Classical High Takes Top Honors at National Japan Bowl

The Japan-America Society hosted the largest-ever National Japan Bowl at the University of the District of Columbia on March 25-26. Over 90 teams from thirty-six high schools across the country competed in this national competition of Japanese language and culture.

The competitors included six schools from California, two from Texas, two from Florida, and nine from the Northeast. The District,Virginia, and Maryland fielded a total of ten teams.

Funding for the National Japan Bowl came from the United States-Japan Foundation, The Freeman Foundation, The Japan Foundation, The Embassy of Japan, and Mr and Mrs Hisao Inoue. Additional support came from the University of the District of Columbia, the Japan Commerce Association, Kamada Foods International, NTT, and the Marshall & Lispenard Green Educational Fund.

Almost 100 volunteers assisted during the two-day event, including 31 people who provided cultural demonstrations in everything from anime to haiku to the martial arts. A very popular attraction was the omochi tsuki (or mochi pounding) organized by Mr Masuda of TEPCO and 15 Japanese volunteers.

Following are the winners at each level. (Level 4 is the highest level of study, and the winning team gets a trip to Japan, courtesy of All Nippon Airways and the America-Japan Society of Tokyo.)

Level 4

1st place - Classical High School, Providence RI
2nd place - Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria VA
3rd place - Stuyvesant High School, New York NY

Level 3

1st place - Stuyvesant High School, New York NY
2nd place - Monta Vista High School, Cupertino CA
3rd place - Center for Global Studies at Brien McMahon, Norwalk CT


Level 2

1st place - Classical High School, Povidence RI
2nd place - Lynbrook High School, San Jose CA
3rd place - Stuyvesant High School, New York NY