6th Annual Japan Week at Bellevue College 

Bellevue College presents Japan Week with events open to the public on Saturday, Sept. 24. A range of performances will be featured, including Japanese music, dance, drumming, exhibits and demonstrations of calligraphy, flower arranging, tea ceremony, haiku, origami, martial arts, and folktale storytelling. For a complete list of public performances, lectures, workshops, and contests, visit the Japan Week website.    

The annual cultural festival is organized by the BC Japanese Culture Exchange Club with support from the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle and over 200 volunteers.  

“Japan Week has been put together by students who are motivated to learn more about Japanese culture,” said BC faculty member Anne Matsumoto Stewart, the club’s advisor. “It’s gratifying to see these students working to provide the wider BC community with such a valuable cultural event.” 

This year’s theme comes from the Japanese kanji “susumu,” which means to “progress or advance.” It’s fitting given that the last two Japan Weeks were held as virtual events due to the pandemic. “We have to keep moving forward, and we have to do it together as a community,” said Stewart. “It’s the only way we grow.”