The Ninth Annual Japan Week
By Marcos Perez
Bellevue College student
＊For the full event timetable, click here＊
Bellevue College is excited to host its Ninth Annual Japan Week, a week-long event that starts on October 6th and concludes with a public celebration on October 11th. The event is presented free of charge by the Bellevue College Japanese Culture Exchange Club with support from the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle and other in-kind donors.
2025 also marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. As per the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the bombings of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) killed an estimated 214,000 Japanese citizens, with 38,000 being children.For Japan Week 2025, the Japanese Culture Exchange Club has decided to pay tribute and respect to innocent victims of the atomic bombings by bringing awareness of the cruelties of war. Historical photographs and data on the atomic bombings provided by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Japan, courtesy of the non-profit organization Nuclear Weapons Awareness, will be featured.
The festival will also include a Rakugo show, a 400-year-old tradition of Japanese comedic storytelling. A single performer, in this case Katsura Sunshine, sits atop a cushion and tells a long, intricate story using only a paper fan (sensu) and a cloth towel (tenugui) as props. Katsura Sunshine is a Canadian comic storyteller who uses his talents to delight audiences throughout the world. A portable shrine (mikoshi) will be carried throughout Bellevue College by volunteers and members of the Vancouver Mikoshi Sakurakai Society, who will be driving from Canada to bring this wonderful experience to our campus. Other events include workshops on onigiri (courtesy of Onigiri SANZAN), manga drawing, flower arrangements; contests in cosplay, Beyblade, and paper airplanes; tea ceremony, anime café, Japan travel booth, flea market, manga swap, karaoke, and so much more!
Parking for the festival is free in the Bellevue College parking garage. Other lots are available for $3 per day.
220 volunteers are sought for the celebration day. Those who volunteer four hours or longer will receive a complimentary Ninth Annual Japan Week T-shirt. High school volunteers will be able to receive volunteer credits. If interested in helping, please sign up at: https://bit.ly/2025JWVolunteers.
For more information about Japan Week, including the full schedule of activities, visit the Japan Week website at: https://bit.ly/JapanWeekBC.
The team hopes to build friendships and foster cultural appreciation among the Washington State community by introducing and deepening knowledge of Japanese traditions.
