Sakura Matsuri

Sakura Matsuri means "Cherry Blossom Festival" and it is the annual Japanese culture street festival that shuts down Pennsylvania Ave in Washington DC. This year it was held on Saturday, April 11, 2015 and coincided with the peak bloom of the cherry blossoms. A popular event that features lots of Japanese and Japanese-American related organizations, food, and performances, it was just as well attended as years past.

Nen Daiko had the pleasure of performing on two different stages this year. The Sakura Stage performance held at the start of the festival, featured four of songs including Renshuu, which our trainees, Jeff and Carla, rocked! The action shots are from Buchiawase, the last piece of the set.

Taking bows after our last song on the Sakura Stage.

We packed up our equipment and moved through the crowds to the Pennsylvania Stage to prepare for a collaborative performance with Miho Yoshino of the Yoshino Bien School of Calligraphy of Tokushima, Japan. The Japanese word for calligraphy is "Shodo" which translates to "the way of writing" and has strong ties with Buddhism. I have always had a fascination with Shodo and thus, this was one of the coolest events I had a chance to perform in. Yoshino Sensei wrote two beautiful characters while we performed "Satori".

Japanese characters for "Mai" (dance) and "Hana" (flower).

After a long but fulfilling day of performances, we took a final photo with Yoshino Sensei and her beautiful works of art before braving the DC traffic. Thank you Yoshino Sensei for giving us the opportunity to be a part of a wonderful experience!