The winner of the 23rd Toyama Cup visited Toyama!

Every year, in cooperation with the Japan-America Society of Oregon, Toyama Prefecture holds the Toyama Cup, a speech contest for university students studying Japanese in Oregon and SW Washington. The winner of the highest level contest is awarded a week-long visit in Toyama by the prefectural government.

Lewis and Clark College’s Ronan Hall won this year’s Toyama Cup and stayed in Toyama Prefecture for a week in early July. She paid a courtesy visit to the Director-General before embarking on a trip that showed her some of the beautiful sites of our prefecture.

She visited the Kurobe Gorge and Gokayama, but also got to interact with students at Toyama Prefectural University, and even participated in a summer festival in the neighborhood where she was staying with her host family.

We hope that Ronan’s experience will drive exchange between Toyama and Oregon, and we look forward to welcoming the next speech contest winner!

For more information, please visit: http://jaso.org/toyama-cup-2/

Summer Festivals, and an Exchange Teacher to Oregon

“Tatemon” at the Jantokoi Festival in Uozu City

Originally written for the Vol.6-No.4 edition (August 23, 2012) of the Toyama Hot News e-newsletter.

We are having a very hot summer here, and even overnight lows sometimes never reach below 80F/27C. But summer is a time for festivals and fireworks everywhere in Japan, with over a dozen within Toyama Prefecture. And in Japan, even average, small-city fireworks are spectacular displays. This summer, I went to the Furusato Ryugu Festival in Namerikawa City and the Jantokoi Festival in Uozu City, which both had outstanding fireworks shows over the bay.

In sister state news, we have a major announcement: we are reinstating the exchange teacher program, which had been suspended for several years. Ms. Akiko Nakano of Toyama Prefecture will be spending the next year and a half in Oregon, teaching at Sheridan Japanese School! We are thrilled to have this development in sister state relations, and excited for Ms. Nakano and everyone at the school. We would like to thank Sheridan Japanese School and the Oregon Department of Education for all of their support.

Marvel at the Magnificent Floats: Spring Festivals of Toyama

Originally written for the Vol.5-No.2 edition (April 22, 2011) of the Toyama Hot News e-newsletter.

The Mikurumayama Festival will be held in Takaoka on May 1st. Seven floats will parade around central Takaoka; each is unique and represents a different neighborhood. The famous metalwork and lacquer work of Takaoka can be seen in the beautiful floats. This festival’s origin dates back to when Maeda Toshiie received a carriage from the daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi. There will be a light-up exhibition of the floats on April 30th, the night before the festival.

On May 3rd is the Etchu-Yatsuo Hikiyama Festival in the town of Yatsuo in Toyama City. With a history that dates back to 1741, this festival is symbolic of the area’s traditional Edo-period culture. Six floats adorned with dolls, ornaments, and carvings are pulled around the hilly town. At night, the floats will be decorated with lit lanterns, and the festivities include a lion dance.

The Johana Hikiyama Festival has a 300-year history, and will be held on May 4th and 5th. Six dazzling floats will make their way around town, making distinctive creaking sounds.

Both the Mikurumayama Festival and the Johana Hikiyama Festival are designated Important Folk Cultural Properties of Japan.

Source (article and photo): Toyama Just Now