The
Japan America Society of San Antonio,
or JASSA, was established in 1985 to
foster increased understanding and cooperation between
the citizens of San Antonio and the citizens of Japan.
As a non-profit, educational and cultural group it has
tried in numerous ways to make Japanese culture become
better known in San Antonio.
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Kensuke Ota Piano
Concert |
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Kensuke Ota will give a free performance at San
Fernando Cathedral on Sunday, July 25 at 6:30 pm. He
is a phenomenal, award winning pianist and also a
recent graduate of Tokyo University having completed
his PhD in High Temperature / Superconduction
Physics. He currently works in Research &
Development with Toshiba in Tokyo. JASSA is
considering a social event to follow the concert.
View a video of him.
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JASSA Presents
Donation to Kumamoto En
JASSA presented a check for $1,000 to Mr Bob
Brackman, Director of the
San Antonio Botanical
Gardens, at the Kumamoto-En day on May 8. |
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Each
year, JASSA holds a Japanese Matsuri,
or festival, in October featuring an array of music,
dance, foods, arts and crafts, martial arts, tea ceremony,
flower arrangement, and miniature bonsai trees. It
responds to many requests from schools to provide all
of these same kinds of cultural activities for classes,
clubs, and assemblies.
JASSA
regularly participates in the Annual Asian
New Year Festival and the
Texas
Folk Life Festival to bring Japanese foods,
cultural items, and activities to thousands of people.
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Through
its Sister City Committee it has assisted with visiting
groups and individuals who have come to San Antonio
from Kumamoto. This has included meeting and greeting
them at the airport, hosting pot luck dinners, serving
as the rooting section for baseball teams, assisting
TV and other reporters with stories, helping with translation
for gardeners, and arranging for large groups of volunteers
to assist at the Kumamoto Fair.
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The
San Antonio Museum of Art
hosts the largest collection of Asian Arts in the
Southern half of the United States. The Lenora and
Walter F. Brown Asian Art Wing contains 15,000
square feet of Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and Korean
exhibits and artifacts. (Link)
It
regularly assists the office of the Consulate General in
Houston with the Japanese Speech Contest
at three of the four year intervals when it is San Antonio’s
turn to host the event. In other years, it encourages
participation in the contest and helps to find qualified
native speakers to serve as judges.
In
support of
Kumamoto En, the
Japanese garden at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens,
it has been an active participant in the Garden’s
annual
Viva Botanica, and
has been the co-sponsor of Kumamoto En Day
by providing Japanese foods, calligraphy, origami, miniature
sand garden construction, and tours of the Japanese
garden. Any profits from these activities are donated
to the Botanical Society to help support and maintain
Kumamoto En. |
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The
Hoshuko, or weekend school,
is supported and operated by the Japanese Companies
Association primarily so that Japanese children who
are here temporarily will not fall far behind in their
studies. The curriculum followed is that of the Japanese
Ministry of Education. JASSA
has helped to publicize the school and includes the
students in performance at its events, especially the
Matsuri.
Meetings
of the Society are an opportunity to gather with others
who are interested in Japan and its culture, whether
it is for planning, networking, or just the chance to
visit in English and Japanese with others who share
that heritage. |
Member of the 
