Children under 12 admitted free at Yume Japanese Gardens, 2130 N. Alvernon way on May 5, 2013, Children’s Day in Japanese culture.

There will be gold fish netting, origami paper folding, traditional Japanese toys, yukata (light kimono like clothing), plus taiko drumming by Odaiko Sonora. New Hours for May at the gardens is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Traditionally May 5 was Boys’ Day, with Girls’ Day being on March 3. Note the calendar sequences of numbers, 5-5 for boys, 3-3 for girls, which is how we remembered it growing up in Hawaii, where May 5 is still considered Boys’ Day. Families fly wind sock koi over their homes on bamboo poles to indicate how many boys they have in the family. So my biological family always flew two carp koinobori for my two brothers.

Celebrate Children’s Day, and honor the boys in your family as well.

Now in its 11th year, the Southern Arizona Association for Japanese Education (SAAJE) is hosting this language contest & exhibition about Japanese culture. The half day event is at PCC West this year.

Program

Exhibitions: 12:00 – 4:00

Opening Ceremony / Speech Presentations (Category A): 12:30 – 1:00

15 Minute Break

Japanese Traditional Dance by Suzuyuki-Kai: 1:15 – 1:35

Audience Contest / Speech Presentations (Category B): 1:40 – 2:10

15 Minute Break

Aikido Demonstration by Sonoran Aikikai: 2:25 – 2:45

Audience Contest / Speech Presentations (Category C, Group 1): 2:50 – 3:15

10 Minute Break

Audience Contest / Speech Presentations (Category C, Group 2): 3:30 – 3:50

Taiko Performance by Odaiko Sonora: 4:00 – 4:30

Awards Ceremony: 4:35 – 5:00

Our Southern Arizona Japanese Cultural Coalition will have a table there, with information about us and our new website, www.southernazjapan.org. And I will be teaching hanafuda, a popular Japanese card game in Hawaii and South Korea (but not in Japan). There are also usually tables/exhibits on kyudo, origami, temari, go, koi ponds, Japanese food, calligraphy — and other “all things Japanese”. There will also be information about the newly opened Yume Japanese Gardens at 2130 N. Alvernon Way.

Saturday April 6, 2013
Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium
Check in 7 a.m.
Walk starts 9 a.m.

Every journey begins with that first step! As NAMIWalks celebrates our 10th Anniversary in 2012, we are proud to be the largest and most successful mental illness awareness event in America! Through NAMIWalks’ public, active display of support for people affected by mental illness, we are changing our American communities and ensuring that help and hope are available for those in need.

I proudly walked last year after hearing then-CD 8 Congressional candidate Ron Barber (who was shot twice on January 8, 2011 by a mentally ill man) speak compassionately about supporting mental health issues and programs. He said he held no hatred against the mass shooter. Odaiko Sonora taiko drumming group then helped start off the walk around the Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium area, across Ajo Road to the Sam Lena Park and the nearby detention basin ponds, and back to the stadium. About 4,000 people joined in this walk, many with team tshirts.

Go to http://www.namisa.org/, or call 520-622-5582 to register. There are two walks, a 3K and a 5K walk.

Nami programs: family education & support, peer education & support, anti-stigma & advocacy, and support groups

Being as today is April Fool’s Day, I need to emphasize that mental illness is not a joke. We in Tucson know how important mental health services are, especially after that fatal mass shooting on January 8, 2011 by Jared Lee Loughner. He needed intervention and counseling (and hospitalization), and the recent reports released by the Pima County Sheriff reveal the extent of his mental condition prior to the shooting, and what his parents Randy and Amy Loughner knew of his mental illness.

Please support this NAMI walk to raise awareness about mental illness and that help is there for those who need it.

I love hearing taiko drumming probably because of my Japanese ethnicity, but so do a lot of people all over the world who aren’t Japanese. Venture downtown on 2nd Saturday Downtown on March 9, to hear this lively Tucson taiko group Odaiko Sonora (who celebrated their tenth year anniversary in 2012). They will be performing at 5 p.m. (to 5:45 p.m.) at the Scott Avenue Stage (between Congress and Broadway).

Odaiko Sonora is Tucson’s taiko, or Japanese ensemble drumming group. Serving southern AZ since May 2002, Odaiko Sonora is dedicated to increasing familiarity with and understanding of taiko in our community. We do this for over 30,000 people each year through classes and master workshops, performances, school residencies, teambuilding workshops and by producing concerts by internationally acclaimed taiko artists.

Lots more info here: www.tucsontaiko.org.

They will also be at Tucson Festival of Books on March 10, 1 p.m. at the UA Mall, in the Education Bldg. room 310:

Rome, Karen and Shiro (aka Bugsy) will participate in “Bringing the Arts, Literacy and Technology Together for Kids,” a session for educators and parents. We will be announcing the release of a new book featuring our plucky hero Asako and her devoted, magical dog.

I wrote about their first book “Asako, The Girl who Saved Her Village” last year (click here). They are working on a new book entitled “Asako, the Girl who Woke the Sun”, and it reportedly references the Uzume/origin of taiko myth, and is a story about Yokai spirits and magic. The plot is that young Asako journeys with her dog Shiro to find sacred drum beats that will coax the sun back.

Asako who woke the sun, illustrated by Nadia Hagen, preview image courtesy of Odaiko Sonora

For more events on 2nd Saturday Downtown on March 9, go to their event schedule (click here).

For more events at Tucson Festival of Books (March 9 and 10) go to their website (click here).

Yume Japanese Gardens is the living expression of an ancient Japanese heritage. Covering three quarters of an acre in Tucson, Arizona, it comprises five traditional visions of landscape. In each, nature is balanced by the human hand to render the serene elegance and subtle spirit of an authentic Japanese garden.

On Monday I posted a story that a lovely, new Japanese garden is to open to the public this coming Saturday, January 19, at 9:30 a.m. Click here for previous article. This garden is the first Japanese garden in Tucson, and will become a new tourist attraction for Tucson.

On January 15 I was one of the lucky few invited to the V.I.P/media grand opening at the Yume Japanese Gardens, 2130 N. Alvernon Way, due south of the Tucson Botanical Gardens. At the opening there was a blessing by a Zen Buddhist priestess, taiko drumming by Odaiko Sonora, a tea ceremony, platters of sushi & souvenir cedar cups of sake (Japanese alcoholic drink made from fermented rice). There were even bonsai on display and a young golden koi named “Yume” was released into the koi pond.

The priestess Daien Bennape said that founder/executive director Patricia Deridder created these gardens out of her “love of beauty, nature, the invisible and visible worlds”. The garden name is “yume” meaning dream in Japanese, since it was obviously the dream/vision of Patricia’s to create this oasis in the desert. I saw this dirt lot in midtown that Patricia purchased a few years ago amazingly transform into a lovely, tranquil place of beauty.

Yume is Tucson’s “first and only public, non-profit Japanese Garden and is designed according to Japanese landscaping traditions”. Patricia Deridder lived in Japan for 15 years and became inspired to build such a lovely garden here in Tucson. Membership levels are available on their website (www.tucsonjapanesegardens.com) for those of you who want to visit more often. All photos were taken by me at the grand opening of some of the various smaller gardens & features at this attraction.

Japanese tea ceremony, with Fukumi Zapp and Saburo Sakai

Taiko drumming by Odaiko Sonora with Karen Falkenstrom and Marnie Sharp

Yume Japanese Gardens are indeed lovely yet tranquil, a true gem for visitors to enjoy nature, to reflect upon Life, and admire Japanese landscape beauty. The parting shot I took was this unique ikebana arrangement at the tea house, with its fleeting shadow.

Gather at 5:00pm on Nov. 4th
registration area on Toole Ave just West of Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St.

Procession Begins 6pm
GRAND FINALE
Mercado San Agustín on West Congress (west of I-10), 100 S. Avenida del Convento

We will be initiating our new finale site on West Congress and with the help of Gadsden Company we will be investing in a new Festival Grounds that will be developed over the next few years-look for more details soon!
Flam Chen and a multitude of other performers TBA, The Community Spirit Group, and
with this years musical guests: SORIAH, Richard Noel from Sticks and Fingers and David Galleher, Danza Azteca Calpulli Tonantzin, Tucson Arts Brigade, Odaiko Sonora, Mourning Frye, de Dar a Luz, and more.

Map of new route is below (The change must be due to construction on 4th Avenue as the previous route used to start at Epic Cafe at University Blvd. and go through the 4th Avenue Underpass to downtown). The new route now starts near Hotel Congress:

This wildly popular procession is in its 23rd year and there must be 20,000 or more people now walking the route. For more information on other events leading up El Dia de Los Muertos and this All Souls Procession, go to their website: http://www.allsoulsprocession.org/

Hope you enjoyed Halloween last night, and it’s time to get ready for All Souls on Sunday. Raices Taller art gallery will be hosting a Dia de los Muertos community event on Friday November 2nd, from 6 to 8 p.m. It is their “annual homage to Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead with a cultural celebration in the tradition of the Hispanic Southwest. Community groups, guest artists and gallery members pay personal tribute to Dia de los Muertos with altars, ofrendas (offerings), paintings and sculpture. All events are free and open to the public, donations appreciated!”They are located at 218 E. 6th Street, 520-881-5335 or raicestaller222@aol.com.

10th Annual Tucson Japanese Speech Contest at Pima Community College East campus, community room in Student Center Building, 8181 E. Irvington Road

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Exhibitions: 12:00 – 4:00

Opening Ceremony: 12:30 – 1:00

Speech Presentations (Category A): 1:00 – 1:20

10 Minute Break

Japanese Traditional Dance by Suzuyuki-Kai: 1:30 – 1:50
Audience Contest

Speech Presentations (Category B, Group 1): 2:00 – 2:20

15 Minute Break

Karate Demonstration by Rendokan Dojo: 2:35 – 3:00
Audience Contest

Speech Presentations (Category B, Group 2): 3:05 – 3:25
Audience Contest

15 Minute Break

Speech Presentations (Category C): 3:40 – 4:10

Taiko Performance by Odaiko Sonora: 4:15 – 4:40

Awards Ceremony: 4:45 – 5:00

I’ve been to this fun event to learn more about my own Japanese culture for the past two years. There will be exhibitions on Kyudo (Japanese Archery), Igo (Japanese Chess), Origami, Furoshiki Wrapping, Temari (Folk Art), Calligraphy, Cosplay, Anime, Aikido, and more!

Information on the previous 9 speech contests: Southern Arizona Association for Japanese Education: http://www.saaje.org/page4contest.html, TucsonJSC@cox.net. The Japan Foundation partially funded this event.

Up above is a link to a video saying arigato (thank you) from some of the citizens of Japan for the assistance after their 3/11/11 devastating 9.0 earthquake/massive tsunami last year on March 11, 2011. More about this tragedy, read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Japan_earthquake.

The Japanese National Police Agency confirmed 15,848 deaths, 6,011 injured, and 3,305 people missing across eighteen prefectures, as well as over 125,000 buildings damaged or destroyed.

My 2nd/3rd cousins in Sendai survived and are fine (my maternal grandparents emigrated from that part of Japan to the Trust Territory of Hawaii in 1910).

And tomorrow, the Japanese Association of Tucson is having a Spring pot luck picnic at ramada #1 at Ft. Lowell Park (NE corner of Glenn, 2900 N. Craycroft Rd.), 11 to 2 p.m. Please send the name of all the participants from your group and/or family by e-mail (jpnassoctucson@gmail.com if you are planning on attending. They would like to make sure to prepare enough beverages).

And here’s the link (click here) for “The Tsunami & the Cherry Blossom” documentary film for the 2012 Academy Awards, nominated for best foreign language film.

Survivors in the areas hardest hit by Japan’s recent tsunami find the courage to revive and rebuild as cherry blossom season begins.

A stunning visual poem about the ephemeral nature of life and the healing power of Japan’s most beloved flower.

Directed by Academy Award Nominated filmmaker Lucy Walker (Waste Land), featuring photographyby Aaron Phillips and music by Moby.

And on the local scene, taiko drumming group Odaiko Sonora is releasing a children’s book entitled “Asako, The Girl who Saved Her Village” (about a tsunami) to commemorate the 3/11/11 tragedy. That release event is today at 4 pm. at the Tucson Festival of Books, Diamond Children’s Story Telling Stage.

Odaiko Sonora has been taiko drumming in Tucson for 10 years now.

To commemorate their 10th anniversary and the 1 year anniversary of the March 11, 2011 9.0 earthquake & tsunami in Japan, they are releasing a children’s book of a tale which is one they’ve used in school residencies for years.

The book is entitled “Asako, The Girl Who Saved Her Village” and is authored by Odaiko Sonora. The illustrator is Nadia Hagen, Artistic Director of Flam Chen and the All Souls Procession.

This book will be unveiled at their performance at the Tucson Festival of Books on March 10. Students from Prince Elementary and Amphi Middle School will join kids in their youth taiko group to perform the folktale. Each of the students will get a copy of the book, and “Asako” will be for sale for $10 at the Festival.

I’ve read a preview of this cute children’s book, and it is a good story about the courage of a little Japanese girl in face of a tsunami. The drawings are charming and there are several Japanese terms in the story, such as “obi” (belts) and “kami” (nature spirits).

Look for their performance at the Diamond Children’s Story Telling Stage from 4 to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday March 10.

other drawings by Nadia Hagen in this picture book

Also –Odaiko Sonora Japanese Storytelling
When: Sunday 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Where: Bear Down Entertainment Stage

My previous blog on the 4th annual Festival of Books (click here)on March 10 & 11 at UA Mall.

More information on Odaiko Sonora, www.tucsontaiko.org, info@tucsontaiko.org. They won a 2008 Lumie (Tucson Pima Arts and Business Award), Emerging Arts Organization and a 2009 Arizona Arts Award from the Community Foundation for Southern AZ. The founders are Rome Hamner, and Karen Falkenstrom, who is half Korean-American.

Odaiko Sonora is Tucson’s taiko, or Japanese ensemble drumming group. Serving southern AZ since May 2002, Odaiko Sonora is dedicated to increasing familiarity with and understanding of taiko in our community. We do this for over 30,000 people each year through classes and master workshops, performances, school residencies, teambuilding workshops and by producing concerts by internationally acclaimed taiko artists.

And if you miss them at the Tucson Festival of Books, you can order the book on their website and pay via paypal. There’s will be a small shipping charge. They are also running a Kickstarter campaign to pay for the printing, and the $25 donor level (and all higher donor levels) receives a free copy of the book.

Info from 2ndsaturdaysdowntown.com website. I’ve listed a few of the events below, but go to that website for the full schedule.

Friday, Feb. 10:

4pm: GRAND OPENING, hosted by KOLD Channel 13 and Chuck George. Mayor Jonathan Rothschild will open the festivities to an antique airplane fly-by and the raising of the 1912 American Flag originally flown over the Arizona Capitol. This event will take place at the main stage on 6th Ave., just south of Pennington.

Plus lots of musical entertainment on two stages (6th Ave x Pennington, and Scott Avenue Stage x Broadway), 4:15 pm. to 9:30 p.m.

…and more events along Congress Street including Cinema La Placita’s 6 p.m. showing of 1963 movie “McLintock!” (starring John Wayne) filmed at Old Tucson Studios.

Saturday Feb. 11:

2nd Saturdays Downtown usual excitement & events, plus music starting at 12 noon at 6th Ave. x Pennington stage. Scott Avenue/Broadway stage starts up at 1 p.m. with puppet shows for the kids, plus more exciting groups like Brazilian Batucaxe at 4 p.m. and Japanese Odaiko Sonora (taiko drums) at 5:15 p.m.

AND don’t miss the events over at the Joel D Valdez Main Library , 101 N Stone (11 to 5 p.m.), or at UA Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. for an “AZ 100 & Counting” free event (3 to 5 p.m.)

Over at the Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street:

1:30pm-3:30pm: “A Special Chat with Noted Tucsonans of the Past,” presented by the Downtown Centennial Committee. This historic event will present reenacted interviews with a few of the famous men and women who helped create the State of Arizona and build The Old Pueblo, from 1912 to present. After the historic re-enactments the audience will enjoy films of Southern Arizona life in the early part of the twentieth century. This film is a composite of several travel logs gathered from 1920-30 by the “The Sunshine Climate Club,” an early Tucson tourist promotion group.

Cinema La Placita will be showing at 6 p.m. the classic 1940 movie “Arizona” (starring William Holden), also filmed at Old Tucson Studios.

Sunday Feb. 12:

Several events starting with an early 9 a.m. downtown bike ride, ending up with an 8 p.m. Dweezil Zappa (son of Frank) Concert at the Rialto Theatre (see below)

9 a.m.Celebrate the Centennial with a 1.5 hour bike ride, discovering Sonoran Desert street trees. Learn to identify different low water native trees in the Downtown streetscape, planted by volunteers, neighborhoods, the City of Tucson and the Downtown Tucson Partnership as part of the 1,000 Trees Please campaign. This easy bike ride through downtown and neighborhoods meets at the SE corner of Broadway Blvd. and Scott Ave

Scottish Rite Cathedral, 160 S. Scott Avenue:
2pm-4:30pm: ACLU presents “Arizona Civil Rights Memories”, a panel discussion moderated by former Tucson mayor, George Miller. Retired Arizona Supreme Court Justice Stanley Feldman, retired UA Law School Dean, Professor Emeritus Charles Ares will be on the panel, as well as ACLU of Arizona Founding Board Member Cornelius Steelink.

Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress Street:

8pm: Zappa Plays Zappa All Ages. After taking more than three years off to study the physical performance and technical compositional techniques of his father, Frank Zappa, Dweezil Zappa began his search to create a combo that could, according to Dweezil, “accurately execute Frank’s music in the most authentic way humanly possible.” Rather than creating what he called a “circus” of Frank’s former bandmates, Dweezil’s focus was on providing an avenue for the elder Zappa’s music to new generations of listeners. (Tickets: $26-$56)

Enjoy the many festivities downtown and around town, all birthday celebrations for Arizona.