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  • Food Vendors

    Food Vendors

    COM: 1st Floor +3 more

    Feast on authentic Japanese foods, snacks, drinks, and other goodies.

  • KC Japan Fest Stamp Passport

    Stamp Passport

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    Pick up a Passport Postcard at the info table on MTC 2nd floor, collect all 8 Mask Stamps throughout the festival, and return to be entered to win prizes!

  • Kimono Display

    Woven in Time: The Enduring Legacy of the Kimono Exhibit

    RC: 2nd Floor

    Step into the beauty and tradition of Japan’s most iconic garment. Explore exquisite kimono styles—from elegant to casual—and learn about the intricate accessories and artistry that give each piece meaning.

  • Ikebana Display

    Ikebana Display

    MTC: 1st Floor

    Ikebana is the art of Japanese flower arrangement. Take time to enjoy the Ikebana displays provided by members of the Sogetsu School.

  • Ikebana Exhibit

    Ikebana Exhibit

    RC: 1st Floor

    This exhibit of the beautiful art of Ikebana will give everyone an opportunity to see both traditional and contemporary styles of this distinctively Japanese art form.

  • bonsai

    Bonsai and Suiseki Display

    SC: 1st Floor

    The Bonsai Society will provide an exhibition of a wide variety of bonsai styles and plant materials for our Festival again this year. Society members will be at the exhibit to answer questions and demonstrate how plants are pruned, shaped, trained and wired.

  • Japanese Torii Gate

    Torii Gate Entryway to the Festival

    MTC: 1st Floor

    The large Torii Gate that leads all visitors into the Festival is a large model of one of the most famous Torii Gates in all of Japan at the Itsukushima Shrine near Hiroshima.

  • Japanese Bazaar Shopping Extravaganza

    Japanese Bazaar Shopping

    OCB: 1st Floor

    You can shop for unique Japanese crafts, Kimono, yukata, happi coats, kokeshi dolls, games, books, Japanese serving ware, ceramics (sake sets and tea sets) and much more.

  • Kids at the Cultural Village

    Kids Cultural Village and Bazaar

    MTC: 1st Floor

    Featured again at this year’s Festival is the Japanese Cultural Village operated by the Kansas City Japanese School. Young and old attendees will be entertained with many opportunities to experience the “real” Japan here in Kansas City.

  • KC Japan Fest Vendor Booths

    Vendor Booths

    RC: 1st Floor +4 more

    Throughout the festival, shop artist and merch booths and find information from organizations and sponsors! 

  • Hidden Ninja Taiko

    Hidden Ninja Taiko

    OCB: Fountain Square (outside)

    Hidden Ninja Taiko will offer Taiko workshops throughout the day, as well as short performance sets. 

  • Yukata and Kimono Kitsuke Portraits

    MTC: 1st Floor

    Volunteers will dress you in authentic Kimono or Yukata and take your picture with your camera/phone in front of a Japanese Backdrop.

  • Opening Ceremony

    MTC: Yardley Hall

    The Opening Ceremonies will include music, introduction and remarks by distinguished guests and the ritual of Kagami-wari – the breaking of a sake barrel and toast to open the festival.

  • Anime Screening: Princess Tutu

    Nerman: 2nd Floor

    Princess Tutu is a dark, metaphorical fairy tale and magical girl anime about a duck named Ahiru who, granted a pendant by the mysterious Drosselmeyer, can transform into the ballerina Princess Tutu.

  • A Look at Japanese Game Shows on American Television

    GEB: 2nd Floor

    In this presentation, Joshua Murphy will look at Japanese Game and Variety Shows and their effect on the American television landscape. Takeshi’s Castle, Ninja Warrior, Ultra Quiz, Shark Tank and America’s Funniest Home videos are some of the shows that will be discussed and seen in this panel.

  • Go and Shoji Game

    The Games of Go and Shogi

    GEB: 2nd Floor

    Come to this workshop to play actual games, see demonstrations and competition games, and hear a brief discussion of the history and rules of “go” and “shogi.”

  • Fun with Japanese for Kids

    MTC: 1st Floor

    In this beginning workshop, kids will learn to say various everyday phrases and how to read some basic Japanese, all through fun activities.

  • The Noh Mask Reimagined: From Tradition to the Mona Lisa: Lecture by Dr. Kris Imants Ercums. Mask Image Credit: Bidou Yamaguchi | Artist

    The Noh Mask Reimagined: From Tradition to the Mona Lisa

    Featured
    MTC: 2nd Floor

    This talk, by Dr. Kris Imants Ercums, explores the transformation of tradition in the art of Noh mask carving, focusing on masks from the Spencer Museum of Art’s collection and the contemporary work of master carver Bidou Yamaguchi.

  • Anime Screening: Senryu Girl

    Nerman: 2nd Floor

    Senryu Girl is a Japanese comedy anime and manga series about Nanako Yukishiro, a cheerful high school girl who communicates solely through written Senryu poems instead of speaking.

  • Tea Ceremony Demonstration at the Greater Kansas City Japan Festival

    Tea Ceremony Lecture & Demonstration

    Featured
    MTC: Polsky Theatre

    Experience a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony, performed by Japanese Tea Masters Yoko Hiraoka and Yuri Iijima. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the history and practice of the Tea Ceremony.

  • Samurai Armor Lecture

    MTC: 1st Floor

    Jimmy Forred's lecture will focus on the history of Japanese armor leading up to the modern era.

  • Masked Superheroes in Japan. Image Credit: Choudenshi Bioman (1984)

    Masked Superheroes in Japan

    GEB: 2nd Floor

    From Moonlight Mask (Gekko Kamen) to Super Sentai bands of fighters in Ultraman, masked Superheroes have been a staple of Japanese television. What lies behind their masks?

  • Origami Workshop

    Beginners Origami Workshop

    GEB: 2nd Floor

    Fold and build the simple – bit impressive – Sonobe cube. No complicated squash, rabbit ear, or petal folds are involved!

  • Karuta for Kids. Source: Takahiro Maruyama

    Karuta for Kids

    MTC: 1st Floor

    Kids will learn how to play Karuta, traditional Japanese playing cards that feature Japanese proverbs and kana characters. 

  • Taiko Workshop

    Taiko Workshop

    Featured
    MTC: Yardley Hall

    Learn all about Taiko drumming from members of Three Trails Taiko. This is a hands-on workshop for those wanting to learn the basics of Taiko drumming.

  • Kendo Workshop

    Kendo Workshop

    OCB: Fountain Square (outside)

    Learn the martial art of Kendo in this outdoor workshop, using a bamboo sword called a shinai.

  • Tanka Workshop

    Tanka Workshop

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    Learn the art of Tanka, a Japanese poem consisting of five lines.

  • Lecture: the Masks of Kagura Musume

    Lecture: The Masks of Kagura Musume

    Featured
    MTC: 2nd Floor

    In this fascinating lecture, dancer Asuka Iijima unveils the history, artistry, and cultural significance of the masks featured in her performance of Kagura Musume.

  • Street Nihonga: The Art of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani

    Street Nihonga: The Art of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani

    GEB: 2nd Floor

    Dr. Maki Kaneko will discuss "Street Nihonga: The Art of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani", an exhibit presenting the remarkable art of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani (1920–2012), a Japanese American artist who adapted his training in traditional Japanese painting to his life on the streets of New York City when he was unhoused later in life.

  • Japanese Language for Beginners

    Japanese Language Workshop for Beginners

    MTC: 1st Floor

    Attend a Japanese language workshop to learn about the Japanese language, and with the aid of the instructor, learn some basics of the language.

  • Anime Screening: Shirobako

    Nerman: 2nd Floor

    Shirobako is an anime series centered on five ambitious high school friends who vow to work in the anime industry together, only to find the reality of the business challenging and stressful.

  • Japanese Religion and the Supernatural

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    In this presentation, Dr. Sarah Aptilon will delve into supernatural beliefs in Japanese culture and their connection to Shinto and Buddhism.

  • Tessenjutsu - Martial Arts Fan Workshop

    Tessenjutsu – Martial Arts Fan Workshop

    OCB: Fountain Square (outside)

    This outdoor workshop focuses on Tessenjutsu (鉄扇術), or “iron fan technique” – the martial art of the Japanese war fan (tessen).

  • bonsai

    Miniature Trees: An Introduction to the Ancient Art of Bonsai

    SC: 1st Floor

    This presentation will provide a general overview of the many aspects in practicing the art of Bonsai, including Chinese and Japanese origins, philosophy, and description of design styles, tools, general horticulture procedures, pot selection and the design process.

  • Children's Mikoshi Parade

    Children’s Mikoshi Parade

    MTC: Courtyard (outside)

    Participating in the parade, students from the Saturday Kansas City Japanese School will carry a traditional-style festival float, accompanied by taiko performers.

  • Screening: JCCC Japanese Shorts Festival

    Nerman: 2nd Floor

    Watch fourteen original Japanese-language shorts created by Japanese language students at schools in Kansas and Missouri. Topics of the shorts included a historically factual samurai assassination, the adventures of a team of ghost hunters, an unsuccessful cloning experiment, magical teleporting bedroom slippers, an illustration of Kawaii girl culture, the renewed inspiration of a music student, a murder by a demon cat, the guilt of a careless pet sitter, talking horses in the news, a magical teleporting doorway, a skeletal clothes salesman who upsets a witch, a parody of the JSF itself, an original love song, and a philosophical lesson about stoicism.

  • Influence of Western Fantasy Gaming on Japanese Anime, Novels & Manga. Image: Main characters for the novel Record of Lodoss War: The Grey Witch. Illustrated by Yutaka Izubuchi.

    Influence of Western Fantasy Gaming on Japanese Anime, Novels & Manga

    Nerman: 2nd Floor

    This talk will cover the introduction of Dungeons and Dragons into Japan, leading to the creation of the Record of Lodoss War novelization, Anime, and then Sword World and how these early influences have affected modern anime world-building, writing, and style.

  • Tatsumaki Yosakoi Dance Club: Yosakoi Dance Workshop

    Yosakoi Dance Workshop

    MTC: Polsky Theatre

    Enjoy trying the Yosakoi style of dance, which is highly energetic and combines traditional Japanese dance movements with modern music.

  • Feature Film Anime Screening: A Letter to Momo

    Nerman: 2nd Floor

    A Letter to Momo is a Japanese anime drama film about 11-year-old Momo, who moves to a remote island after her father's death and discovers she is being watched by three hungry, visible-only-to-her goblins, leading to an adventure that helps her cope with grief and her mother's absence.

  • Monster Mask Origami

    Monster Mask Origami

    GEB: 2nd Floor

    In this intermediate workshop, participants will use their folding skills to make Monster Mask Origami.

  • Their Land is Still a Forest: Ainu in Contemporary Japan. Image: Hokkaido, Japan - Shiraoi Ainu Museum is one of the country's best museums about the Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan.

    Their Land is Still a Forest: Ainu in Contemporary Japan

    GEB: 2nd Floor

    This presentation is a reflection of the famous works of "Our Land Was a Forest: An Ainu Memoir" by Kayano Shigeru, a noted Ainu folklore expert, activist and politician as a lens to explore the persisting myths and lifestyles of the indigenous Ainu of northern Japan in contemporary times.

  • Zen Meditation Workshop

    Zen Meditation Workshop

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    In this workshop, we will explore the basics of Zen meditation and how to practice it.

  • The Dance of Kagura Musume: Princess of Masks, Performed by Asuka Iijima

    The Dance of Kagura Musume: Princess of Masks

    Featured
    MTC: Yardley Hall

    In this performance, master dancer Asuka Iijima brings to life the tale of Kagura Musume, the maiden princess of the Shinto festival, and dons five different masks, each transforming her dance and identity into a new character: the beautiful princess, the fearsome eight-headed serpent, the mighty Shinto god of storm and sea, and the comical duo Hyottoko and Okame.

  • Kizuna Friendship Group

    Kizuna Friendship Group: Dance Workshop

    MTC: Polsky Theatre

    The Kizuna Friendship group will hold a workshop showcasing authentic Japanese dances, and how to wear yukata.

  • Introduction to Martial Arts

    MTC: Polsky Theatre

    An introduction to Martial Arts demonstrations being given at the festival. 

  • Himawari Japanese Choir

    MTC: Yardley Hall

    Himawari is a local choral group in which members enjoy experiencing Japanese culture and tradition through singing Japanese songs.

  • Zuihitsu, Haibun, and New Possibilities of Genre. Image: hand dipping brush in ink.

    Zuihitsu, Haibun, and New Possibilities of Genre

    GEB: 2nd Floor

    Zuihitsu is a form of writing in which the writer “follows the brush” and writes associatively, and Haibun, a form of travel writing that includes a short prose piece describes an object scene or special moment coupled with a haiku poem, allows students to explore alternative genres to record the precision of their observations and thinking.

  • Kendo Demonstration at the Greater Kansas City Japan Festival

    Kendo Demonstration

    MTC: Polsky Theatre

    The art of Kendo derives from sword skills developed by the samurai of the 12th century called Kenjutsu. During the 14th to 16th centuries, accomplished swordsmen opened schools to teach the art of the sword.

  • Japanese Garden Design

    Japanese Garden Design

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    Koji Morimoto will show how to balance all aspects of a Japanese garden and explain the techniques and principles of making an outdoor living space.

  • Kenjutsu Demonstration

    MTC: Polsky Theatre

    Kenjutsu-Marishiten-kai Martial Arts Demonstration.

  • Tatsumaki Yosakoi Dance Club

    Yosakoi Dance Club Performance

    Featured
    MTC: Yardley Hall

    Yosakoi is a unique style of dance that is highly energetic, combining traditional Japanese dance movements with modern music.

  • Anime Screening: Flying Witch

    Nerman: 2nd Floor

    Flying Witch is a gentle, supernatural, slice-of-life anime and manga about 15-year-old witch Makoto Kowata, who moves from the city to the Japanese countryside of Aomori Prefecture to live with her cousins and train as a full-fledged witch.

  • Good Luck in Japan

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    In this talk by Dr. Alisa Freedman, learn more about Japanese lucky myths, gods, creatures, charms, holidays, and rituals and how they inspire us in the US.

  • Karate Demonstration

    Karate Demonstration: Do Ryobu-Kai

    MTC: Polsky Theatre

    A demonstration of the martial art Karate from Fabio Rodriguez of Japan Karate Do Ryobu-Kai.

  • Kanji Made Easy

    MTC: 1st Floor

    Is it possible to learn to read Kanji in less than a year? Try out the Heisig method of Kanji acquisition in this fast-paced and fun session.

  • Iaido Demonstration

    MTC: Polsky Theatre

    A demonstration of the martial art of Iaido.

  • Aikido Demonstration by Neil Segal of Aikijuku Dojo

    Aikido Demonstration: Aikijuku Dojo

    MTC: Polsky Theatre

    Aikido Demonstration by Neil Segal of Aikijuku Dojo: techniques containing mostly blocks, locks and takedowns by the proper use of grappling techniques.

  • Kaibyou - Supernatural Cats of Japan

    Kaibyou – Supernatural Cats of Japan

    MTC: 2nd Floor

    Davisson’s presentation, like his book, will illuminate the vast realm of kaibyo, or supernatural cats, with historical and modern cultural context.

  • Kizuna Friendship Group

    Kizuna Friendship Group: Obon Dance

    Featured
    MTC: Yardley Hall

    Kizuna showcases authentic Japanese culture at local events through performances, obon dances, tea ceremonies, and showing people how to wear yukata.

  • Naka-Kon Cosplay Parade

    Cosplay Fashion Show and Contest

    Featured
    MTC: Polsky Theatre

    Come to Polsky Theatre and enjoy a Cosplay Fashion Show and Contest. Prizes will be awarded to the top three winners.