Savour the wonderful tastes of Japan (including delicious sushi, bento boxes and sweet manju desserts).
Experience demonstrations of ikebana, tea ceremony, bonsai, shodo, martial arts, and kimono dressing.
Enjoy performances by Uminari Taiko, the Furusato Dancers, Satomi Edwards (Koto), the VJHLSS Children’s Dance Group and Choir and many more!
NEW THIS YEAR
Shakuhachi – Hugh Barclay in the Craigflower Room at 12:15pm.
Cosplay 101: Beginners Quick Guide – Wynter Caron (Tsukino-Con) in the Craigflower Room at 1:15pm.
Japan’s #1 Garden at the Adachi Art Museum – Paul Allison in the Craigflower Room at 2:15pm.
Silent Auction Expanded to GoBid! We’ve added some of the Silent Auction items to GoBid this year so even if you can’t physcially make it to the fair you can still be a part of the fun! http://gobid.ca/auction/846
SPECIAL MENTION
Harumi Ota (master potter) will be doing pottery demonstrations in the Kids Room all day (you don’t need to be a kid to drop in and watch).
Japanese Cultural Fair Floor Map
Bazaar
The Bazaar area in the Jubilee Hall will feature the following areas:
Bake Sale
Book Sale
JagaSilk Demonstration (Maccha Tea by donation)
Shodo & Sumi-e (Custom Designs by donation)
Silent Auction (bid on a wide variety of items)
Things Japanese (need a little something Japanese for your house? Look no further)
Exhibit Area
The Exhibit area in the Jubilee Hall will feature the following groups available for you to learn more about them:
Uminari Taiko
Vancouver Island Bonsai Society
ビクトリア日系人教会 (Victoria Japanese Church)
ビクトリア日本友好協会 (Victoria Japanese Friendship Society)
Victoria Japanese Heritage Language School Society
Victoria/Morioka Friendship Society
Performance and Demonstration Schedule
Time Slot
Activity
Location
10:45 – 11:10
Tea Ceremony #1
Chado Urasenke Tankokai Victoria Association
The Japanese tea ceremony, also called the Way of Tea, is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha, powdered green tea.This year’s demonstration will be the traditional Tatami sitting style called Zarei.
Uminari Taiko
Hear, see and feel the thunder of Japanese Taiko! Come see Uminari Taiko, Vancouver Island’s premier taiko ensemble, deliver a high energy performance that will move and shake you to the core. Note: Taiko Performance #1 and #2 are totally different sets. http://www.uminaritaiko.com/
Satomi Edwards
The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed instrument dating back to the 7th century. Professional koto player Satomi Edwards will perform traditional and contemporary pieces from Japan. These authentic sounds will take you back to ancient times in Japan.
Door Prize Tickets are available from the greeters at the entrance to the Jubilee Hall (one ticket per guest). Door prize winners are announced in the Jubilee Hall. You must be present in order to win.
San Shu Kan Aikikai Aikido
Aikido (合気道) is a modern Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as “the way of unifying (with) life energy” or as “the way of harmonious spirit.” Ueshiba’s goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker from injury. http://www.sanshukan.com/
Hugh Barclay
Hugh Barclay is a experienced musician with 50 years of experience playing a variety of brass wind instruments. He took up the shakuhachi, a traditional Japanese bamboo flute, 15 years ago He will introduce
you to the shakuchachi and will perform pieces from each of 3 genres of music – classical, folk songs and modern songs.
Michiko Seguev
Come to admire and learn more about the beauty of Japanese flower arranging. Sensei Michiko Segeuv will create several arrangements that demonstrate the principles of the basic forms as well as some free style arrangements. A gallery of ikebana made by Michiko’s students will be on display all day.
Victoria Japanese Heritage Language School
The Children Choir will perform 3 songs – one about maple leaves (Momiji), One celebrating our differences (Sekaini Hitotsudakeno Hana) and one about singing autumn insects (Mushino Koe) accompanied with music bells.
Soran Dancers will perform an energetic dance to music based on the Japanese traditional song Soran Bushi. This song is about fishermen in Hokkaido. The choreography depicts fisherman pulling in nets and ocean waves.
Brian Angene
Brian Angene is a yondan(4th-dan) who was trained in Kobe. He is a founding member of the Kyudo Association of Canada and the founder of the Victoria Kyudo Association. Brian will give a brief explanation of the origins of modern kyudo, the basic movements (kihontai), and stages of shooting (hassetsu). There will also be a display of kyudo equipment and opportunity for questions.
Shoshinkai Victoria Iaido
Iaido is the traditional Japanese martial art of drawing and cutting with the samurai sword. The purpose of Iaido is to develop awareness, centeredness, sincerity, a calm mind, and mental and physical harmony through the practice of traditional sword techniques. See Iaido practitioners in traditional outfits demonstrate form and techniques
(waza) of this unique martial art. http://www.iaido.ca/?page_id=2
Chado Urasenke Tankokai Victoria Association
The Japanese tea ceremony, also called the Way of Tea, is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha, powdered green tea.This year’s demonstration will be the traditional Tatami sitting style called Zarei.
Wynter Caron
Today you embark on a journey that not only challenges your creativity but also patience and perseverance. This panel will describe the very basics of cosplay and how to get started. http://www.tsukinocon.com/
Furusato Dancers
See traditional Japanese folk dances called Odori or Bon Odori, performed by the Furusato Dancers wearing Japanese yukatas, casual summer kimonos. There will also be an opportunity for you to learn a popular bon odori dance.
Umi Nami Farms
Delicious vegetables are essential to Japanese cuisine, and many can be grown right here in Victoria in your own backyard. Come and hear some tips about what to grow, how to grow it and how to enjoy the harvest, with or without a greenhouse. The presenter is a member of Umi Nami Farm, which has been specializing in locally grown Japanese vegetables for 20 years. http://www.uminamifarm.com/
Michael & Natsuki Abe
Rakugo is a 400-year-old tradition of comic storytelling in Japan. This rakugo style interactive play follows the fortunes and misfortunes of the man who swallowed a cherry pit. Fun for the whole family, the kids will love it, too.
Kenzen Karate Sports Club
Kenzen Sports Karate’s demonstration will highlight our ‘traditional karate’ and ‘sports karate’ training for all ages, which allows our members to then be active in the mainstream karate community through Karate BC tournaments, guest seminars, official Team BC try-outs, BC Games selections, annual trips to Japan and even participation in the Canadian National Championships. It’s an exciting time to be in karate as Tokyo has proposed to include it in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games, and since Kenzen officially represents one of Japan’s main style associations (JKF Wadokai 全日本空手道連盟和道会) in addition to being a Karate BC member, our demonstration will include fun examples of the competition kata (forms 形) & kumite (sparring 組手) categories to be seen in the Olympics. http://www.kenzensportskarate.com/
Michiko Seguev
Come to admire and learn more about the beauty of Japanese flower arranging. Sensei Michiko Segeuv will create several arrangements that demonstrate the principles of the basic forms as well as some free style arrangements. A gallery of ikebana made by Michiko’s students will be on display all day.
Paul Allison
Paul will give a talk on the Japanese Gardens at the Adachi Art Museum in Shimane, Japan. The Adachi Museum’s gardens have been ranked as number one in the “2015 Japanese Garden Ranking,” and 2016 marks the 13th consecutive year in the number one spot. The ranking includes more than 1,000 places throughout Japan, including historical sites, and was compiled by the Journal of Japanese Gardening, a US magazine that focuses on Japanese gardens. http://members.shaw.ca/paulcallison/Paul_Allison/Home.html
Rina El-Nahas
Rina and the Japanese Minyo Band is a traditional Japanese music band playing music called Tohoku Minyo from the northern area of Japan. Rina has been performing and playing this style of music since age of 5 and won numerous awards in Japanese Traditional Competitions in Japan. Rina is also an accomplished shamisen player. (A shamisen is a traditional 3 stringed Japanese instrument.) Rina will be accompanied by her husband Danny also playing the shamisen and her son Eric and daughter Naomi doing back up vocals and playing percussion instruments.
Satomi Edwards
The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed instrument dating back to the 7th century. Professional koto player Satomi Edwards will perform traditional and contemporary pieces from Japan. These authentic sounds will take you back to ancient times in Japan.
Hitomi Harama
Hitomi Harama, a kimono and Japanese culture specialist, will provide some history of the kimono and its relationship to Japanese culture.
She will demonstrate how to wear a kimono and other traditional Japanese clothing.
DOOR PRIZE DRAW #2
& Silent Auction Bidding Closes
Door Prize Tickets are available from the greeters at the entrance to the Jubilee Hall (one ticket per guest). Door prize winners are announced in the Jubilee Hall. You must be present in order to win.
Uminari Taiko
Hear, see and feel the thunder of Japanese Taiko! Come see Uminari Taiko, Vancouver Island’s premier taiko ensemble, deliver a high energy performance that will move and shake you to the core. Note: Taiko Performance #1 and #2 are totally different sets. http://www.uminaritaiko.com/
Parking is limited at the Esquimalt Recreation Centre itself but there is plenty of parking at the Archie Browning Sports Centre and on the surrounding streets.
Taking the bus?
The following bus routes access the Esquimalt Recreation Centre:
Route 6 — ROYAL OAK EXCHANGE / ESQUIMALT
Route 10 — ROYAL JUBILEE / DOCKYARD
Route 26 — DOCKYARD / UVIC WEST
For more more information please visit the BC Transit website here: www.bctransit.com.
Proudly Sponsored By:
An event like the VNCS Japanese Cultural Fair is only possible when many people work together. Here the VNCS would like to express a big thank you to our Sponsors/Donors. ARIGATOU!
PLATINUM Level Sponsors
Bento Sushi
Campus Group
CFAX 1070
CTV Vancouver Island (Media Sponsor)
Fujiya Japanese Foods
Kool FM
Monday Magazine
Victoria News
GOLD Level Sponsors
Joyce’s Kimono Closet
Jim Pattison Toyota Victoria
Township of Esquimalt
SILVER Level Sponsors
Allan Mandel & Linda Poole
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Barbara Cameron
Butchart Gardens
Carlton Plaza Hotel, Best Western Plus
Golden City Restaurant
Jack & Elizabeth Watanabe
Jaga Silk
Jean Murata
Jim Pattison Subaru
Joyce Pearlstone
Ken Watai
Kodo, The Way of Fragrance
Lorraine Nygaard
Melody Cornell
Michael Abe
Nubo Japanese Tapas
Obara & Company Chartered Accountants
Rieko Gurney
Rose Oishi
Royal BC Museum
Silk Road Aromatherapy & Tea Co
The Next
Vancouver Island Bonsai Club
BRONZE Level Sponsors
Azuma Sushi
Aiko Sutherland
Amy Kawano
Andrea May
Boa
Bon Sushi (Royal Oak)
Catherine Greenwood
Chikara Sushi Restaurant
Clara Chin
Corrine McNeil
Dale Broughton
Deb Shepherd
Debbie Janes
Dee Hoyano
Diane McNally
Dick Nakamura
Gardens at HCP
Geoffray Lucas
Gerry Bell
Itami Sushi
J&J Wonton Noodle House
Japanese Village Restaurant
Jasmine Restaurant
Junko Hicks
Koto Japanese Restaurant
Kuma Noodle Japan
Lisa Nakamura
Margaret Hoyle
Mary A. Mahoney
Mieko Fedrau
Miho Lindley
Milestones Grill & Bar
Munro’s Books
Nana Spence
Naomi Fluglem
Noodle Box
Norma Alison
Pat & Stephanie Kerfoot
Patti Ayukawa
Patti Kagawa
Penny Powell
RocknRoll Sushi
Russell Nursery
Sen Zushi Japanese Restaurant
Shiki Sushi
Shirley & Bruce Gorle
Shirley Embra
Shizen Sushi Japanese Restaurant
Susan Kurushima
Sushi Matsuri
Sushi Plus Restaurant
Sushi Time Express
Taste of Tokyo
The Pedaler Cycling Tour
The Roost Bakery and Winery
Tomoko Okada
Tony Ibaraki
Uchida Eatery/Shokudo
Umi Nami Farms
Wildwood Outdoor Living Centre
Yaeko Yamada
Yoshi Sushi Japanese Restaurant