Southern California and Arizona Area Cultural Calendar

Free admission to the garden. Unique entertainment and Japanese Happy Hour bar every month.

During the evening of the first Friday of every month the dojo opens its doors to the public to come visit and watch our classes and performers and to try some taiko themselves! Come visit us at our dojo at 925 N.W. Grand Avenue in downtown Phoenix. You can’t miss the building as it has a large red mitsudomoe (pictured) on the south wall.

Want to learn Japanese culture? Practice your Japanese language skills? Or just connect with other people who have your same interests? Our Cool Nihongo gatherings are the perfect place for anyone captivated by Japan, Japanese, and or just the customs and celebrations of a culture outside their own.

Nihongo means “Japanese language” in Japanese. It is pronounced “Knee - Hone - Goh" and just like that, you’ve already learned your first word. In our Cool Nihongo gatherings the teachers give our monthly topic introduction based on the season, etiquette, literature or useful phrases. A handout for you to use and take home for reference is provided! Your teacher’s will help everyone practice together and complete an activity based on the content. There is also time to mingle with your fellow learners if you like. Cool Nihongo guests are encouraged to enjoy their full Garden admission included in the price as well by strolling through our green paths before or after the gathering.

2021 Topics (subject to change):
October: Introductions & Salutations
November: Cultural Day, Shichi Go San
December: Preparing for the New Year
January: After the New Year
February: Girls Festival
March: Flowers of Japan
April: New school year in Japan
May: Golden Week and other holidays in Japan
June: Final gathering and Award Ceremony

General Price: $15. Member Price: $10 (per class). Purchase tickets here.

Tanko Kai tea group of the Urasenke school has been practicing the Way of Tea in our tea house for the past 25 years. Once a month the public is welcomed into this special world to experience the Way of Tea firsthand. Take this rare opportunity to partake in the art form during one of our tea seatings and come away with a new awareness of beauty. ​

Public tea is held one Saturday of each month, October through July and divided into 4 public seatings with 5 seats available at each seating.

The experience includes a tour of the tea garden first where guests will prepare for the tea together. Once inside the tea house guests are guided through a traditional tea ceremony presented by Tanko Kai, in the Urasenke style. Guests will be served matcha (green tea) and a traditional Japanese sweet during the course of the experience as well as learn the proper hand motions and way to drink tea at a gathering. Time to ask questions and further appreciate the experience will be provided before you are encouraged to freely enjoy the rest of our 3.5 acre authentic Japanese Garden.

More information on Chanoyu and details about attending as well as reservations can be found on our chanoyu page here: https://www.japanesefriendshipgarden.org/tea

Purchase tickets here.

Origami is one of Japan’s most exciting contributions to world culture and is now practiced by children, adults, artists and scientists all around the world. Join the Origami Club on First Fridays of every month and learn from local origami enthusiast and skilled folder, Nick Cavallo. We will provide origami paper and the spectacular natural setting of our garden to inspire the creation of flowers, fish, birds and other natural wonders ? all folded from paper.

The Gardena Bonsai Society meets regularly at the Nakaoka Community Center on the first Friday of the month at 7 p.m. The Society is a group for the novice and the experienced bonsai artist, with each meeting being highlighted by demonstrations and lectures. Lessons are also available on Wednesday nights. The Annual Bonsai Show is held on the first weekend of May.

The Kawai Sumi-e Club meets every Tuesday evening from 5:30 p.m. - 9 p.m. at the Nakaoka Community Center. Sumi-e is the Japanese art of black and white painting.

Enjoy a discussion in Japanese about the books you've read or share the latest articles that you've found interesting.

Children, parents, and caregivers, join us for our fun and lively Japanese storytime. Listen to exciting and entertaining stories told in Japanese by our STAR reader.

Learn about the history of Japanese Garden's ceremonial teahouse and the traditions behind its use. Informal tours are offered at 20-minute intervals on the second Monday of every month. General admission; no reservations required.

Come join us as Travis Taft, origami folder extraordinaire, will teach the basics of this stress-busting art. Learn some, craft some, and have a great time!

Master Folder Travis Taft teaches the Japanese art of origami to students of all ages (above 7) and all levels. Travis will host Origami Club the second Thursday of each month at 4:00 p.m.

Join us for a workshop to make origami. Participants will learn about the history of this craft and then make their own origami creations. All supplies will be provided.

Every week, we get together for an informal session, where you can come to practice English or Japanese, socialize about culture, study, or just sit back and relax. All skill levels are welcome! New people show up every week, and we all have a great time. Please be sure to order some food and/or drink so we will continue to be welcomed there. Tell the cashier you are with Japanese Meetup and you'll receive 10% off your order. You can accrue even more savings by using the Fivestars rewards program.

Even though the Storrier Stearns garden is a perfect backdrop for cultural events, festivals and celebrations, Japanese gardens are designed primarily for quiet contemplation and introspection. Our Second Sundays will offer visitors the serenity that has characterized Japanese gardens for centuries, a respite from a hectic world. Chairs and benches will be scattered around the garden and tables will be available for picnics and conversation. Highlighting the day will be tea ceremonies in the Niko-an Teahouse (reserved separately.)

The South Coast Bonsai Association meets the fourth Sunday of most months at South Coast Botanic Garden. For additional information contact Ken Ueda.

The Teahouse is open every second Saturday of the month from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Visitors and members are welcome to experience our ShinKanAn Teahouse and Garden. Trained Teahouse volunteers will be available to share their skills and answer questions about the rich traditions of the Japanese tea ceremony.

The Japan Information & Culture Center at the Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C. has prepared their own educational resources for parents, educators, and those studying Japanese during this time. This page will get updated regularly with new information. View their free coloring book and other resources here!

The Japan Foundation has prepared their own educational resources for parents, educators, and those studying Japanese during this time.

MARUGOTO+ (MARUGOTO Plus) is a website where users can learn about Japanese language and culture based on the contents of the "MARUGOTO: Japanese Language and Culture", the official coursebook of the Japan Foundation, which complies to the JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education.

"KC Yom Yom," created by the Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Kansai, offers free Japanese stories based on the "tadoku" method of learning foreign languages by reading easy books. "Ta (多)" means "a lot" and "doku (読)" means "reading" in Japanese, so tadoku (多読) literally means "read a lot." You can find stories according to your level and listen to each story to improve your listening skills. "NPO Tadoku Supporters" also offers a variety of stories on it website here.

Learn Japanese and English while folding origami. In this video, Origami Tami creates an easy heart origami. To view more of her bilingual origami videos, visit her YouTube channel here.

The Ronin Gallery in NY has set up an online art gallery! In addition to the 6-10 exhibitions featured in our New York gallery, Ronin Gallery also curates weekly online Japanese art exhibitions. Drawing from the wide Ronin collection, our exhibitions range from revered ukiyo-e woodblock print artists to blossoming contemporary talents, artist retrospectives and thematic explorations to antique Japanese paintings. Ronin Gallery invites you to browse our online art gallery and share in our excitement for East Asian art.

Check out the online gallery of the latest teamLab Digitized Nature project! This installation explores how non-material digital technology can turn nature into art without harming it.

The IJC Museum is a virtual museum in the cloud that exhibits the works of remarkable artists representing the Japanese modern art scene. You can view works from all directions with 360-degree freedom and get so close that you can see the subtlest details and even feel the presence of the artists. Artists include Yayoi Kusama, Nerhol, Manabu Ikeda, Tabaimo, Taku Obata, Kohei Nawa, and Hisashi Tenmyouya.

The Studio Ghibli museum has temporarily closed in the efforts of mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in Japan. The museum has released video footage on their YouTube channel of popular rooms in the building such as the prop room used for many of the Ghibli films. Normally, the Ghibli museum does not allow photos or videos to be taken inside the building, so it is the perfect chance to get a look into the museum.

Asia Society's gallery is currently closed, but you can still learn more about the exhibition and explore the works on Asia Society's website. Find images from the exhibition, as well as related podcasts and recordings of lectures. This exhibition is supported through the Exhibitions Abroad Support Program.
Impermanence is a pervasive subject in Japanese thought and art. Through masterpieces of calligraphy, painting, sculpture, ceramics, lacquers, and textiles drawn from two of America’s greatest Japanese art collections, this exhibition examines Japan's unique and nuanced references to transience. Objects span from the Jōmon period to the twentieth century. From images that depict the cycle of the four seasons and red Negoro lacquer worn so it reveals the black lacquer beneath, to the gentle sadness evoked in the words of wistfully written poems, the exhibition demonstrates that much of Japan's greatest art alludes directly or indirectly to the transient nature of life.

Painting Edo at the Harvard Art Museums is a great exhibition that you should not miss. Learn more about the exhibition in their series of videos. The museums have also been active on Facebook and Instagram. This exhibition is supported through the Exhibitions Abroad Support Program.

This groundbreaking exhibition was part of our Japan 2019 project. You can still learn about this show and view all the exhibition objects on the museum's website. The exhibition catalogue is also available online for free.

This gallery located in Melbourne, Australia is offering online and downloadable exhibition resources for student learning experiences about Japanese Modernism in art. They also have virtual tours for other exhibitions in their current collection and video highlights from guest artists!

The University of Oregon’s collection of senjafuda (千社札) is one of the largest in the world! Their digital exhibition focuses on tiny slips of paper that depict Japanese ghosts and monsters known as yōkai (妖怪).

This website provides high definition images of National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties of Japan, owned by four national museums (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum and Kyushu National Museum) belonging to the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage.

The Mori Art Museum is one of the leading contemporary art museums in Tokyo. The museum offers a wide variety of their content online including official photos of installations to past exhibitions.

Chiura Obata (1885–1975) ranks among the most significant California-based artists and Japanese American cultural leaders of the last century. Check out the online gallery of his artwork on their website!

Explore museums all over Tokyo virtually through Google. Some collections include online exhibits, panoramic tours, video clips, and more. There is also an Art Camera available which will allow you to zoom into famous works of art. Washington DC's very own Freer and Sackler Gallery at the National Museum of Asian Art has its own online collection here too!

Adachi Museum of Art: The Adachi Museum of Art houses a collection of modern Japanese art. This museum is known for its magnificent Japanese garden.
Chihiro Art Museum: The Chihiro Art Museum Tokyo is a small gallery in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward dedicated to illustrator Chihiro Iwasaki (1918-1974), a Japanese artist renowned for her paintings and illustrations of flowers and children. Chihiro Art Museum’s virtual tour features three exhibitions, including some of Iwasaki’s most famous works.
Fukuoka Art Museum: From traditional Japanese screens to modern art, the Fukuoka Art Museum has a wide collection of approximately 16,000 works from ancient to contemporary. Enjoy Dali, Miro, Chagall, Tomita Kaisen’s scroll paintings and more.
Fukuoka Asian Art Museum: The Fukuoka Asian Art Museum is the only museum in the world that systematically collects and exhibits Asian modern and contemporary art.
Fukuoka City Museum: The Fukuoka City Museum displays the history of Fukuoka and the lifestyle of the people of the area. The museum’s collection includes a variety of sculptures, masks, and ukiyo-e.
Keio University Library: The Keio University Library has a few unique online ukiyo-e exhibitions, including "Give Me Back My Bonito!" and “Discover Tokyo Through Funny Food Ukiyo-e.”
Kioi Art Gallery, Edo Ise-Katagami Kimono Museum: Ise-katagami is the Japanese craft of making paper stencils for dyeing textiles. This museum boasts over 5,000 stencils from the Edo to the Showa periods.
Kobe City Museum: The Kobe City Museum owns nearly 70,000 objects, including a National Treasure comprising 21 items and 6 important Cultural Assets comprising 74 items. The museum includes textiles, silks and screens from the Edo period.
Kobe Fashion Museum: This is the first museum in Japan to specialize in fashion. Enjoy haute couture, textiles, costumes, and other fashion styles from European and Japanese fashion history.
Kyoto National Museum: The Kyoto National Museum is one of Japan's oldest and most distinguished museums. The museum's main focus is pre-modern Japanese art.
Kyoto Prefectural Domoto-Insho Museum of Fine Arts: The works of Insho Domoto (1891-1975), the great Nihonga painter, are preserved and displayed in the museum. The museum is dedicated to his work and features his traditional Japanese paintings to abstract paintings.
Mie Prefectural Art Museum: The Mie Prefectural Art Museum showcases are from the Edo period onward by artists who were either natives of Mie or had a close relationship with Mie, paintings from the Meiji period onward that show the development of modern oil paintings in Japan, or paintings by foreign artists who exerted a strong influence over modern Japanese art, and sketches, studies, watercolors, and other documents that give insight into the creative undertakings of key artists. After Mie Prefecture and Valencia, Spain became sister cities in 1992, the museum also began collecting works by important Spain artists.
MOA Museum of Art: The Mokichi Okada Association Museum of Art promotes a wide range of art and cultural activities. This museum in particular focuses on Rinpa, one of the major historical schools of Japanese paintings.
Museum of the Sakitama Ancient Burial Mounds: This museum has been actively involved in the preservation and maintenance of the Sakitama Kofun Cluster, a nationally designated historical site consisting of ancient burial bounds. View the burial accessories that were discovered at the burial mound of the Inariyama Kofun as well as earthenware called haniwa.
Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum: At 11:02 a.m. on August 9, 1945, the sky above Nagasaki was filled by a white flash, and all the clocks stopped. A gigantic mushroom-shaped cloud soared up towards the blue sky. The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum displays a collection of photographs documenting the damage from the bombing.
National Museum of Nature and Science: Enjoy exhibits on anthropology and natural history including the dinosaur evolution, mining, and medicine in Japan.
The Kyoto Costume Institute: The Kyoto Costume Institute collects and preserves outstanding examples of western clothing through the centuries, as well as the historical items related to this area of study. Enjoy seeing different fashion pieces throughout the centuries.
The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma: This museum features ancient Japanese and Chinese art, and a group of works by artists born in Gunma, including Fukuzawa Ichiro, Yamaguchi Kaoru, and Tsuruoka Masao. It also contains a wide range of modern Japanese and modern Western art, contemporary art and textile.
The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama: This museum is the first art museum the architect Kurokawa Kisho designed. It displays a collection of fine artworks from modern Western masters to contemporary Japanese artists.
The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka: This ceramics museum commemorates the donation of the world-renowned "Ataka Collection" by the 21 companies of the Sumitomo Group. There are various ceramics from around the world located here.
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo: The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo is the foremost museum collecting and exhibiting modern Japanese art.
The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo was built to house the Matsukata Collection, which includes many Impressionist paintings and Rodin's sculptures.
Sagawa Art Museum: The Sagawa Art Museum is home to Raku ware, a type of Japanese pottery traditionally used during tea ceremonies. The collection includes pottery, clay, ceramic and rock pieces.
Sankeien Garden: The Sankeien Garden is a spacious Japanese garden created by Sankei Hara, a successful Yokohama businessman who had built a fortune through his silk business. Enjoy cultural artifacts as well as taking a stroll through the Japanese garden.
Sekido Museum of Art: Sekido Museum of Art was founded in April 2006 to promote international cultural exchange and mutual understanding through artcraft and to enhance Japanese culture. The museum's collection is built upon a group of works collected by Senju Satoh and features clay and ceramic pieces with intricate patterns.
Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art: The Shizuoka City Tokaido Hiroshige Museum of Art focuses on the works of Edo Ukiyo-e artist, Utagawa Hiroshige. Some of Hiroshige's masterpieces include Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido, Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido and One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. Enjoy the internationally loved Ukiyo-e works from Edo to the present here.
Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art: The Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art displays various paintings to Mount Fuji as well as screen, canvas, and sculpture pieces.
Tachibana Museum: The Tachibana Museum houses cultural properties passed down to the Tachibana family that controlled the Yanagawa clan throughout the Edo Period. The museum displays items that convey the history of the Tachibana family: from a suit of armor that once belonged to family ancestor and first feudal lord of Yanagawa, Muneshige Tachibana, to gold and silver lacquer dispatch boxes, cosmetic utensils and Noh theater costumes.
Tokyo Fuji Art Museum: The Tokyo Fuji Art Museum collection is comprised of some 30,000 Japanese, Eastern and Western artworks, ranging from paintings, prints, photograpy, sculptures, ceramics and lacquer ware to armor, swords and medallions of various periods and cultures.
Tokyo National Museum: The Tokyo National Museum is perhaps the oldest and largest art museum in Japan. This museum collects, houses, and displays a comprehensive collection of art works and antiquities from Japan as well as other Asian countries.
Yamatane Museum of Art: The Yamatane Museum of Art is Japan's first museum dedicated to Nihonga (Japanese-style paintings).

The Hanshin Electric Railway has collaborated with MofuMofuDo illustrators to create coloring books featuring iconic locations in Osaka and Kobe. Currently, there are 10 free coloring books available for download!

Itching to visit Japan? Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 coronavirus, we're all staying put indoors. However, with these 360-degree virtual-reality YouTube videos from Simbosi, you can 'travel' through Japan without a plane ticket. Each video puts you in a different destination in Japan – go from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo to Kyushu down south, then follow up with a trip to Japan's traditional crown jewel, Kyoto. Keep an eye out for historical facts in some of the videos – it's like having your own virtual tour guide.

Explore street views of some of the world's most scenic sakura spots as recommended by local reviewers on Google Maps. Each spot has descriptions and personal quotes from local guides.

National Cherry Blossom Festival
Like the spirit of Japan-U.S. friendship, the gift of cherry blossoms lives on. This year's National Cherry Blossom Festival is being held as a Virtual Festival, with countless videos and activities that bring the festivities to you. Take a tour of the Tidal Basin during peak bloom or explore activities for kids. As a special treat, the festival includes personally recorded videos by Japanese performers, including Naotaro Moriyama, Anna Sato x Toshiyuki Sasaki, and White Out Tokyo!

JFNY Literary Series invites notable writers in Japanese literature and their translators to discuss their work, speak on the art of translation, and touch upon the current literary scene in Japan.

This session will feature Sayaka Murata and her translator Ginny Tapley Takemori, moderated by literary critic John Freeman. Murata is an Akutagawa Prize-winning writer and the author of Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings, both of which were translated by Takemori.

The English publications of Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings were supported through the Support Program for Translation and Publication on Japan.

Amy Stanley, professor of history at Northwestern University, introduces the vibrant social and cultural life of early nineteenth-century Japan through the story of an irrepressible woman named Tsuneno, who defied convention to make a life for herself in the big city of Edo (now Tokyo) in the decades before the arrival of Commodore Perry and the fall of the shogunate.

The full play GOLD HILL SAMURAI is now showing on the Sierra Community Access Television YouTube Channel. (140 minutes) This original play written by Placerville's Jamie Van Camp was performed at American River Conservancy WakamatsuFest150 one year ago. This is the story of the first settlement in America by Japanese immigrants in 1869. This video also headlines the SCA-TV2 YT Wakamatsu/American River Conservancy Playlist which includes SCA-TV2 videos of prior year events at the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony, El Dorado County, CA.

NHK has partnered up with the Tokyo National Museum's to produce a radio series that delves into the history of Japanese relics and artifacts. You can listen to detailed descriptions and the origin of each art piece while looking at their online gallery.

The New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra is a symphony orchestra founded in 1972 and based in Tokyo. They are known for their collaborations with video games such as Super Smash Bros. Melee, Kingdom Hearts, and the Resident Evil series. They also worked on Studio Ghibli soundtrack productions with Joe Hisaishi like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle!

Discover Japanese daily life, food, history, sake and even ghost stories through these engaging podcasts. Featured podcasts include Japan Eats, Uncanny Japan, History of Japan, Voices in Japan, and Sake on Air.

Ted Matson, curator of The Huntington’s bonsai collections, used to be a writer. Whenever he felt writer’s block coming on, he would visit his personal collection of bonsai trees, do a little pruning and pinching and enter a “flow state."

Inevitably, the solution he was seeking would pop into his head. To help us grapple with the frustrations of coronavirus stay-at-home orders, host Giovana Romano Sanchez escorts us deep into the practice of bonsai for a lesson in patience, the concept of time, and respect for the pace of nature in this inaugural episode of the Hear and Now at The Huntington podcast.

Enjoy the contemplative nature of a Japanese tea ceremony through sound as Robert Hori, gardens cultural curator, performs the traditional ritual and discusses the intricacies of this venerable art form.

For a limited time only, the New Yorker has made several short stories penned by Haruki Murakami free to read! You can also view another translated short story of his here.

Table for Two has partnered up with Wa-Shokuiku to offer a free a online course! You can learn the principles of Japanese cuisine and food culture, and gain the skills to prepare healthy, nutritious foods to strengthen your bodies and minds.

Take a free course on Japanese Books with materials being drawn from Harvard University's extensive collections. Topics include notable Japanese books and scrolls, binding techniques, and visual storytelling in premodern Japan.