50th Annual Sakura Matsuri

The last major event of the National Cherry Blossom festival this year's Sakura Matsuri, or Japanese Street Market was a hit.


The market was set up on Pennsylvania Avenue between 10th and 14th streets. People filled the street, some dressed as their favorite anime characters. Every where there were booths that advertised products from all parts of Japanese culture.


Cyrus Norgard was volunteering at the information tent set up on 12th and Pennsylvania. "I found out about the festival while I was taking some Japanese classes down at George Mason in Fairfax. I started in 2007 then I came back in 2009 and this year."

When he's not volunteering Norgard enjoys just walking around the market. "I don't have a favorite vendor; I just like walking around. This is the one time of the year when year when you can see people wearing kimonos."

People wearing kimonos is a common sight during the Matsuri. There was even a tent where people could try on traditional kimonos and take pictures.



Vendors from D.C. As well as New York City were in attendance. A bookstore, Kinokui Niya, was selling beautiful fans along with books for children and adults. Other vendors sold a variety of products from Sake and Japanese food to pearls and furniture.


There was also a children's corner on 13th and Pennsylvania avenue. The kids were able to make arts and crafts, get their faces painted or just play.

There were three performances stages set up to entertain festival goers. Orientarhythm, a group from Japan, did an exciting dance with bright red nun chucks combining martial arts and hip hop. After their performance they took questions from the audience via a translator.

The Japan-America Society of Washington D.C. But there were other organizations that were present at the Matsuri.

Kathleen Emerson-Dell, the assistant curator of National Bonsai and Penjing Museum, was working is the National Arboretum's tent during the Matsuri.

Dell has worked the festival for the past five years and watched it expand and attract more visitors and higher quality vendors. She also added that this year has been the best weather. "Some years I've been here with my hat and long underwear on; other years it's just been too hot."

There is an even larger collection and variety of flowering cherry trees. They we're donated to the Arboretum during the bicentennial in 1976, creating the first Bonsai museum in the world. There wasn't even one in Japan at the time.

Dell said employees of the arboretum encourage people to come to the festival but also to come out to the arboretum and see all the other Bonsai and cherry trees growing there.

Hundreds of thousands of people visited the Sakura Matsuri. Many travel from long distances to see the festival and the market. Kathy Jung, traveled from West Virginia to support some of her friends who were taking pictures with Matsuri attendees dressed as Hello Kitty and Geisha. This was her first time coming to D.C. for the festival and she was enjoying herself.

The 50th annual Sakura Matsuri was just as successful as expected. Considering the volume of visitors the market attracts the Japan-American Society has already begun to plan for next year's event which is set to take place on April 9, 2011.