The 2016 National Japan Bowl was held April 14 & 15, 2016 at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Sakura Matsuri, the nation’s largest one-day Japanese cultural event, was held the next day in Washington, D.C. It was my pleasure to represent the Foundation at both events this year.

The Japan Bowl was created by the Japan-America Society of Washington DC in 1992. It is an academic competition that tests the achievements of high school students throughout the United States who are studying the Japanese language. The National Japan Bowl competition is held each spring, and celebrated its 24th year this month. Teams from across the nation compete for two days at three different proficiency levels. This year, 221 high school students from 38 schools across the United States (including Guam) gathered to test their knowledge about Japan, as well as the Japanese language and culture.

There were 28 teams for Level 2, and 24 teams each for Levels 3 and 4. The winners of the Level 4 competition are declared the National Champions and awarded a trip to Japan. In 2016, these winners were from Monta Vista High School in California. Their Japan trip will be funded by the Mazda Foundation, which also funded the trips of winning teams from Japan Bowls in California, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Utah, and Wisconsin to join the National Japan Bowl in Washington DC this year.

I was able to make a special presentation on ICU to the students, teachers, and accompanying parents, as ICU was listed this year as one of the “Sakura Sponsors.” It was a nice chance to speak about ICU directly with the assembled group. In addition to my presentation, the attendees were also able to hear from representatives from Hokkaido University, Keio University, Osaka University, University of Tsukuba, and Temple University, Japan Campus.

Following the two days of Japan Bowl activities, I partnered with the DC ICU Alumni Chapter to sponsor an ICU information booth at the annual Sakura Matsuri. Now in its 56th year, the Japanese street festival is the largest one-day celebration of Japanese culture in the United States and is proud to be the grand finale of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Performers and vendors travel from all over the country and the world travel to Washington, D.C. to share their love of Japanese culture and traditions with the festival attendees.

This year, Sakura Matsuri was held for the first time in the Capitol Riverfront Neighborhood at First and N Streets, SE. The Alumni Chapter once again provided volunteers to staff the ICU information booth, passing out hundreds of brochures and speaking with a number of potential ICU students, parents, and family members. They also spoke to many current university students about ICU’s esteemed Japanese language studies for summer and one-year regular (OYR) candidates. It’s always a great opportunity to partner with our alumni, reach out to the festival-goers, and share information about ICU’s great liberal arts education!