Major Japan Festival Kicks Off in Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo, July 10 (Jiji Press)–An annual festival introducing Japanese culture began in Sao Paulo on Friday, with visitors enjoying Japanese foods, including “takoyaki” and “gyoza,” as well as a “wadaiko” drum performance and “shodo” calligraphy experience. The event, one of the largest Japan festivals outside the Asian country, is expected to attract about 180,000 visitors over its three-day period. This year’s festival has the theme “kizuna,” a Japanese word meaning “bonds,” and features a section where local people of Japanese descent can learn which Japanese prefecture their ancestors were from. Brazil is home to the world’s largest community of Japanese descendants, totaling about 2.7 million people. Beatriz Yuki, 39, visited the festival with her 14-year-old son and discovered information about the immigrant ship that brought her grandparents to Brazil. She said she was very happy to share her family’s origins with her son. The venue also has a section where visitors can experience traditional Japanese play activities, including “origami” paper folding. Isabela Hirayama, a 6-year-old, fifth-generation Japanese immigrant, came with her grandparents and tried origami, saying that it was difficult but fun and that she wants to try it again at home. Shinichiro Taniguchi, head of a local group of Japanese descendants that hosts the festival, said that many visitors in the past events were of Japanese descent but that 70 pct of visitors now are not. “I’d be happy if the festival helps nurture interest in Japan,” Taniguchi said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]