 4, 5 and 8–10 August. The city describes it as the largest-scale outdoor rock concert in Japan at the time.

What the audience experienced

About forty acts appeared and the five principal concert days drew more than 70,000 people in total according to the municipal source. Artists included Yoko Ono, Yuya Uchida, Hiroshi Kamayatsu, Julie Sawada, Tatsuro Yamashita-related early work and many other Japanese performers.

The Koriyama Pioneers sculpture in Kaiseizan Park
The Koriyama Pioneers sculpture in Kaiseizan Park, used as local civic context. Miyuki Meinaka · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.

What happened afterward

One Step Festival 1974 is followed through later editions, institutional change and its documented endpoint.

A preserved steam locomotive in Kaiseizan Park
A preserved steam locomotive in Kaiseizan Park, used to orient the reader within the modern park. Sugikats · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.
Cherry trees in Kaiseizan Park
Cherry trees in Kaiseizan Park in a later photograph, clearly presented as location context. Sugikats · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.
Continue exploring

Follow the festival beyond the field

Timeline

1974 in the Rock Music History Timeline →

Related genres

More routes will be connected as the archive grows.

Related band guides

More routes will be connected as the archive grows.

Explore by sound

More routes will be connected as the archive grows.

Related festivalKnebworth 1974–1982 Related festivalOzark Music Festival 1974

Essential listening

Nakatsugawa Folk Jamboree 1969–1971A related chapter in the Japan festival and live-culture archiveGreat Ngāruawāhia Music Festival 1973A related chapter in the New Zealand festival and live-culture archive

Sources and further reading

  1. Kōriyama City official historyEditorial source spine · accessed 23 July 2026
  2. National Diet Library reference service – One Step FestivalEditorial source spine · accessed 23 July 2026
Image credits5 licensed images
John Lennon and Yoko Ono at a New York press conference on April 2nd, 1973 where they would announce the conceptual country of Nutopia.
Yoko Ono and John Lennon in 1973, close-period artist context for Ono's documented One Step appearance and not a festival photograph — Bernard Gotfryd — Wikimedia Commons — Public domain · source record · Public domain
Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.
This is the lake Isuzu in Kaiseizan park, Koriyama, Fukushima, Japan. This lake was frozen.
Lake Isuzu in Kaiseizan Park in a later photograph, used as site geography rather than event documentation — Miyuki Meinaka — Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 3.0 · source record · CC BY-SA 3.0
Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.
This is a monument in Kaiseizan park, Koriyama, Fukushima, Japan. This monument is called "Kaitakusha-no-Gunzo" or Sculptured Group of Pioneers.
The Koriyama Pioneers sculpture in Kaiseizan Park, used as local civic context — Miyuki Meinaka — Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 3.0 · source record · CC BY-SA 3.0
Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.
郡山 開成山公園のSL D51
A preserved steam locomotive in Kaiseizan Park, used to orient the reader within the modern park — Sugikats — Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 · source record · CC BY-SA 4.0
Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.
開成山公園の桜並木
Cherry trees in Kaiseizan Park in a later photograph, clearly presented as location context — Sugikats — Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 · source record · CC BY-SA 4.0
Converted to WebP and resized; no generative or compositional alterations.

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