Japan Day 2016

MAY 8TH, 2016 (SUN)

JAPAN DAY FESTIVAL

9:30AM – 4:00PM
Central Park’s Bandshell Area

RUN

4-mile Run 8:00AM,
Kids Race 9:30AM
Starting Point: Central Park East Drive 68th Street

PRESIDENT

Eriyoshi Konno
President & CEO
Hitachi America, Ltd.

HONORARY CHAIRMAN

Reiichiro Takahashi
Ambassador and Consul General, Consulate-General of Japan in New York

Art contest

Grand Prize Winner
Huy Voun Lee

This year, we are honored to welcome artist/art director, Sebastian Masuda, as our special juror. Known as the poster child of Harajuku and “kawaii” culture, Sebastian Masuda has spread his unique fashion style and Japanese “kawaii” culture on a global scale. Out of many submissions for the Japan Day Art Contest, the work of Toma Vagner was selected as the winner of the Sebastian Masuda Award for its outstanding quality.

“Toma Vagner’s piece collages three thematic motifs in a unique and unrestrained manner, and this produces a near-futuristic feel that I’ve never seen before. I was captivated by her marvelous worldview.”

GUEST JUROR: Charlotte Kate Fox

Earned a bachelor’s degree with a major in dramatic dance at College of Santa Fe , then received a master’s degree in drama at Northern Illinois University. Played the leading roles in plays such as Chicago and received high praise for her acting abilities and dance skills. In Japan, she starred as the heroine in NHK’s(Japan Broadcasting Corporation) morning television series “Massan” and will also appear this spring in the drama series “Our House” and the film “Kodai Family’s People”.

Message From Charlotte

“Her artwork incorporates the themes in a very creative way and I was moved by its simplicity and sophistication at the same time. I immediately fell in love with this piece! “

STAGE PROGRAM

HOST: SANDRA ENDO

ACT 1

  • 10:30am ~ Soh Daiko – Japanese Taiko Drumming

  • 10:50am ~Tamagusuku Ryu Senjukai – Okinawan Dance

  • 11:10am ~ Speeches/Proclamation

  • 11:20am ~ East Japan Earthquake Relief Efforts – Ceremony of Appreciation

  • 11:30am ~ Japan Day Art Contest Award Ceremony

  • 11:45am ~ Taisan Tanaka – Japanese Style Paint

ACT 2

  • 12:30pm ~ International Karate Organization Kyokushinkaikan – Karate Demonstration

  • 12:50pm ~ Rio Koike – Magic / Comedy

  • 1:10pm ~ Mikoshi Parade

  • 1:20pm ~ Bon Odori with Japanese Folk Dance Institute of NY – Bon Odori

  • 1:40pm ~ Seiji Sugiura – Calligraphy

  • 2:00pm ~ Katsura Sunshine – Rakugo (Traditional Japanese Comic Storytelling)

  • 2:20pm ~ OMOTENASHI Journey / N-Project – Musical

ACT 3

  • 3:00pm ~ Brown Rice Family – World Roots Music

  • 3:20pm ~ COBU – Japanese Taiko Drumming & Dance

  • 3:40pm ~ Miki Orihara with Senri Oe – Dance

  • 3:45pm ~ Senri Oe – Jazz

  • 4:05pm ~ Akiko Yano – Piano & Vocal

ACTIVITY TENTS

  • CALLIGRAPHY –  American Association of New York

  • DOMO PHOTO –  NHK Cosmomedia America Inc.

  • HELLO KITTY PHOTO BOOTH – Sanrio Inc.

  • KABUKI FACE PAINTING – Northeast Council of Teachers of Japanese

  • ORIGAMI – Origami Therapy Association

  • YO-YO FISHING – JETAANY & Japan Society

  • TRY ON YUKATA – NY de Volunteer

  • BULLET TRAIN RIDE – JR Group

  • SUPER CONDUCTING MAGLEV – Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central)

  • ELECTRON MICROSCOPE – Hitachi America, Ltd./Hitachi High-Technologies Corp.

  • PARO – National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST, Japan) & PARO Robots US

  • PEPPER – SoftBank Telecom America with Pepper created by SoftBank Robotics

FOOD TENTS

  • AMEZAIKU – Usagi-ya Inc.

  • GYOZA – Ajinomoto North America, Inc.

  • ONIGIRI – ITOCHU International Inc.

  • OKONOMIYAKI Otafuku Foods, Inc. RAMEN Sun Noodle

  • SNACK 1 (Hello Panda) – Meiji America Inc.

  • SNACK 2 (Snapea And Shrimp Chips) – TABLE FOR TWO USA

  • TEA – ITO EN (North America) Inc.

  • YAKISOBA BentOn / BentOn Cafe

CHARITY TENTS

The major earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture on April 14th, 2016, and the damages are widely spread across the Kyushu region, especially in Kumamoto and Oita prefecture. This year, Japan Day set up a charity tent at the event to raise awareness and collect donations.

Click here for more details.