Posted:
5/16/2024 |
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SPONSORS: Nidec Motor Corporation, CSI Leasing, Inc., Safety National Casualty Corp., and Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Missouri
(ST. LOUIS) Japanese Festival, a beloved St. Louis tradition, returns to the Missouri Botanical Garden this Labor Day weekend with fan favorite demonstrations, new performances and the festival’s largest array of authentic cuisine.
The 47th festival will feature sumo wrestling, martial arts demonstrations, origami demonstrations, a comedic storyteller, dance performances, an expanded food court, unique souvenirs and merchandise, candlelight walks in the Japanese Garden and much more.
Since 1977, the Garden has proudly hosted this unique event in one of the largest Japanese gardens in North America. A prolific collaboration with several local Japanese-American organizations provides authentic Japanese music, art, dance, food, and entertainment for a festival that has grown to reach over 45,000 visitors each year and is widely considered the largest festival of its kind in the United States.
The 2024 Japanese Festival runs 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Saturday, August 30, and Sunday, September 1, as and 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday, September 2. Tickets are on sale now at mobot.org. Admission is $18 for General Admission ages 13 and over and $9 for Member Admission and non-member children. Member children (ages 12 and under) are free. Visit www.mobot.org/japanesefestival for details.
On Saturday, guests are invited to join a parade through the Garden starting at 9:30 a.m. before enjoying a lively opening ceremony 10 a.m. in the Japanese Garden where honored guests, including government officials and dignitaries from sponsoring organizations will officially open the festival. Opening ceremonies will feature music, remarks by distinguished guests, the ritual of kagamiwari (breaking into the sake barrel), and a performance by the St. Louis Osuwa Taiko drummers.
Featured Performers and Demonstrations:
The Garden once again welcomes sumo wrestling, a fan-favorite feature.
Sumo, Japan’s national sport, is a form of full-contact wrestling. It originated in ancient times as religious performances to the Shinto gods. Many ancient rituals are still followed. The basic rules of sumo are simple: the losing wrestler (rikishi) is the one who first touches the floor with something other than the sole of his foot or leaves the ring (dohyo) before his opponent.
This year, the Garden has partnered with USA Sumo to bring you three of the most popular rikishi in the world: Hiroki, Mendee and Ichi.
Ichi, a celebrity in Japan, competed in Japanese Pro Sumo, reaching the top division at a record pace. He won the Emperor's Cup, the highest award in all Pro Sumo, and attained the esteemed sekiwake rank, which indicates he was among the top 1% of all Pros. Ichi also won four special prizes and received nine gold stars for defeating Grand Champions a total of nine times, the most in history! At his current weight of 540 lbs., he is more than 100 pounds heavier than other elite sumo wrestlers in Japan. He is only a little less than Hiroki, who at 570 lbs. is currently the heaviest sumo wrestler in the world.
The three sumo champions will demonstrate their craft at the Cohen Amphitheater Stage two times per day for each day of the festival.
The Garden will welcome a new rakugo storyteller this year, Kanariya Eiraku.
Kanariya Eiraku is a renowned storyteller from Tokyo, performing and teaching the centuries-old Japanese art of one-man comedic storytelling called rakugo. He has performed and conducted seminars on rakugo at international organizations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Recent performances in the U.S. include LA’s Nisei Week, Seattle’s Cherry Blossom Festival, and Arizona’s Japanese Festival. Prepare to have your funny bone tickled.
Toro Nagashi and Candlelight Walks
On Saturday and Sunday evening, learn about Obon, the festival when the spirits of the dead return to spend time with the living, by participating in a Toro Nagashi ceremony. Lanterns are inscribed with the names of those deceased, then lit and set afloat as a way of accompanying the spirits as they depart for another year.
From 8 p.m.–10 p.m. enjoy self-guided, evening-hour tours around the Japanese Garden, splendidly illuminated by shoji lanterns.
Throughout the festival, shop for souvenirs and other Asian-inspired merchandise at the Japanese marketplace and the Garden Gate Shop. Sample Japanese cuisine at the outdoor food court, including Poke Doke’s custom flavors inspired by the Japanese Garden as well as sushi, kombucha, Japanese soda, Japanese-inspired sandwiches and more.