Aki Matsuri photos courtesy of RTF Photography.

PAGE 1 2014 / Issue 4

Japan-America Society of San Antonio

Winter NewsletterFOSTERNG INCREASED UNDERSTANDING AND COOPERATION BETWEEN THE CITIZENS OF SAN ANTONIO AND THE CITIZENS OF JAPAN.

Upcoming Events & Program

2014 Aki Matsuri Festival

EVENTS

PROGRAMS

TABLE of CONTENTS: 2014 Aki Matsuri……………… pg 1

JASSA Community Events…….pg 5

US-Japan Conversations………. pg 6

On October 26, JASSA held its Aki Matsuri Festival at the Japanese Tea Gardens in San Antonio located on N. St. Mary’s St. An estimated 800 people attended this event, making it very successful. The Aki Matsuri event had cultural performances, workshops, and food and craft vendors. There were also Cosplay fashion show contests and a Karaoke contest.

Our cultural performances consisted of the Japanese Tea Ceremony, Shakuhachi Flute playing, Ikebana, a classical Okinawan Dance, Yosakoi Dance, and Lone Star Sumo.

Activities available at the Aki Matsuri Festival included building kites and making crafts. Vendors included RicNRic Otaku Café and Minnano Japanese Grocery.

The Aki Matsuri Festival was a great time for attendees and volunteers alike. JASSA is looking forward to the next festival and would like to thank our sponsors: The Jingu House, The San Antonio Parks Foundation, Valero Energy, Toyota of Texas, and City of San Antonio.

~ Report made by John Esparza, JASSA intern

What is Aki Matsuri?

Aki Matsuri, or Fall Festival, is a celebration in Japan for thanking the gods for a good harvest and well-being of the family.

January 25th – Shinnenkai

January 12th – Ikebana classes begin

January 13th – Adult Level 1, 2, and 4 Japanese language classes begin

January 13th – Student Level 2 classes begin

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Volunteering at Aki Matsuri

This semester I have been taking an intermediate Japanese course, which introduced me to the Aki Matsuri. When hearing about the opportunity to be involved in a cultural celebration, I signed up to set up the booths, work the kite craft shop, and take down the decorations for the festival. Additionally, I was able to help with JASSA's food booth by preparing ingredients for the traditional Japanese cuisine offered at Aki Matsuri.

As a volunteer, I was able to experience the work and passion that are necessary to successfully present a culturally immersive festival. While helping to prepare the ingredients, I was able to hear many volunteers and attendants of the fair speak in Japanese. The opportunity to hear the communication styles within a culture truly reveals the uniqueness and sense of community that are established by embracing various kinds of cultures. As a student learning Japanese, this opportunity was invaluable to furthering my knowledge of the language.

If I had not been able to volunteer my time at Aki Matsuri, I would never have realized how important it is to truly immerse oneself into a culture in order to learn to speak and understand the language and communication styles. Aki Matsuri was a valuable opportunity for volunteers and citizens to experience a glance of the Japanese lifestyle.

~Report made by Victor Gonzales, UTSA Student

JASSA appreciates our corporate members!

Kai Sushi Corporate 1

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas

Corporate 4

Valero Corporate 4

Sweet Mochi Recipe

1. Mix Mochiko and water in heat proof bowl.2. Steam dough in bowl for 20 minutes.3. Transfer steamed Mochi to pot and cook on mediumheat with 2/3 cup suger. When sugar dissolves, add another 2/3. Repeat once more. 4. Remove hot mocha from pot. Place on sheet coveredwith cornstarch. Shape into ball

~Recipe from JapaneseCooking101.com.

2014 Aki Matsuri Festival

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**JASSA needs volunteers! These events are always a success because of all the support from our amazing

members! If you are able to volunteer at any of these events, please contact us at events@jas-sa.org

Ingreditents: 1 cup Mochiko (sweet rice flour) 3/4 cup water 2 cups sugar Cornstarch Anko (sweet red bean paste)

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Cosplay at Aki Matsuri!

This year at the Aki Matsuri, JASSA held a cosplay contest. Cosplay is an art form that many fans of Japanese pop-culture take part in. Usually found at anime and comic conventions, it involves dressing up as favorite characters from video games, manga, anime, and other media. The Aki Matsuri gave local San Antonio cosplayers the chance to show off their skills to the community and introduce the emerging art form to more people.

The cosplay contest was organized by Kelly Pulliam. Kelly did a wonderful job making sure everything was organized and everyone was on time. Many weeks before the event, she worked very hard spreading the word in various online cosplay communities, sending emails to the cosplay contestants, tracking entrants’ progress, and giving feedback and nice words of encouragement.

She strove to make sure the coplayers felt welcome. Great job, Kelly!

JASSA wants to hear from you! If you want to volunteer for writing a story for our newsletters, please

contact us at president@jas-sa.org

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2014 Aki Matsuri Festival

Many different cosplayers participated in the contest and walked around the Tea Gardens, creating a colorful cast of unique characters for everyone to enjoy.

From Pokémon to Kiki’s Delivery Service, there were all kinds of Japanese media represented by our talented local cosplayers. Though called a contest, the event made everyone who worked hard preparing their cosplays a winner. Each of the participants received a small adorable token of appreciation: a bag of candy, just in time for Halloween!

A big thanks goes to JASSA, Kelly Pulliam, and all other coordinators of cosplay at Aki Matsuri for giving cosplayers a wonderful chance and safe environment to strut their stuff!

~Report made by Kristen Sharp, UTSA Student

Did You Know?

Cosplay is a combination of the words costume and play. It was first used by Nobuyuki Takahashi to describe the impressive costumed people he saw at WorldCon, a comic convention, in 1984.

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How did it feel to finally show off your hard work at the event?

I was both a little nervous and very excited! I couldn't wait to show everyone how well the group looked together. There was a lot of work that everyone put in to learn the routine and get everything ready. I was proud of what we all were able to accomplish!

Do you have any plans for future performances, at JASSA events or other places?

Yes! We performed for UTSA's International Festival on the 19th, and are also getting ready to perform for the AATJ luncheon on the 22nd. We also have three other tentative performances in the Spring: Trinity University's Lunar New Year Festival, the 2015 Asian Festival, and the Japanese Theater Play Contest.

What would you like to say to anyone thinking of joining in on yosakoi?

I would strongly encourage it! It's easy to learn, and a lot of fun. Not only do you get to enjoy a little bit of Japanese culture, you also have the opportunity to make new friends who share the same interest.

~Interview conducted by Kristen Sharp, UTSA Student

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JASSA Hosts 2014 Aki MatsuriFestival

On October 26, JASSA held its Aki Matsuri Festival located on N. St. Mary’s St. at the Japanese Tea Gardens in San Antonio. An estimated 800 people attended this event, which made it verysuccessful. The Aki Matsuri event had cultural performances, workshops, and food and craft vendors, as well as a Cosplay contest and a Karaoke contest.

Cultural performances consisted of a Japanese Tea Ceremony, Shakuhachi Flute performance, Ikebana showcase, classicalOkinawan Dance, Yosakoi Dance, and Lone Star Sumo demonstration.

2014 Aki Matsuri

Interested in trying out yosakoi? Contact Veronica at vperez1084@gmail.com.

Interview with Veronica Perez, Co-Creator of The San Antonio Yosakoi Group

What made you decide to start and lead a yosakoi group?

During my summer semester, Fukuda-sensei asked our class if anyone would be interested in being a part of a Yosakoi dance group for the fall. It sounded like a lot of fun, so I told her to sign me up! She asked if Savannah (Watson) and I wouldn't mind working on it together, so we became the co-leaders of the project.

What was it like preparing for the Aki Matsuri?

It was a little crazy at times! After Savannah and I researched and picked out a routine, and planned what our costumes would look like we recruited members. We had about a month and a half to get everything ready, and we were only able to meet about twice a week. There was also sewing sessions that we had to organize so that we could get everyone's costumes made. The group was also opened up to a couple of high schools, so we had to make sure that they were able to check in with us on their progress. It took a lot of coordination, and we were lucky to find a group dedicated to learn.

What is Yosakoi? Yosakoi is a rather new style of Japanese dance. Originating in the 1950’s, it combines traditional movements with modern flare and music!

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2014 / Issue 4

Japanese Proverbs:

嘘つきは泥棒の始まり usotsuki wa doruhou no hajimari “All thieves started their careers with a lie.”

サルも木から落ちる saru mo kikara ochiru “Even monkeys fall from trees.”

JASSA Community Events

Kakehashi Project

The Kakehashi Project is a large scale youth exchange program for students in Japan and America. The city of San Antonio collaborated with Okinawa, Japan. We had several high school students from Okinawa come and spend the weekend with their host families here in San Antonio. Japan America Society of San Antonio (JASSA) president Dr. Makiko Fukuda was asked to take part and give some welcoming remarks on behalf of JASSA at the reception at Reagan High School.

Some Okinawan exchange students from Kaihou High School gave presentations on Japanese culture. Students also taught the audience how to differentiate between a Shinto Shrine and Buddhist Temple. The students were very welcoming and energetic as they quizzed the audience in discerning the differences through pictures.

After the quiz, students from Reagan High School talked about their experience in Okinawa as they had participated in the program as well.

There was amazing food at the reception that followed and a few costume contests the Japanese exchange students took part in with their host brothers and sisters.

~Report made by John Esparza, JASSA intern

Japanese Story Time

This October, Japanese Story Time began at the Parman Branch Library. The event takes place on the first Friday of every month.

The ones in charge are Suzuka and Eri. Although both women came from the Hyogo prefecture in Japan, they did not know one another prior to moving to America. The two of them have now been living in America for several years. Suzuka has been living in America for the past four years, while Eri has been here for three.

For the first day of Japanese Story Time, Suzuka and Eri

began with a children’s morning song, “おはようのうた”

(Good Morning Song), a song commonly sung by kindergarten students before class in Japan. After the first song, Suzuka and Eri used another Japanese children’s song to teach the names of body parts in Japanese.

For the majority of the time, the children who attended spent their time making paper lanterns and other crafts. Since it was the first Friday in October, many of the children chose to create some Halloween-themed lanterns.

Before leaving, Suzuka and Eri taught the children

another Japanese song, “さようならのうた” (Goodbye

Song), before everyone departed home.

~Report made by John Esparza, JASSA intern

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2014 / Issue 4

P.O. Box 460444

San Antonio Texas 78246-0444

Japan-America Society of San Antonio

サンアントニオ日米協会

JASSA welcomed delegates from Japan who spoke at a panel discussion at UTSA. The delegates were Mr. Ken Shinamouchi, former Japanese ambassador; Ms. Yoko Chivers, Vice President of Growth Industry Cluster Dep. at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation; Mr. Keijiro Hata, former Lieutenant General for the Japanese Air-Defense Force; and Mr. Yohei Komatsuzaki, Chair of 66th Japan-America Student Conference.

Before the conference, several JASSA members accompanied the delegation members and members of the Japanese Consulate of Houston to Mi Tierra’s Mexican restaurant. There, we got to speak with and get to know some of the members while they enjoyed some San Antonio cuisine and music. Afterwards, we headed over to UTSA, where the panel discussion took place.

Mr. Ken Shinamouchi spoke about the general relationship between the United States and Japan, focusing on the future of security partnership and alliances between the American people and the Japanese.

Ms. Yoko Chivers spoke about women in the Japanese workforce, briefly mentioning the past perspectives of sexism in Japanese industries. Afterwards, she gave the audience an idea about the present conditions of women in the Japanese workforce.

Mr. Keijiro Hata demonstrated the ties between the fighting forces ofthe US and Japan.

A Conversation on US-Japanese Relations

Mr. Keijiro Hata demonstrated the ties between the fighting forces of the US and Japan.

Mr. Yohei Komatsuzaki spoke on behalf of the younger generation in Japan, conveying their viewpoints on the United States and Japan’s relationship, regarding close international ties for the current and upcoming generations.

The discussion panel was then followed by questions from the audience and ended with a reception that was catered by Sushi Hana.

We at JASSA thank our sponsors, the Japanese Consulate of Houston, and the Delegates from Japan for their amazing speeches.

~ Report made by John Esparza, JASSA intern

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Eat More Sushi! Sushi is a healthy Japanese cuisine. It often consists of rice, seaweed, various fish and vegetables, and sometimes different sauces. Try some today!