Nikkei Matsuri - San Jose Japan

About the Festival
The Nikkei Matsuri-San Jose Japantown  (Japanese-American Festival) embraces the local community's love and appreciation of Japanese-American Culture and Heritage.

In 1976, as part of America's Bicentennial celebration, the City of San Jose encouraged local ethnic communities to sponsor festivals to share their culture.  The Japanese-American community responded with a successful festival which is now, the Nikkei Matsuri-San Jose Japantown.

This year will be the 31st Annual Nikkei Matsuri. The festival is located in the heart of San Jose Japantown-only one of three surviving Japantowns left in the United States.

In the Festival
What better way to share Japanese American Culture, than, through food and the arts! There is something for the entire family at Nikkei Matsuri!  Plan to spend the entire day in Japantown.

• Our Food Court, features traditional and non traditional Japanese cuisine.  Our food is prepared on site and served by local Japanese American non-profit organizations.
• The Arts and Crafts Fair includes over sixty arts and crafts vendors from throughout the Western United States and Hawaii.  Everything is handmade with a focus on Japanese American tradition and contemporary style.  The Arts and Crafts fair features a wide variety of clothing, ceramics, pottery and gifts all uniquely- Japanese and Asian American.
• Our Indoor Stage, features Japanese culture through music (koto, shakuhachi), martial arts, and dance (Bando and Hanayagi styles). 
• Our Outdoor Stage is contemporary and hosts groups like the well-known San Jose Chidori Band (Japanese music), the Wesley Jazz Band, and the San
  Jose Taiko.
• Cultural Displays, such as ikebana (flower arranging), suiseki (rock displays), bonsai (miniature trees and plants) and kimekomi dolls (handmade dolls based on a wooden form) which are a part of everyday Japanese life are shown in the San Jose Buddhist Church Annex.  Several schools and organizations are represented in these craft displays, spanning centuries of Japanese tradition.