Japan Week celebrates cultural ties

From the steady, ardent boom of Taiko drums to the graceful movements of the bon-odori dancers, Japanese culture infused the entire second floor of the STA Plaza Saturday afternoon.

“Konichiwa,” Ray Fadeley said with a smile, greeting an audience of more than 300 people with a “hello” in Japanese.

As the host for the opening ceremony of Japan Week, the director of international student programs at Gonzaga University welcomed the crowd to one of Spokane’s premier cultural events.

Japan Week helps “enrich our community’s appreciation of Japanese culture,” Fadeley told the audience. It also sends a message that Spokane values cultural diversity, he said.

Established 13 years ago, Japan Week is a celebration of Japanese heritage and tradition. It’s a chance for people to learn about the Asian country’s art, foods and customs while paying tribute to the many ties that exist today between Japan and the Inland Northwest.

Since 1961, when Spokane fostered a sister city relationship with Nishinomiya in Japan, numerous exchange trips have been taken by students, teachers, business leaders and other groups. Over the years, Spokane has been the recipient of art and cultural exhibits from its sister city, including the Spokane-Nishinomiya Gardens in Manito Park.

Spokane’s relationship with Nishinomiya and other parts of Japan grew even stronger when Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute, a branch campus of Mukogawa Women’s University (MWU) in Japan, was established here in 1990.

Given that history and the efforts of veteran community leader Ed Tsutakawa, Japan Week has grown into a renowned communitywide event, said Curtis Johnson, a member of the Spokane-Nishinomiya Sister City Society’s board of directors. In recent years, area colleges and universities have also contributed to Japan Week’s success, he said.

Japan Week features dozens of events, including a bonsai demonstration at Spokane Community College; a yaki soba and sushi roll sale at Spokane Falls Community College; a lecture on the area’s Japanese Americans at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture; and various displays of Japanese kites, kimonos and dolls.

The event officially kicked off at noon Saturday with the opening celebration that included Taiko drumming, an ancient tradition used by Japanese farmers and children to invoke rainfall and a good harvest. About a dozen men and women, barefoot and wearing navy blue robes similar to the traditional karate “gi,” moved in elegant synchronicity, using their entire bodies to strike the giant drums with wooden sticks. Their powerful rhythms mesmerized the crowd.

The drummers were followed by Spokane Aikido, a group that demonstrated the Japanese system of self-defense based on traditional samurai combat arts.

Students from Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute later took the stage. While many of the young women sang in Japanese, the others performed bon-odori folk dancing. They were the center of attention at the plaza, with their traditional Japanese slippers called “zoris” and their vibrant “yukatas,” summer cotton kimonos in pink, lilac and other vivid colors.

“We must teach Japanese culture,” said Mami Matsumoto of Kobe, a Mukogawa student and one of the dancers at Saturday’s opening ceremonies. “It’s a good thing for us.”