NikkeiWest--Northern California Japanese American Newspaper

By John Sammon—The 2011 Obon Festival to be held July 9 and 10 in San Jose’s Japantown will feature a celebration of Japanese culture, arts, crafts, food booths, street dancing, games, cultural exhibits and demonstrations, while still retaining its original purpose, the remembrance of revered ancestors.

“It’s a joyous time, and the dances performed are in appreciation of our ancestors,” explained Reiko Iwanaga, head dance instructor for the Obon Festival in San Jose. Iwanaga is a San Jose native who lives in Saratoga where she runs an event planning business.

“During Obon we do a number of dances,” she said. “The idea is to keep it simple so that anyone can join in. Last year we had over 1,200 taking part.”

Iwanaga, who has a background in classical Japanese dance, said the style of dance called Bon Odori is very expressive. Her father-in-law, the late Reverend Yoshio Iwanaga, helped introduce the traditional dance from Japan 80 years ago.

Festival activities will center on the Buddhist Church Betsuin at 640 N. 5th St. and the area along Jackson and Taylor streets in the heart of San Jose’s Japantown. The community is one of only three Japantowns left in California including Los Angeles and San Francisco that authentically maintains its heritage. The community managed to survive the disruption caused by World War II and the forced relocation of 110,000 Japanese Americans to internment camps.

The Obon celebration gives visitors a chance to sample Japanese culture.

“People of all nationalities participate,” said Kathy Sakamoto, executive director of the Japantown Business Association, promoters of business in Japantown who also help support the community while preserving the legacy and history of the area.

“A lot of people buy unique items from our stores here in Japantown or buy supplies for the celebration,” Sakamoto said. “It’s the best selling time for us, plus it’s fun for visitors. There are food booths and carnival games. People who come to the event go to dinner or lunch in our restaurants, so it helps the economy.”

Arlene Damron, owner of Nichi Bei Bussan Department Store, a family-run business at 140 Jackson St., said the Obon Festival attracts shoppers looking for unique Japanese gifts.

“If you’re attending the Obon, this is one of the closest places to look for something whether it’s a fan or a kimono,” she said. “We have two kinds of fans. One is called an uchiwa. That’s a round lollipop-shaped fan. The other is the traditional fan that opens up, and that’s called a sensu.”

Damron said another popular gift purchase for the festival is called a kachi-kachi, or a Japanese set of castanets. Yet another item is the Tenegui, a rectangular cotton gauze cloth that can be olive-white or multi-colored with patterns.

“It’s used for dancing,” Damron explained. “You drape it around your neck.”

Damron was born in Topaz Relocation Center Internment Camp in Utah in 1944. Her grandfather traveled by boat from Nagano, Japan and arrived in this country and worked as a house boy. Going partners with American suppliers, he founded the first Nichi Bei Bussan store in San Francisco in 1902, eventually adding another store in San Jose. The stores catered to newly-arriving Japanese immigrants.

“Back in those days, you would come from Japan and arrive at our store still wearing your kimono,” she said. “You would take off the kimono and be outfitted in Western clothing representing your new life in this country.”

For decades the store has supplied name brand clothing and goods, including sheets, towels, pants, work boots, yarns, knitting needles, Japanese fabrics and a myriad of others, and includes a martial arts section.

“We still believe in personalized service,” Damron said. “Every year we do an annual ‘Thank You Days’ sale for our customers in the spring.”

Jim McClure, a retired San Jose Fire Dept. captain, has served as chair of the Obon Festival for 12 years. He said this year’s event will be the 76th annual observance.

“Obon has its roots in a desire to pause and reflect on our predecessors,” he said. “This is one event that arcs across ages, for example, there are kids’ games for the kids, and bingo for older people. There are 15 food booths. But the center piece is the Odori dancing.”

In addition to traditional Japanese Bon Odori dance, drummers from San Jose Taiko will perform, as well as collegiate Taiko drum groups from universities including Irvine and Stanford.

Wisa Uemura of San Jose, new executive director of San Jose Taiko, said the nonprofit is the third oldest Taiko group in the country with 18 performers and teaches the art of drumming to over 100 students.

“Ours is a contemporary version of Taiko,” she said. “It is called Kumidaiko, or ensemble drumming, and it has its roots in the traditional Taiko drumming from Japan.”

Uemura said drums were used in old Japan by farmers to scare away insects, by priests during religious services, and as a communication tool to summon villagers.

“It was also used in theater and evolved out of the imperial court music of Japan,” she added.

A new addition this year to Obon are the drawings of noted San Jose artist Jack Matsuoka, whose pen and ink renderings will adorn websites promoting the event as well as posters and banners at the site. Matsuoka was himself interned during World War II.

McClure added that the festival will be almost totally green.

“We’ll recycle approximately 98 percent of the waste, some of which will be used for compost,” he said. “The festival opens both Saturday and Sunday (July 9 and 10) at 12 noon and by 3 p.m. is in full swing.”

People wishing more information on the San Jose Obon Festival may go to www.sjbetsuin.com.

For information on San Jose Taiko, go to www.taiko.org.