On March 13th and 20th this year, Lindenwood University hosted Shodo, Kado and Chado sessions to help educate people on traditional Japanese culture. The event was a success and recorded in the video below.
St. Louis Fude no Kai was founded on January 2017, in response to the energy and passion of Seiran Chiba, a Japanese calligrapher from Fukushima. Seiran has visited St. Louis every year since 2013 to participate in the Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Fude no Kai meets once a month. In addition to the Japanese language-based Thursday sessions, we are now offering English-friendly sessions on the second Saturday of each month. If you are new to the Japanese calligraphy and English instructions are preferred, please come to the Saturday sessions. Everyone is welcome to try this ancient art! (Saturday sessions are also open to those who are not able to come on Thursdays.)
On May 2nd, 2024, Fude no Kai with support from the Japan America Society, hosted "Calligraphy with Seiran" in which 30 people attended, making the event a success.
The Japan America Society of St. Louis continues its study scholarship for the second year. To apply, applicants must complete this form by February 25, 2024.
This scholarship is offered to support study in Japan. and could be used for a high-school exchange trip, a university semester abroad, or even a course of independent study. As long as there is a clear educational objective, we will consider the application.
We are again partnering with Missouri Botanical Garden (MOBOT) to bring you Sake and Sakura on April 5, 2024. Tickets and more information are available on the MOBOT website.
Join the Japanese tradition of o-hanami (flower viewing) under the lush beauty of blooming cherry trees (sakura) by sipping sake. Specialists will be on hand to guide your sake sampling adventure. Attendees will receive a keepsake masu tasting cup and will have the rare opportunity to explore the Japanese Garden's Teahouse Island.
Some samples are included in the admission, but additional sake and traditional Japanese cuisine will also be available for purchase. This event is for guests age 21 and older, obviously.
The Sake Cocktail Contest we inaugurated last year will return on April 15, 2024!
Bartenders in MO and IL are encouraged to submit your creations by March 14, 2024. See this submission guide for rules and links to the submission form.
The event will be held at Platypus in The Grove and will feature a panel of 4 judges, cash prizes, and tons of fun! Look for tickets to go on sale soon.
We had a great kick-off to our "Sake Tasting Sandbox Series" on Thursday at Parker's Table. Originally limited to just 20 seats, we had such a positive response we expanded and eventually had 27 people registered!
Attendees tasted 5 different sakes from different regions of Japan. Professional sommelier Patricia Wamhoff led a deep-dive into the world of sake, including history, nomenclature, grades, production methods, flavors profiles, and much more.
Thanks to Lohr Distributing and Darryl Vennard of Vine Connections for their help in acquiring the delicious sakes and in supporting this event, and especially to the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership for funding our sake tasting series.
We were excited to co-sponsor the Red Lantern Night Market put on by Izakaya Club on June 11 and 12. The market exceeded all expectations, selling out the capacity of 350 people each night ahead of the event.
Japan America Society of St. Louis provided three of the most popular experiences of the event. Guests stood in line for hours to have their fortunes told by Dr. Chikako Usui, who provided uranaishi (street-side fortune teller) services. Yuko Kitajima's Matcha Society (Ai-Ko-Kai) of St. Louis performed tea ceremony demonstrations in the venue's small jail cells-turned-chashitsu. They always had a line to get in and sold out both nights! And Hiroko Yoshii demonstrated shodo to guests into the wee hours of the morning.
Izakaya Club is sharing proceeds from the event with JAS and the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). The event was a huge success and rumor has it, they are planning another one for late summer or early fall. Be on the lookout for details as that comes together.
The JASSTL has hired a new student assistant, Joel Fecke. Joel is currently a student at UMSL pursuing his master's degree in Economics. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineer from Mizzou. Joel is coming to us from SpaceX, where he worked for 5 years as a Test Equipment Reliability Engineer. He is originally from Missouri and grew up in LaMonte, MO.
If your school or group would like a Cultural Presentation, go to our new Japanese Cultural Programming page, found here.
JAS works with many independent presenters and groups and can provide referrals or help arrange programs for schools, communities, libraries, and other organizations.
Who can request these activities? Schools, libraries, museums, groups of ten or more, and other organizations may request a presentation, demonstration, or hands-on activity of the options below.
Is there a fee? Some performers or groups may be contacted directly and may require a performance fee, negotiated on a case by case basis. For JAS-coordinated programs, JAS appreciates modest donations to cover gratuities.
Go to our new page to view descriptions of the activities and presentations available. Fill out the form at the bottom of the page to request a presentation! Click here to take a look!
Kakehashi Program Applications for the Japan Cultural Immersion Program are now available.
The program runs from Mar 2-10, 2019. Applications are due by Dec 13, 2019.
For more information on the program, requirements, and how to apply, please click here.
"Japan America Society of St. Louis" is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. University of Missouri - St. Louis 362 SSB 1 University Boulevard St. Louis MO 63121-4400
