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Members of the San Francisco Japanese Sword Society give a Kenjutsu demosntration during the Spirit of Japantown Festival.
Getting down in Japantown
Theater, dance and martial arts showcase
'Spirit of Japantown'
By: Rie Nakanishi
Posted: 10/6/08
San Jose's Japantown came alive on Saturday as community members got together for the second Spirit of Japantown festival, centered at North Fifth and Jackson streets, in preservation of the city's Japantown and the history of Japanese-Americans.
In spite of its 118-year history, the recognition of Japantown is still not what the community expects, said Kathy Sakamoto, executive director of the Japantown Business Association and the organizer of the festival.
"The idea was to get people to know that there was Japantown (in San Jose). It's been here for 118 years," Sakamoto said. "We want this to last another 118 years."
The event was hosted by the Japantown Community Congress of San Jose, a nonprofit organization working with the city of San Jose on a capital improvement project of Japantown.
Despite on-and-off rain throughout the day, the festival featured various performances relating to Japanese culture, such as Kendo, Aikido and Ikebana demonstrations, Japanese animation theater and multi-ethnic cultures such as Hawaiian dance and Filipino folk dance.
Junior animation majors Kendrra Thoms and Kris Wineman, who were attending the festival, said they were excited to see the martial arts performances and visit the booths.
"It's fun. Too bad it rained," Thoms said. "Food is exciting, and that's what I want."
There were also about 130 booths, selling food, arts and crafts on the street.
"This Spirit of Japantown is a celebration of the history of Japantown and great businesses," said San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. "This is a very historic community with the tremendous contribution to our city over a long period of time. It is one of the few remaining Japantowns in the entire country, so we are very proud of that and we continue to build it."
According to the Japanese Museum of San Jose Web site, Issei - Japanese first-generation immigrants - came to Santa Clara Valley in 1890 where an agricultural industry was prosperous at the time.
Soon afterwards, Japantown was established when the valley's Japanese population came together and started farming in the area. Japantown was "a comfortable place for the Issei to gather together to survive in a society hostile to their presence," where they could also have access to Japanese foods and products as well as boarding houses, employment agencies and social gatherings, according to the Web site.
Kika Shibata, Ikebana shihan - Japanese for flower arrangement instructor - and one of the event participants, recalled that the only Japanese culture Americans encountered was eating sushi and raw fish when she first came to America 40 years ago.
"It came a really long way," Shibata said of the Japanese culture, especially of the Japanese arts such as Ikebana and Bonsai.
People's reaction to Ikebana at that time was, "Ikebana? What is that? Few flowers in the container?" Shibata said.
However, Americans today are more interested in and aware of Ikebana, Shibata said.
"(It) seems like they know more than some Japanese people. This is a good opportunity to be a part of this special event. It's a spirit of Ikebana, a spirit of Japanese culture," she said.
Kylie Morioka, a sophomore international business major, said it was her second time visiting the festival, and she brought two friends who had never experienced Japanese culture and food.
"I like it," she said. "I came to see San Jose Taiko."
One of the main performances of the festival was San Jose Taiko - an ensemble of Japanese drumming - which attracted a lot of festival visitors. The team played a total of five pieces, including traditional Japanese Taiko tunes and a fusion of Japanese and Cuban tunes.
"Being part of the San Jose community is very important to San Jose Taiko as well as going out on the road to show Taiko to the rest of the country," said Gary Sakaki Wong, a graduate student of SJSU and one of the performers of San Jose Taiko.
"It's just a fun event to feel part of the Japantown community and also the San Jose community as well," he added.
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