Member’s event: The OJCA’s Sansei, Community Storytelling Project

Saturday, February 1st the OJCA’s Sansei, Community Storytelling Project launches with its first online writing workshop.  There is still room to welcome those interested in participating, and we encourage you to register!  Sansei will host monthly zoom workshops facilitated by accomplished writers and storytellers who will help guide and develop the stories You Want to Tell.   What’s more, this summer, we will host community writing retreats – a place for you to write privately, but in community, AND with wonderful Japanese meals provided.  Our project will culminate with an (optional) storytelling event, and will publish both a paper and online magazine featuring your collection of stories.   
No matter your level of storytelling experience, this project is meant to be gentle and welcoming.  Its workshops will provide you with a manageable process to discover the words that articulate what you know intimately about the sansei experience. 

Interested participants are asked to register using the following google form.  Spaces are limited, but applications will continue to be accepted until all spaces are filled: https://forms.gle/oBJH1hRmnZMYNaj98.

Sansei is generously supported by a Japanese Canadian Legacies Society Community Grant 

Workshop #1: February 1, 2025 with Leanne Toshiko Simpson
Workshop #2: February 22, 2025 with Frances Itani

Dates to be confirmed soon for workshops #3-5. Facilitators include Lillian Nakamura Maguire, Julie Tamiko Manning, and Erica Isomura.

KAGAMI BIRAKI@Takahashi Dojo

KAGAMI BIRAKI

Saturday, January 18, 2025 at 6 PM.

5 Melrose Avenue, Ottawa

Street Parking Available

Dress: Business Casual

Bring your favourite drink, potluck are also welcome:) 

Sushi, Mochi, tea and some sake to toast will be served. 

Kagami biraki is a traditional Japanese celebration of the New Year.  The Embassy of Japan alongside the Takahashi Dojo will be hosting this event to usher in 2025 with a bang!  All OJCA/OJCC members far and wide are welcome!

It has been 55 years since the Takahashi Dojo has hosted a Kagami Biraki, and we have lost contact with many people, so please forward this invitation to them.  We would dearly love to see you all. 

If you have another engagement, just invite them to this party! When you look up the new word in your encyclopedia, you will see that a lot of Japanese sake is involved, with the breaking open of a sake barrel with a mallet!…a lot of people might get splashed.  Apologies in advance! 

Come see another side of Japanese culture.  Hope to see you soon! 

Allyn Takahashi

🎊 TOMONI / GO TOGETHER-Japanese Community Variety Show!🎊

Saturday, November 16th @ Carleton Dominion Chalmers Centre

This November, experience a performance like no other at the Tomoni / Go Together showcase!

Watch the magic unfold as Japanese cultural artists collaborate with non-Japanese artists to create something truly unique.

Tomoni / Go Together
📅 Date: Saturday, November 16, 2024
⏰Time: Show starts at 7 PM | Doors will open at 6:15 PM
📍Location: Carleton Dominion Chalmers Centre (280 Lisgar Street)
🎟️Tickets: FREE—register on Eventbrite to secure your spot! Pay-what-you-want donations are accepted at the door and greatly appreciated in support of our community.

👉What is Tomoni/Go Together?
Hosted by Ottawa’s Japanese cultural performance community, Tomoni/Go Together is a Japanese Community Variety Show featuring daring artistic collaborations between Japanese Cultural Performers and invited Artists – A Japanese Community Celebration!

Every two years, we warmly invite non-Japanese artists from a variety of disciplines to collaborate with us and to create something surprising and new.

Riding a wonderful momentum, 2024’s Tomoni/Go Together promises to be its biggest and boldest celebration yet! Expect unlikely and ambitious collaborations that will keep you on the edge of your seat 🙌

This year, our roster of performers include: 

Minyo-kai 
Ottawa Woodwind Project
Oto-Wa Taiko
Kaylie Kreatrix
Montreal Steppers

Le Coeur gai d’Ottawa Gay Men’s Chorus
Aki Takahashi

& MORE!

🎉 Join us for an unforgettable evening of beauty, creativity, and entertainment!

Proudly presented by the OJCA in partnership with:
🌟Carleton University Art Gallery
🌟Japanese Canadian Legacies
🌟Ottawa Community Foundation
🌟Ontario Arts Council
🌟City of Ottawa
🌟Embassy of Japan in Canada

Follow our facebook at @ojca-ojcc for more updates and details! 

Ottawa Obon 2024 report

We bring you a wonderful look at Ottawa’s first Obon ceremony, which took place on Bate Island on Saturday, August 10th, before dusk (and heavy rain) descended on the island.

It was a wonderful gathering. The park came alive with the beautiful yukata robes worn by many of this year’s attendees. The festivities began with the making of paper lanterns, which were then hung on nearby trees and around the ceremonial site to help summon the ancestral spirits to the gathering. This was followed by a hearty meal of potluck, dancing, and finally, escorting the ancestral spirits down the river to return them to their homelands.

Thank you so much to event organizers Shigemi Ichino and Mari Wellman, as well as to sound technician, David Okura who supplied expert services and technical support. The whole park was able to enjoy the sounds of our Odori dancing thanks to him!