Japanese music, art, and food will greet people at the 14th annual Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival on Sunday, May 15, from noon to 5 p.m. at the Allen County Public Library Plaza.

The ceremony begins with music from Fort Wayne Taiko, a group of traditional Japanese drummers and a program of the Fort Wayne Dance Collective. A Japanese musical tradition, taiko means “big drum” as the drummers “dance” their sticks from drum to drum.

Dorothy Kittaka, an organizer for the festival, says Fort Wayne Taiko was formed in 1997 after someone from the city witnessed a similar group during a visit to Japan. 

“She just took it upon herself that she was going to learn how to play it,” Kittaka said.

Some of the other featured music artists performing include the Suzuki Strings Orchestra of Fort Wayne, Murotani & Company, and Spirit Bomb, who will perform songs from anime. 

Kittaka spoke highly of Murotani & Company, saying the instrumentation is a “really wonderful combination. We have a trumpet player who’s Japanese that plays in the (Fort Wayne) Philharmonic, and he’s heading up this ensemble.”

Minyo Club, a group from Indianapolis which Kittaka says performs a “traditional Japanese folk-style dancing with very colorful kimonos,” will also perform.

Sing, draw, and eat

Festivalgoers will also have the opportunity to test their singing skills with karaoke available several times throughout the day, beginning at 12:30 p.m. in the library’s Globe Room.

There will also be two competitions with prizes. In one contest, which begins at noon, competitors will draw anime characters. In the other, a cosplay contest at 3:30 p.m., attendees will dress as their favorite characters. 

A marketplace will be inside the library, offering the chance to purchase Japanese merchandise, accessories, gifts, and souvenirs. The Bonsai Club will sell Japanese-style miniature plants, and people can pick up commemorative Cherry Blossom Festival t-shirts and kendamas.

Festivalgoers can also watch a martial arts demonstrations by the Indianapolis Kendo Club throughout the day.

Of course, there will be Japanese food available from a handful of vendors, including curry, spring rolls, Japanese candies, and mochi ice cream.

Kittaka mentions that Hungry Asian Market, one of the vendors, is a “wonderful place to buy any kind of food that’s Japanese.”

A virtual traditional tea ceremony will also be conducted, with each part being explained, and the audience getting to share in the drinking of the tea.

help from Sister city

In addition to the marketplace, several educational and cultural displays will welcome those strolling inside library, including a display of paper art and a display on Fort Wayne’s Sister Cities, including Takaoka, Japan.

According to the Fort Wayne Sister Cities International website, “Our relationship with Takaoka provides opportunities that are as varied as they are plentiful. This sister alliance has led to many exchanges of government officials, teachers, students, artists, and private citizens. Significant developments have been the Takaoka Koshimae Scholarship Fund, endowed by a prominent citizen of Takaoka, and the Fort Wayne Chapman Exchange Fund, endowed by a charter member of Fort Wayne Sister Cities International.”

Kittaka recalled that a gift from Takaoka sparked the idea for the festival.

“Our Cherry Blossom Festival started because we saw that there was a garden next to the Arts United building,” she said. “It was given to us by Takaoka, Japan. We decided to honor that by having a cherry blossom festival. We do have about five or six cherry trees given to us by the Japanese consulate.”

She mentioned that one of these trees is flowering at the library’s plaza, where the upcoming festival will take place. According to Kittaka, the others were planted at Swinney Park, just west of downtown.

Kittaka said that when Takaoka gifted the trees to Fort Wayne, they gave the city about 200, but things didn’t go according to plan.

“They all died because they weren’t the right kind to have in our climate,” she said.

Kittaka says that the one thing that brings crowds of people to the annual Cherry Blossom Festival is that “it’s multigenerational. We have something for everybody.”