Japanese Cultural Fair brings a taste of the Far East to Santa Cruz

Corinne Speckert - Santa Cruz Sentinel Correspondent

Article Launched: 06/22/2008 12:00:00 AM PDT

The annual Japanese Cultural Fair was back in Santa Cruz Saturday with traditional Japanese music, performances, food and textiles to give residents a taste of the Far East.

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The event at Mission Plaza Park kicked off with a martial arts demonstration by Aikido of Santa Cruz and ended around at 5 p.m. with the Watsonville Taiko Group performing a dance comprised of drumming and folklore.

The day was made up of 20 different events, including raffles, workshops, music and dance, a tea ceremony, storytelling and a meditation stage. Children had a chance to participate as the San Francisco Taiko Dojo taught them how to play drums.

"This form of drumming is a very traditional form, originally done to accompany religious ceremonies and other high performance art forms," San Francisco Taiko Dojo member John Rochelaeu said.

Taiko, regarded as sacred since ancient times, uses drumming to ward off evil spirits. It has exploded in popularity with around 200 groups.

"It's just great for everybody to see it, once you hear the drums you just kind of fall in love and you want to try it. That's mainly what we're here for, just to spread it around and let people experience something that they don't normally get to see," Rochelaeu said.

The fair featured an abundance of Japanese food along with shops filled with Japanese goods such as fans, kimonos and flying carp flags.

"The dancing and the music is very authentic but the food not so much, it's more Americanized and elaborate than you find in Japan," said Penny Duncan, who has been attending this fair for 20 years.

The fair, which is supported through donations, sponsors and grants, is made possible by a crew of 50 volunteers. Planning starts in September and continues all year long, taking six to seven months alone to recruit the performers.

"We just wanted to provide the opportunity for the community people to understand Japanese culture and this is the only chance that they have to come close to Japanese culture and we never charge admission because how many people can go to Japan?," said event director Chieko Yoshikawa. "Most people think the Japanese culture is just sushi, and sake or geisha and that's what we want to change, little by little."