By Bruce Rutledge
NAP General Manager
Children learning Japanese games during Japan Fair 2016.
Taiko performance at Meydenbauer Center, 2016. Photo credits: Japan Fair.
Japan Fair, the free weekend-long celebration of all things Japanese and Japanese American (JA), will celebrate its 10th anniversary June 26-28 at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue.
This year’s festivities kick off on Friday, June 26 with Heritage Night, a deep dive into the history of Japanese Americans in the Pacific Northwest. Japan Fair collaborated with 4Culture (cultural funding agency for King County, Washington) to gather experts to talk about different aspects of the JA experience. Retired University of Washington Professor Stephen Sumida will speak about the early Japanese immigrants to the Pacific Northwest beginning in the 1890s. Activist Stan Shikuma will discuss what Japanese Americans faced during World War II, 1942-1945. Then retired Bellevue City Manager Brad Miyake and Washington State Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos will discuss Japanese American life in the postwar era.
Saturday and Sunday will feature a wide array of cultural activities. “We take a multidisciplinary approach, blending the traditional with new modern art and culture,” says Yuka Shimizu, a Japan Fair Board of Directors and one of the driving forces behind the event. “We want to attract the younger generation so we need to brainstorm new and exciting activities.” This year will feature a koto performer from Ishikawa Prefecture, kimono shows with a decidedly modern twist, a haiku contest, taiko performances, booths showcasing all sorts of Japanese and Japan-inspired products, and entertainment on the main stage throughout the two days.
The broader mission of Japan Fair, according to Shimizu, is to forge closer ties among the Japanese, Japanese Americans and the American business community. That is the goal for the next 10 years, she says.
The free event began in 2016, after Tom Brooke, a Seattle-area community leader, and his team of volunteers held the final Aki Matsuri at Bellevue College. Brooke had organized Aki Matsuri for 18 years. So when he finally retired, the community felt a void. Volunteers, led by Yuka Shimizu and Allen Nakamoto, stepped in to carry on the tradition with Japan Fair. They’ve taken the fair to new heights, even winning the 2025 Event of the Year Award from Visit Bellevue.
Shimizu says the newly named Asunaro Japan Foundation, the nonprofit parent of Japan Fair, will hold two to three seminars or programs. It will be at different times of the year to broaden the foundation’s base and connect with a broader community over the next decade. Dates and subjects for these programs and seminars are still to be determined.
Like previous Aki Matsuris, Japan Fair is fueled by volunteer energy. The board has done an excellent job recruiting and retaining volunteers over its first decade. Nakamoto sums up their volunteer management this way: “It takes the sternness of a firefighter and the compassion of a kindergarten teacher.”
Heritage Night on Friday, June 26 will run from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Japan Fair will open to the public on Saturday, June 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and on Sunday, June 28 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
