The Walb Student Union and surrounding area at Purdue Fort Wayne (PFW) will be alive with Japanese arts, crafts and culture, from water games and crafts for kids to Karaoke for older folks. Activities will take place throughout Walb Student Union, the Skybridge.  the Science Mall, Friends Pavilion, and Alumni Plaza.

Six hours. so little time and so much to do!!! Come and experience a little bit of Japan! See why thousands of people visit the Cherry Blossom Festival in Fort Wayne each year.

What do you think of when you hear "Japan"? Cherry blossoms, kimono-clad ladies, exotic musical instruments, chopsticks, sushi, samurai, martial arts, tea ceremony, origami, silk, anime characters, bonsai trees. The Fort Wayne Cherry Blossom Festival has it all! For 15 years we have introduced Japanese culture in many forms to Northeast Indiana and the surrounding states.

Do you enjoy watching Japanese folk dancing? We have it.  How about the amazing sound of the Taiko drums? We have it.  Are you interested in traditional Japanese Koto music or contemporary Classical Japanese music? We will be bringing in favorite artists from past years, and hope to offer some new talent for 2023.

At our festival, you can not only draw Anime, but dress up as your favorite Anime character for the Cosplay contest. You can try your hand at creating a Haiku poem in the Haiku contest too.

Would you like to learn about the Tea Ceremony? You can.  Perhaps you would like to see a beautiful kimono close up or try one on for photos? You can do it here.  Are you a crafty person? Come learn how to make beautiful paper creations.  Perhaps you like ACTION! Watch the Martial Arts demonstrations.  Have you ever wondered how those tiny bonsai trees are developed? Come and learn.

Kendama expert, Michael Tsugawa, will be invited to again demonstrate the art of Kendama, and you will be able to buy your own kendama as well.

What about the taste of Japanese food? Our food vendors offer a variety of taste adventures, including sushi, ramen,  yakisoba, lavendar-flavored ice cream and more!

And to help you remember your experiences, we have many vendors selling all things “Japanese”, from simple souvenirs to kimonos direct from Japan.  More at MARKET PLACE.

Performing Artists

Yasu Ishida: Magic Story Artist

He combines  traditional Japanese theatre, music, origami, magic and storytelling.

https://www.yasutheatre.com/

Duo YUMENO

New York based koto, shamisen player and singer Yoko Reikano Kimura and cellist Hikaru Tamaki, offer a unique fusion of sound that explores both traditional Japanese and western classical music, commissioning new works and creating their own arrangements. They have just successfully completed a four-year performance project that included an annually commissioned work by the American composer Marty Regan. Their performances have been enthusiastically received in Tokyo, Kyoto, New York, Chicago and throughout the Midwest. Their performance at the Barge Music Festival was highly praised in the New York Times. They were awarded the Janet Latz Professional Fellowship in 2011. In 2013, they were invited to perform in Tekirdag and Istanbul, Turkey. Their tour to Trinidad in 2014 was co-organized by the Japan Foundation NY and the Embassy of Japan in Trinidad and Tobago. During this tour, they performed for President Carmona at the President's House. In 2014, they were awarded the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program grant, and in 2015, received the Aoyama Baroque Saal Award. Their first CD, "Flowers, Birds, Wind, Moon," was released in May 2015.

https://duoyumeno.com/

Akira Murotani (trumpet), Deborah Nitka Hicks (cello), Alexandra Tsilibes (violin)

Akira Murotani is Third Trumpet with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic since 1998. He is a trumpet instructor at Goshen College. Murotani holds a B Mus Ed with a minor in mathematics from Luther College and a MM and DMA from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Murotani performed at the Spoleto Festival in Italy for two summers and has played with the Grand Rapids, and South Bend Symphonies. He is a jazz enthusiast.

Deborah Nitka Hicks grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts. After earning her degrees from the University of Houston and the New England Conservatory, she joined the Houston Ballet Orchestra as Assistant Principal Cello and substituted regularly with the Houston Symphony. After playing there for three years, she auditioned for the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and has been a member since 1992. In addition, she is a member of the prestigious Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra in Jackson, WY for over thirty summers. She shares her home with as many dachshunds as the city will allow and one Trombonist.

Alexandra Tsilibes is a Section Violinist with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic since 2000. She earned a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music and a MM from Stony Brook University. Tsilibes has been a member of the Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Flint and South Bend Symphonies and has participated in numerous festivals.

Fort Wayne Taiko was established in 1997, a program of the Fort Wayne Dance Collective, and was the first performing taiko group in Indiana and is still one of the few in the Midwest.  Taiko is a Japanese musical tradition that means “big drum”.  Taiko's characteristic beat is achieved through choreographed arm movements as drummers “dance” their sticks from drum to drum.  Fort Wayne Taiko will be joined by the kaDON community taiko drummers this year.

Tea Ceremony, the ritualized preparation and presentation of matcha, a powdered green tea, will be demonstrated  in Ura Senke Style.

Classical Guitarist Dr. Daniel Quinn has been an active performer for over forty years. He has performed as a soloist in numerous concerts and recitals around the United States, Canada, and Japan. Dan completed his B.M., M.M., and D.M. in classical guitar performance at the Indiana University school of music in Bloomington Indiana under Ernesto Bitetti. Daniel has also been an instructor of guitar for thirty-five years at colleges such as Indiana University - Bloomington, Huntington College, University of St. Francis, University of Indianapolis, and the Tokyo College of Music. He currently teaches at St. Mary's and Holy Cross colleges in Notre Dame Indiana, and at Indiana University South Bend, as well as at Sweetwater in Fort Wayne. Dan is a native of Fort Wayne, raised in the Saint Johns and Bishop Luers community on the south side. He has been married for 25 years and has three adult children.  

Kendama is a popular Japanese skill toy.  Mike Tsugawa, a 2nd Dan in the Japanese Kendama Association, will demonstrate tricks and techniques. Mike has taught Japanese at Michigan City High School since 2002, and was recognized as Teacher of the year by the Indiana Foreign Language Teacher Association in 2016.

Spirit Bomb is a dynamic live musical act featuring popular Japanese anime songs with authentic Japanese vocals. The concept for the band sprang from guitarist and music producer Kevin Samuel's Youtube channel, which combines his passion for music with his love for anime. When Kevin asked Elaina Robbins, a Japanese American classical crossover singer, to collaborate on a video for the channel, Spirit Bomb was born. Spirit Bomb's fun, energetic concert performance features powerful multilingual vocals, electric guitar, synth keyboards, saxophone, drums, and bass along with visuals and engaging karaoke-style lyrics. Check us out at spiritbombmusic.com.

Fort Wayne Suzuki Strings offers instruction in violin, viola, and cello to students age 3 and older.  There are many parallels between learning a language and learning to play a musical instrument.  The Suzuki Method is modeled on the process a child uses to learn to speak, conceived by Japanese violinist and teacher Shinichi Suzuki (1898-1998).

Fort Wayne Children's Choir, Chamber Singers, provides a choral program exemplifying artistic and educational excellence for children from diverse backgrounds.  Over 300 students participate in the choir, which contributes to the community's cultural environment.  FWCC is proud to represent 88 different schools in addition to 29 home school groups from 8 north east Indiana and northwest Ohio counties.

Japan Karate-Do Genbukai of Indiana.   It offers traditional Japanese karate and kobudo classes for children and adults. The Genbu-Kai is an international organization that encompasses 32 countries and thousands of members. Our program teaches karate-do. Karate is a form of self-defense that uses all parts of the body, while Do is character development; both aspects are viewed as equally important.

https://www.indianagenbukai.com/

PFW Japanese Club will be performing 2 Japanese folk dances.

The first dance will be Chiki Chiki Bang Bang. This had nothing to do with the Chiki Chiki Bang Bang we know from the 70s. This is an opening song for an anime, Pa Ri Pi Kohmei. It will be danced by 4 PFW students from the PFW Japanese Club.  The second dance will be Soran Bushi. This is a fishermen's dance and one of Bon festival dances from Hokkaido. It will be danced by 5 PFW students.


Date: May 21, 2023

Time: 12:00pm - 6:00pm

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