Japanese celebration

Japan Week, Spokane’s 16th annual celebration of all things Japanese, begins today with the opening celebration at River Park Square.

From noon to 4 p.m., the atrium will be filled with events ranging from taiko drumming to bon-odori dancing to martial arts to flower arranging. Artist Keiko Von Holt will exhibit Japanese calligraphy and painting in the Kress Gallery.

“This event has gotten a little bigger every year,” said Ray Fadeley, Japan Week chairman. “With the drummers and the dancers, there really is something for all ages.”

This year, one of the most important events takes place Sunday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., with the official dedication of the Ed Tsutakawa Memorial Japanese Garden.

Manito Park’s Japanese garden will be re-named for Tsutakawa, a longtime leader of Spokane’s Japanese community and the man most responsible for the existence of the garden. Tsutakawa died in 2006.

Popular Japan Week traditions remain intact. The Highland Park United Methodist Church will have its 59th annual Sukiyaki Dinner on April 26. The Spokane Buddhist Temple will have its chicken teriyaki take-out box lunch Sunday.

Other events are brand new. A “Hara Hara Fashion Show,” a contest featuring wild and colorful fashions from the Harajuku area of Tokyo, a center for youth culture, will be held on Friday from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the CenterStage ballroom. Besides a fashion contest, this will also include a raucous celebration of music, food and anime, aimed at a young audience, said Fadeley.

Kaishi Katsura, a storyteller in the comic Rakugo style, will portray all of the comedic characters in an English-language version of this classic Japanese storytelling form in performances at Spokane Falls Community College on Friday and Gonzaga University on April 27.

Here’s the complete schedule. Events are free unless otherwise indicated:

Opening celebration at River Park Square (today)

•Noon-2 p.m.: Water garden and Koi fish display. For more information, call Diana (509) 747-5333

•Noon-2 p.m.: Ikebana flower arrangement demo.

•Noon-2 p.m.: Paper dolls demo and display by doll makers from Nishinomiya, Japan.

•12:15-12:30 p.m.: Traditional drumming (taiko)

•12:35-12:50 p.m.: Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute students present bon-odori dancing

•1-3 p.m.: Gonzaga University Japanese name writing

•1:30-2 p.m.: Japanese Painting (sumi-e) Demonstration by International artist Keiko Von Holt

•2-3 p.m.: “Koto Tales” Japanese Folktales Accompanied by Koto Music by international recording artist Elizabeth Falconer.

•2-3 p.m.: Japanese martial arts demonstration

Other events today

•10:30-11:30 a.m.: Japanese storytelling. Auntie’s Book Store, 402 W. Main. (509) 838-0206

•7 p.m.: Duo En perform “Wind in the Bamboo,” a program that intertwines Japanese music and haiku. Spokane Buddhist Temple, 927 S. Perry, (509) 534-7954

Sunday

•11 a.m.-2 p.m.: Box Lunch and Spring Bazaar, Chicken teriyaki box lunch take-out ($10), Senbei Japanese rice crackers ($3.50 per bag). Advanced orders: (509) 747-0480. Spokane Buddhist Temple, 927 S. Perry.

•11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: “Koto Tales” Japanese Folktales accompanied by Koto Music. Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, 2316 W. First.

•12:30-2:30 p.m.: Paper Doll Workshop by doll makers from Nishinomiya, Japan. Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture

•1-4 p.m.: History and Health of Koi in the Park, Ed Tsutakawa Memorial Japanese Garden at Manito Park.

•1:30-3:30 p.m.: Ed Tsutakawa Memorial Japanese Garden dedication, Manito Park. Includes taiko drumming, martial arts demonstration, art and music activities.

Monday

•3-5 p.m.: Paper doll making workshop with artists from Nishinomiya, Japan. Japanese Cultural Center, 4000 W Randolph Road. Call (509) 328-2971

Tuesday

•11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: Anime movie, sushi roll and yaki soba noodles for sale. Spokane Falls Community College SUB, 3410 Fort George Wright Drive. (509) 533-3367

•5-7 p.m.: Spokane Taiko open house, Japanese Cultural Center, 4000 W. Randolph Road.

•7-9 p.m.: Tokyo vs. Osaka: A lecture / discussion on modern Japan. Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute, Kusaka Library Assembly Hall, 4000 W. Randolph Road.

Wednesday

•10:30-11:30 a.m.: Family Festival at Mukogawa: origami, toy making, kimono wearing, calligraphy, tea ceremony, art. Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute Commons, 4000 W. Randolph Road. (509) 328-2971

•11-11:45 a.m.: Margaret Cook Sumi-e Demo, Corbin Senior Activity Center, 827 W. Cleveland. (509) 327-1584

•Noon-1:30 p.m.: Annual Japan Week business luncheon ($15). Sponsored by Whitworth University School of Global Commerce and Management and the International Trade Alliance. Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute Commons, 4000 W. Randolph Road. Please make reservations by Monday.(509) 777-3242

Thursday

•6 p.m.: Sushi Making Class ($20) Japan Cultural Center, 4000 W. Randolph. (509) 328-2971

Friday

•9:30-10:30 a.m.: Kaishi Katsura tells Rakugo comedic story-telling. Spokane Falls Community College Sub A-Lounge

•7:30-10 p.m.: Hara Hara Fashion. A cutting edge evening of Japanese fashion, music, food, art, anime. Center Stage Ballroom, 1017 W. First Ave. (509) 863-8103

Next Saturday

•Noon-2 p.m.: Hara Hara Fashion slide show, art and craft demonstrations. River Park Square, Atrium Court

•Noon-7 p.m.: 59th Sukiyaki Dinner ($12). Sukiyaki, sushi, senbei, and crafts. Highland Park United Methodist Church, 611 S. Garfield. (509) 535-2687

•6 p.m.: Annual International Student Dinner – Gonzaga University. For information, reservations, and cost, call Melissa at (509) 323-6560

•7-8:30 p.m.: Lecture by Rev. James Warrick. Spokane Buddhist Temple, 927 S. Perry

April 27th

•10:30 a.m.-noon: Hanamatsuri Service celebrates Buddha’s birth. Spokane Buddhist Temple, 927 S. Perry.

•2 p.m.: Kaishi Katsura presents Rakugo comedic storytelling. Gonzaga University, Jepson Wolff Auditorium. (509) 323-3951