Japan Day 2018 Countdown

The Japanese Consulate in Cape Town will be hosting their Centenary edition of Japan Day, which showcases various aspects of Japan and Japanese culture at the Slow Market Stellenbosch on Saturday 17 March 2018.

This is a great event to attend as it gives you the opportunity to see all the great Japanese traditions upclose and also allows you to participate in workshops. There will be a martial arts village, performances in Aikido, Karate, Judo, Kenjutsu (Japanese sword demonstration) and Kyudo (Archery), a Cosplay show, traditional Japanese music with Shakuhachi (flute), Koto (Japanese Harp), and authentic Japanese food demonstrations by a Japanese chef. Exhibitions include a Bonsai Competition, Koi fish and Sumi-e (drawings by Japanese brushstroke).

I've always been fascinated by the Japanese culture. It was such an inspiration seeing everything being done with great attention to detail and being in full control of every move but done with the greatest of ease almost as if its become a natural way of doing. This way of doing things was what triggered my passion for the art of bonsai.

This will be the second year that I will be part of the Japan Day celebrations. I thought it would be a great experience for you to see what happens along the journey leading up to the event. I will be taking part in the Young designers Bonsai Competition, helping with bonsai demonstrations and helping facilitate the introduction to bonsai course.

Throughout this Japan Day Countdown Series I will be showing you the preparation that takes place behind the scenes. I will also be preparing a few trees to display during the day.

I am really excited about this event as it only happens once a year and each year it feels like the first time.

Hope you enjoy the series. Please feel free to give me feedback.