Schoolchildren, base personnel, and local nationals were witness to dozens of events here, ranging from traditional Japanese dancing, to an epic battle against a giant serpent to save a princess.
M.C. Perry School, in conjunction with the MCAS Japanese & American Society, hosted the 2009 annual Japanese culture festival here Sunday.
The event is intended to strengthen the bonds of friendship and understanding between United States citizens and Japanese nationals, and help expose personnel here to various types of Japanese culture.
This was Coach Richard Peterson’s first culture festival. He is the new physical education and health teacher at the school.
Events like this help get the kids involved in the culture of where they are living, Peterson said.
Similar sentiments came from Robert Polanco, a technical advisor for Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 here.
Almost right after the event started, he was enjoying some green tea in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, hosted by a local tea ceremony expert.
“This way a family can come in and see the many aspects of Japan, Polanco said.
“It’s a good way to see the culture here,” he said.
The event took well over 100 Japanese volunteers to make it possible.
One such volunteer, Hisami Tarumoto, works for the local newspaper in Iwakuni.
She, like many other Japanese volunteers, has an interest in American culture, providing an equal exchange of knowledge.
“I’m learning English on Saturdays. I had enough time this weekend to come here,” she said.
Tarumoto volunteered to teach children and adults attending the event the art of Japanese calligraphy.
One of her pupils was Chloe Fondren, a student at M.C. Perry.
As she carefully navigated her paper with a brush dipped in ink, her mother, Gunnery Sgt. Amanda Foundren looked on. Gunnery Sgt. Foundren used to be found working at the uniform shop at the Marine Corps Exchange. Now, she is preparing for a deployment to Afghanistan.
“This is really cool,” she said.
“It’s good for my daughter. She gets to overcome her fears of being in a foreign country, a foreign culture. She’s not used to it yet. We’ve only been here five months,” said Foundren.
As performers from all over the area were displaying their talents in dance, calligraphy, martial arts, and music in the cafeteria, others were teaching from various static displays in the library.
Kiyosato Harada, of the Iwakuni Matchlock Gun Troops, not only exhibited his collection of arquibuses, he dressed children in authentic reproduction samurai armour.
The young bushido warriors got to walk around the school fully dressed for battle.
Hiroshi Imasake, a volunteer with the JAS for many years now, caused quite a few heads to turn with his rice-popping machine.
Rice is placed inside a steam-pressurized rotating container. When the pressure inside reaches a certain point, Imasake taps the latch with a metal tool, the resulting explosion blasts popped rice into a mesh covering, and today, all over its operator.
Many who heard the blast thought something had gone terribly wrong.
But the huge smile on Imasaki’s rice covered face, as well as the delicious smell of the rice, curved the crowd’s concern as they poured out of the library to see what happened.
For many who attended the culture festival, the final stage performance of the day was the grand finale.
The Kagure fire snake theatre performed
“Yamata-No-Orochi,” a traditional story about a hero named Lord Susanō killing a giant serpent that terrorizes a local town.
The play featured live music, fireworks, and actors dressed as the giant serpents.
Children scooted farther and farther from the serpents as they slithered off the stage towards the crowd.
The great beasts snapped at the audience, as they twisted and slithered on the ground, occasionally rising in a threatening posture.
Many kids could be seen running in total panic from the monster, only to return instantly so they could experience the thrill of the performance.
At the end of the play, the audience cheered the hero on as he dispatched the many heads of the serpent one by one, placing the masks of each deceased beast at the feet of the young audience members in the front row, marking the end of another Japanese & American Society event.
The Japanese & American Society is open to anyone who is interested in joining. People interested in learning more about the organization can call 253-4744 on base, or 0827-79-4744 off base.