Photo Essay: Little Tokyo celebrates heritage at Nisei Week
The Japanese American festival drew hundreds for food, a summer carnival and a grand parade.
A marcher with Rissho Kosei Kai Buddhist Center Los Angeles raises a matoi, an Edo-era tasseled standard used by fire brigades as a charm against fire and misfortune. (Photo by Laury Li)
The Little Tokyo community was in a celebratory mood on Aug. 16, as crowds filled the sidewalks under a hot afternoon sun for Nisei Week, the annual festival celebrating Japanese heritage and Japanese American culture in downtown Los Angeles.
Visitors packed Weller Court on Onizuka Street for JX Matsuri, a carnival-style summer festival curated by Japan Crossover, with booth games, a DJ, table tennis and prizes.
Around 4 p.m., crowds lined Second Street in front of Japanese Village Plaza for the 84th Nisei Week Grand Parade, which featured traditional and contemporary dancers, marching bands and local Buddhist groups.
Families join JX Matsuri at Weller Court for a one-day-only summer carnival experience in Little Tokyo on Aug. 16. (Photo by Laury Li) A young attendee tries to scoop table tennis balls to win redemption points at a game booth. (Photo by Laury Li) Attendees join the table tennis court set up by Little Tokyo Table Tennis in Weller Court. (Photo by Laury Li) Los Angeles streetwear brand Uprisers collaborates with Little Tokyo Florists for a workshop booth. It invites attendees to hand-make flowers from glue and discarded fabrics. (Photo by Laury Li) Los Angeles Police Department’s Precision Motorcycle Drill Team showcases formation riding to open the Grand Parade. (Photo by Laury Li) Youth scouts bear ceremonial flags alongside Nisei veterans in the parade lineup. (Photo by Laury Li) Inspired by Maya, the mother of Buddha, the golden puppet presented by the Little Tokyo Historical Society features local community businesses and organizations written on her headpiece. (Photo by Laury Li) Members of Rissho Kosei Kai Buddhist Center of Los Angeles sound the fan-shaped drum, uchiwa-daiko, and dish-shaped brass gong, atarigane, followed by the mandō team. (Photo by Laury Li) Paraders with Rissho Kosei Kai collectively chant while carrying a mandō, a tall illuminated lantern hung with rows of artificial cherry blossoms. (Photo by Laury Li) A Bando-ryu dancer opens her left palm, with a folding fan in her right hand. (Photo by Laury Li) A parader holds a pair of wooden clappers, naruko, while dancing yosakoi in a vibrant yukata costume. (Photo by Laury Li) A marching band member in a WALL-E hat plays Earth, Wind & Fire's "September" as the band moves down 2nd St. (Photo by Laury Li)
The celebration continued the following week with Ondo street dancing, a communal folk dance, and a festival at Japanese American Cultural and Community Center Plaza, closing out two weekends of music, food and entertainment in the heart of Little Tokyo.
