Japan Fair History
Japan Fair formed in 2016 as a continuation of the legacy of the “Aki Matsuri”, an annual festival in Bellevue that was presented by the non-profit organization Eastside Nihon Matsuri Association (ENMA). The Aki Matsuri was a two-day program that celebrated Japan’s rich cultural heritage, and featured cultural, educational, and fun events for all age groups. It was held each Fall season for 18 years and was greatly appreciated by the community. In 2016 ENMA retired as a non-profit, and the Aki Matsuri began its transition into a new, sustainable community event. This event, headed by a new volunteer team with the goal of carrying on the annual festival tradition, was called Japan Fair.
The first Japan Fair was held at Meydenbauer Center on September 3 – 4, 2016, under the guidance and help of ENMA as the official successor to the Aki Matsuri. 15,000 people were estimated by Meydenbauer Center to have attended the launch of Japan Fair. Many were returning attendees of the Aki Matsuri, although the festival drew many new, first-time attendees as well, along with a number of new exhibitors from both America and Japan who shared their projects and products with the people of the Pacific Northwest.
As it moves forward, Japan Fair will continue to be hosted at the new Meydenbauer Center location.
トーマス・ブルック氏（イーストサイド日本祭り実行委員長） 旭日双光章受章
Congratulations to Mr. Thomas Brooke for his decoration from the Consulate General of Japan!
トーマス・ブルック氏は、ワシントン州における日本文化紹介として、平成9年にイーストサイド日本祭り委員会を設立。平成10年より18年間、イーストサイド日本祭り委員会会長として秋祭りを実施した。秋祭りは、参加団体150団体、来場者2万名を越える大型日本文化紹介行事として定着し、ワシントン州における日本文化紹介に多大な功績を残した。また、平成27年に秋祭りを終了するに際し、同人は、後継行事である「ジャパン・フェアー」が円滑に実施できるよう後継体制の確立にも協力を惜しまなかった。また、この18年間には特別プログラムとして、日本各地からの文化人を招聘しながら、ワシントン州と日本の地域間の交流促進に尽力し、その数は12の都道府県より150人以上の招聘数に及んだ。同人の長きにわたる地道な努力は、ワシントン州と日本の地域との交流開花への大きなさきがけとなった。
－ 2016年11月3日掲載の在シアトル日本国総領事館ウェブサイト記事より抜粋 (Japan Fair Blog in English)
Mr. Masahiro Omura
- Former Consul General of Japan
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all those working hard to produce Japan Fair in Bellevue this July. I am sure that everyone is looking forward with great anticipation to celebrating Japanese culture, society and business at Japan Fair 2017. The Consulate-General of Japan appreciates the efforts made towards such large-scale Japanese cultural festivals like Japan Fair and intends to provide as much support as possible.
http://www.seattle.us.emb-japan.go.jp
Japan Fair 2019 Committee
Board of Directors: Yuka Shimizu, Allen Nakamoto, Susumu (Sam) Takahashi, Noriko Palmer, Tsutomu (Tom) Sasaki
Advisors: Eriko (Elly) Baxter, Hiroko Huntoon, Takayuki Ishikawa, Ryosuke Komori, Kotoku Kurachi, Sumiko Kurachi, Yoshiaki Minegishi, Lynn Miyauchi, Tomio Moriguchi, June Nakamoto, Harry Nomoto, Rakuko Rubin, Akemi Sagawa, Naoko Tajima, Asami Tsuruta
Honorary Advisor: Yoichi Yamada, Tom Brooke, Katsuko Brooke
Japan Fair 2017 Committee
Committee: Yuka Shimizu, Akemi Sagawa, Jeffrey Hattori, Sam Takahashi, Tsutomu (Tom) Sasaki, Eriko (Elly) Baxter
Advisory Committee: Yoshiharu Kurosawa, Nobuyuki Odagiri, Allen Nakamoto, Tomio Moriguchi, Elaine Ikoma Ko, Yoshiaki Minegishi, Naoki Hayasaka, Noriko Palmer, Hiroko Huntoon, Shinji Kokage
Honorary Advisor: Tom Brooke, Katsuko Brooke, Masahiro Omura
Japan Fair 2016 Committee
The Japan Fair 2016 Committee was operating under the auspices of the Eastside Nihon Matsuri Association (legal entity), and 2016 Japan Fair Event is a presentation of Eastside Nihon Matsuri Association (a.k.a. ENMA).
Committee: Allen Nakamoto, Yuka Shimizu, Noriko Palmer, Josh Dwight, Tsutomu (Tom) Sasaki, Eriko (Elly) Baxter,
Advisory Committee: Tom Brooke, Katsuko Brooke, Naoki Hayasaka, Daisaku Izawa, Yoshiharu Kurosawa, Tomio Moriguchi, Jeffrey Hattori, Hiroko Huntoon, Hiroshi Onaka, Shinji Kokage
