Because the sounds of taiko and fue — conventional Japanese drums and flute — started to fill the Miller Residing Room gathering house on the Portland Japanese Backyard on Sunday, a crowd squeezed in tight to look at the primary efficiency of the annual O-Shogatsu, or Japanese New 12 months, pageant.
On the entrance of the room, Portland Shishimai Kai showcased a standard Japanese lion dance often called Edo Kotobuki Jishi. Portrayed by a dancer with a gold lion head and a mane of lengthy white hair, the shishi, or lion, roaed by way of the house, accepting greenback payments in its mouth and playfully nibbling on attendees’ heads.
Receiving a shishi chunk means good luck for the yr to come back, stated Kelsey Cleveland, cultural packages supervisor at Portland Japanese Backyard.
The efficiency was one small a part of the annual pageant that pulls a whole lot of friends to the Japanese Backyard in Washington Park. O-Shogatsu is likely one of the most essential holidays in Japanese tradition, Cleveland stated.
“I sort of contemplate it virtually the equal of our Thanksgiving,” Cleveland stated. “It’s actually a household vacation the place folks (will) journey from wherever they reside, journey to their hometown, and collect collectively as household.”
The occasion kicked off the 12 months of the Snake. Guests wandered the gardens, participated in a scavenger hunt and ink brush portray workshop and watched dance performances.
Winter installations, equivalent to yukizuri — straw ropes forged over timber in a cone form to guard branches — created a festive environment within the gardens.
The pageant attracted each newcomers and longtime members of the backyard.
Sophie Kramer and Ethan Nichols, newcomers to Portland, bought a membership to the backyard upon getting into the pageant, impressed by the pure great thing about the house.
“I used to be actually excited,” Kramer stated, “It feels just like the second that you simply enter the gates, you’re sort of transported.”
1/25
Yuki Wallen, particular packages supervisor on the backyard, visited on her break day to have fun the brand new yr together with her daughter Nina Wallen and pal Mei Gillam. Bringing her daughter to the backyard for O-Shogatsu has develop into an annual custom to remain linked to their Japanese heritage, she stated.
“She was born in Japan, however we moved right here 5 years in the past,” Wallen stated about her daughter. “She already forgot her life again in Japan, however having a spot like this, it’s actually essential.”
The Wallens normally have fun Japanese New 12 months with ozoni, a Japanese soup that includes rice truffles (mochi) and greens. Wallen stated the pageant’s conventional dances are a novel draw too, since they’re not one thing simply replicated at residence.
“We’re actually completely satisfied that we will have fun on the backyard, in order that both Japanese people who find themselves residing right here, or Japanese People, can honor their cultural heritage by coming to the backyard to have fun,” Cleveland stated. “However we additionally love introducing Japanese traditions to individuals who have by no means been to Japan.”
Sunday’s pageant was Briawna Maruyama’s first expertise on the Japanese Backyard, and a particular means for her to attach together with her Japanese heritage, she stated.
“My household is Japanese, however when the battle occurred and the camps occurred, my household was pushed into making an attempt to carry out as white as potential,” Maruyuama stated. “We misplaced a whole lot of the tradition that will have been handed down by way of the household.”
As a youngster, Maruyama developed a deeper curiosity in exploring her Japanese heritage. She was desperate to attend the O-Shogatsu Competition, she stated, to expertise an occasion she had missed out on throughout her childhood.
Her favourite expertise of the morning was watching the Ryomen Odori, or double-masked dance. The efficiency was a brand new addition this yr, stated Cleveland. Within the dance, a single performer portrays two characters: Okame, a well known feminine determine in Japanese tradition, and Warai, a male character that provides a comedic contact.
“It feels very particular,” Maruyama stated. “Since I don’t have any data by way of my household, this appears like probably the most refreshing and truthful approach to get to know (Japanese tradition).”
— Chiara Profenna covers faith, religion and cultural connections. Attain her at 503-221-4327; cprofenna@oregonian.com or @chiaraprofenna.
The Oregonian/OregonLive receives assist from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Belief to deliver readers tales on faith, religion and cultural connections in Oregon. The Oregonian/OregonLive is solely accountable for all content material.
