Acclaimed rock singer Nanase Aikawa will speak on “Matsuri Across the Ocean: The Harmony of Nikkei Bon Odori and Traditional Japanese Festivals” on Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Japan Foundation Los Angeles, 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 100, Los Angeles.
Rather than sharing her prolific music career, Aikawa will be presenting her other passion: the festival culture and oral traditions alive in shrines and local communities throughout Japan.
This lecture uses her unique perspectives as a performer and a researcher at Kokugakuin University to highlight and explore the festivals, particularly Bon Odori, that took root in Southern California through Nikkei immigrants who crossed the ocean and flourished in their own unique way through events such as the Nisei Week Japanese Festival.