Makeup Assignment #2: Cherry Blossom Festival, Little Tokyo (4/6/08)
This past weekend I was able to attend the Cherry Blossom Festival in Little Tokyo, Downtown LA. The entire area had been cordoned off and various booths were set up all along the streets. There were children’s areas which featured bounce houses as well as traditional arts and crafts like mask-making and origami, they even had a scavenger hunt! There was a craft area for the adults as well (stuff to buy rather than stuff to make), a food section and four stages. Aside from the children’s village there was a section of booths labeled (on the provided map) as the Hawaiian village. In the center of the cross streets, just beneath one of the stages, was a large clear area where traditional dances were preformed. Just to the North of that, was a large section of booths which housed the Los Angeles Japanese Heritage Association. They provided various bits of information (on the festival as well as the heritage of Japanese Americans in Los Angeles) as well as samples of traditional crafts.
On the stages there was an ongoing display of Japanese culture: a Hawaiian band and dancers, Taiko drummers, a martial arts display of Japanese fencing and the use of the samurai sword. There was also a fashion show using clothing from local shops and the girls modeling were part of the 2008 Nesei Court.
It was neat to see so many Nesei (many from Hawaii) taking part in a festival clearly of their family’s tradition. However, the crowd was not primarily Japanese. The crowd was an eclectic mix of the kind that can only be found in LA—including a few of LA’s very own Harajuku fans.
After enjoying the Cherry Blossom Festival for a while, my sister and I hopped over to Chinatown. Though there was not a festival going on, there was a demonstration of Shaolin martial arts going on in the main plaza.
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