Celebrating 39 Years
Our festival has been serving the Japanese-American community for almost four decades. Below are a few highlights from years past.
2010
150 years ago (1860), after 242 years of national isolation (Sakoku) to the outside world, Japan’s first envoy was sent to the United States by its last samurai government to ratify and exchange the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with 15th President James Buchanan. Thus began a formal relationship between Japan and United States.
To commemorate this historic occasion, the Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival Committee sent a special gift of cherry blossoms to Japanese astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronauts Naoko Yamazaki and Soichi Noguchi were among crew members. Their mission to the International Space Station's Japanese Experiment Module concluded on April 18th after 13 days in orbit.
see the video here!
