Sakura Matsuri is Saturday, April 14

On Saturday, April 14, the day after the Japan Bowl, we will host the 46th annual Sakura Matsuri – Japanese Street Festival, following the Cherry Blossom Parade.

The Matsuri will extend for six blocks through downtown Washington. It will stretch from 14th Street, near the White House, down to 10th Street, where the FBI Building is. On 12th Street, it runs from Pennsylvania Avenue to Constitution Avenue.

The Sakura Matsuri will have 20 Japanese and Asian restaurants, 30 exhibitors of Japanese arts and crafts, 15 vendors of Japanese products, and four stages, with over 20 hours of live performances.

What is new at the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival this year?

Target is again sponsoring the Arts and Crafts area, and Target will feature a kabuki theme in its tent.

Last year the Matsuri started J-Pop Land to introduce modern, youthful Japanese culture. J-Pop Land is back for its second year, sponsored by Kabuki Home Entertainment, a company based in Maryland that designs and installs home theatre systems.

In order to help Americans learn more about this new phenomenon of anime, manga, DDR, video games, cosplay, and so on, there will be a special pavilion called “Experience J-Pop,” sponsored by Amway Japan and supported by the Japanese Embassy.

For the first time, we will have a Japanese cooking demonstration, sponsored by San-J sauces, and conducted by the Japanese Americans' Care Fund. We plan to host our first-ever sake tasting, sponsored by Hakutsuru.

Depending on the weather, there will be four geisha from Japan, thanks to the Japan National Tourism Organization, who will perform traditional dances at the Pennsylvania Avenue main stage and then meet with visitors afterward. The Pennsylvania Avenue main stage is sponsored again this year by ANA and WASH-FM.

Kirin beer joins us for the first time in 2007 as the sponsor of two “Kirin Ichiban Beer Gardens.”

The Matsuri will welcome a number of new sponsors this year, including Ito-en Tea. Toyota’s Mid-Atlantic dealers will display two new Tundra trucks, and Interesse will be conducting seminars on Japanese business etiquette.

American companies also are “presenting Japan.” There will be a special Japanese garden area on Freedom Plaza, with a Zen stone garden, a display of ikebana Japanese floral arrangements, and bonsai trees. This is supported by Garnier Nutritioniste.

For young children, the Japan-America Society will introduce its kamishibai theatre, which is sponsored by Flat Earth™.

We have two young music groups, Mitsumassyu and LIZ coming from Tokyo and two traditional performing groups from Okinawa. The very popular Tamagawa University taiko and dance troupe is returning.

The Japan-America Society is grateful to its many other supporters, including Southwest Airlines, Coca-Cola, CVS, Hills Pet Fit, Hitachi, Starbucks, Super H Mart, TEPCO, Toshiba, and the Japan Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

A complete run-down of this year’s Festival is at our special website, http://www.sakuramatsuri.org/.