Ichihanaransai

The Ichihanaransai (一端覧祭) is a cultural festival-like event that takes place across the entirety of Academy City in November. It is considered the world's largest cultural festival.

Background
The Ichihanaransai is a cultural festival, similar to those found all over Japan. Like Japanese schools, the event is held in November. Discussions regarding the preparations for a class' preparations on the festival apparently occurs at least an entire month before the festival, as what Tsukuyomi Komoe's class did on October the 10th. Money is given to each of the schools of the city to prepare for it. By November 5, the student body is now busy with preparations, and sometime after November 13, the student body should at least be in their last adjustments, as the festival begins the next day. The long preparation time of the event is because it made the entire city an open campus, and has a direct effect on the number of people wanting to attend each individual school.

Ichihanaransai is a collection of cultural festivals occurring large-scale at the same time. Unlike the Daihaseisai, the festival is an internal event. It did not allow normal visitors from outside the city, and each schools festivals mainly targets the other students from other schools. Because of this, it is used as a large-scale advertisement for the school. Schools also use this opportunity to start trial enrollments.

However, it is the sole fact that it is targeted towards people who see cutting edge technology on a daily basis, and are not easily impressed, the world’s most difficult cultural festival to pull off. Despite being an internal event, it was not unusual for high-ranking officials from important cooperative institutions to visit the city for the festival, as well as spies to enter during the festival.

During the preparatory period, despite the curfew still in place, the city is apparently lenient to the students, allowing them to finish their preparations. However, the school rules still apply regarding a student staying over in school for days in a row, though this can be bypassed by students making shifts. During the preparatory period, it is not unknown for thugs to destroy the students' work during the night, necessitating for the students to make countermeasures, such as bringing panels that they can easily put together on the day of the festival. There was no official system inviting in students from other schools, but there was an implicit understanding that some would secretly come for a look. However, there was also a danger of festival spies pretending to be taking a look at the school, so the more prestigious schools had very strict security, such as Tokiwadai Middle School, and probably the rest of School Garden. Both Anti-Skill and Judgment are deployed for such a busy time.

Each class in each school has different kinds of events, stalls, or displays prepared, ranging from the mundane such as a takoyaki stand, to the uncommon such as the Comedy Bath.

Orsola Aquinas Rescue Arc
While talking to Index, Tsuchimikado Maika mentions the Ichihanaransai as one of the many activities that occurs during the second semester in Academy City.

Skill-Out Uprising
When in class, Kamijou Touma overhears a girl mention that the Ichihanaransai might be affected by the possibility of war occurring. A little bit later someone else mentions that the class trying to decide where to go to eat feels like preparations for the Ichihanaransai.

Document of Constantine Arc
After running into Kamijou Touma, talking with him, and him leaving, Misaka Mikoto remembered that she originally wanted to talk to him about the Ichihanaransai and get him to promise to go around it with her. Due to how the Daihaseisai turned out she wants to hurry up and take measures to ensure the success of the Ichihanaransai. She figures she should try to reign in Touma in the beginning since over half of the Daihaseisai was trouble related to him. However, Mikoto ends up not talking to him about it as he was led away by Oyafune Monaka and she could not find him again or get a hold of him with her phone.

British Royal Family Arc
It is mentioned that the preparations for the Ichihanaransai were slowly beginning in small waves and that as the midterm exams had been canceled the students were felt they had more spare effort to put towards the festival. Aogami Pierce mentions how the high school Ichihanaransai seems different from when they were in middle school as they get a much bigger budget and can do more things. Tsuchimikado Motoharu responds by saying that Academy City is having the festival double as an open campus time so they are giving more money to places that aren’t very proactive. Thus they have a bigger budget as their school is pretty mediocre and doesn’t have much of a burning desire or anything to be proactive about it. Fukiyose Seiri, however, was shown to be extremely excited about the upcoming festival. When Tsukuyomi Komoe arrives in the classroom she announces that they are going to be deciding everyone's role in the Ichihanaransai.

Homecoming Arc
Seiri chastises Touma for being absent for a while as their school have become busy with the preparations for the festival.

Ichihanaran Festival Arc
As GREMLIN, led by Othinus, and Ollerus' ilk gather in Academy City to deal with the being inside the Windowless Building, and the festival is in its final leg of completion. Here, after much urging from Thor, Touma is forced to accompany him and save the being inside the Windowless Building, Fräulein Kreutune, in order to prevent the massive battle that was to take place between the two magic factions, as well as prevent harm befalling on her.

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Ichihanaransai