Japanese Culture in Tucson
Wednesday, 19 October 2011 19:11
When people think about international culture in Tucson, they tend to think of Mexico. However, Tucson is not all about Mexico. Tucson has a variety of cultures because people come to Tucson from all over the world to study at of the University of Arizona and other international institutions. People here live in a melting pot of cultures. Isn't Tucson a mysterious city?
While few in number, there are some Japanese people in Tucson, and Japanese culture exists, too. Many Tucsonans might not be aware of it, which is probably the reason why Tucson Meet Yourself is held every year. Tucson Meet Yourself was held in Downtown Tucson last Saturday. It's a cultural festival in Tucson that presents many ethnic groups from all over the world. Of course, Japanese culture was represented, too.
It’s probably not common for most people to know the word, shodo. It's a Japanese word. In English, it means calligraphy. Calligraphy is very popular in many countries, not only in Japan, such as Korea, China and Saudi Arabia, just to name few.
Akiko Victorson studied calligraphy in Japan until she came to America for marriage. She practiced it for more than 10 years, so her skills were very developed. She asked people's names and demonstrated how to write them in Japanese with her skills of calligraphy. “Oh beautiful,” one girl told her while Victorson was writing her name, Jessica.
“Tucson is very hot,” she said. “But I like this weather. It's better than Japan. But I love Japan, too. I hope many people would understand Japanese culture. I'm more than happy if people happen to love Japan more after seeing this shodo demonstration.”
Japanese food was also popular at Tucson Meet Yourself. The Japanese Association of Tucson opened their own stand for the first time in the long history of Tucson Meet Yourself.
This year was special. Last March, a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, and it destroyed the lives of many people. But many countries helped Japan in a lot of ways. The Japanese Association of Tucson wanted to do the same. After some thought, they constructed a plan to introduce delicious Japanese food and send money to Japan.
Yoshie Schneider was especially glad that people were helping Japan. “My hometown is in Iwate” Schneider said. “The earthquake destroyed everything there. I went there after it happened and saw the devastation. I couldn’t say anything. I’m really happy that everyone is doing this to help Japan.”
Video
Thank You for All Your Support
Hope for Japan
Takoyaki and Obanyaki
Takoyaki
Gyudon
Meixcan Culture and Japanese Food
Money for Japan
Written by Sano Yujiro You are reading Japanese Culture in Tucson articles
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