Hundreds of keiki flooded Sangha Hall Saturday morning to celebrate Kodomo No Matsuri, a festival all about the children.
The Japanese Community Association of Hawaii, or JCAH, hosted Kodomo No Matsuri, also known as Children’s Day Festival, for the first time in six years.
While the festival is usually biannual, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a pause for JCAH as they navigated putting on a large, free event once again.
“After a six-year hiatus, we are just so happy to be back and putting this on again,” said JCAH director Jan Higashi. “The children love it, but so do some of the adults. The games and crafts keep us young at heart.”
The free event had cultural activities for children, as well as adults, such as sakana tsuri (fish catching), origami, kazeguruma (pinwheels), Japanese children’s games, and several other traditional crafts.
Students from the Hilo High Japanese Club helped keiki make their own personal koinobori using typical household items. The group learned how to make them beforehand in Aya Shehata’s Japanese classes.
“The Japanese Club is all about promoting the culture and bridging the gap between older generations and youth wanting to learn more,” Shehata said. “They come to these kinds of events to learn more, gain connections, give back to the community and share their knowledge with others. It’s always a lot of fun.”
JCAH’s has a similar mission as they work to perpetuate and preserve Japanese culture by presenting events for the entire community.
“We are beginning to transition leadership roles to the younger generation, because we want to continue these cultural traditions for as long as we can,” Higashi said. “This is what JCAH is about and we’re so thankful to everyone who spends their time helping with this free event.”
After Kodomo No Matsuri, Puna Taiko put on a special concert with special guests to celebrate their 20th anniversary. They will also be performing today at 10 a.m. for Keaau High School’s May Day.
Puna Taiko is going strong and continues to offer classes for people of all ages and skill levels. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/punataikoinfo
Those interested in keeping up with JCAH and learning more about perpetuating traditional, Japanese culture, visit jcahawaii.org
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com