Hanoi to host Japan Sakura Festival next week
04:47 07/04/2009

      The third cherry blossom festival in Vietnam will be organized at the Quan Ngua Stadium in Hanoi, 30 Van Cao Street, from April 10-12 to celebrate the 999th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

 

 

The Japan Sakura Festival in Vietnam expects 200,000 visitors with hopes to be the biggest so far featuring a host of Japanese cultural performances.

 

Symbols of spring in Japan including 400 fresh cherry branches and 400 koinobori (carp flags) will be brought to Vietnam for the festival this year, according to Tsutsui Toyoharu, general secretary of the Vietnam-Japan Culture Association.

According to Vu Khac Lien, chairman of the association, the highlight of the festival is 400 fresh cherry branches, which will be brought from Japan by air to be grafted onto five big trees, on the closing day.

Last year, the festival lasted for just one day with the participation of 120,000 visitors.

Lien said that there would be no repeat of the problems with the Tet cherry blossom festival last year when some trees and blossoms were damaged, as the organizing board would coordinate with Hanoi police to protect the flowers this festival.

The performances will include Yosakoi folk dancing performed by four dancing troupes; and the flower straw-hat song Hanagasa Ondo. Japanese musicians will play the Koto, a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, the Samisen, three-stringed Japanese musical instrument, and traditional music with Japanese bamboo flute. Visitors will be able to enjoy Kimono and Tokyo fashions, and Japanese cuisine with Soba noodles as well.

On the closing day, a Yosakoi dance will be performed by 10 Japanese dancing teams and 700 Vietnamese students on Van Cao Street on April 12.

In addition, research on many valuable historical documents about Thang Long Citadel, the ancient name of Hanoi, will be presented by Japanese professors on the occasion of the 999th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Eighty business and university stalls and 40 Japanese food and drink stalls will be manned by more than 140 volunteers from both countries.

* PARTICIPATING VENUES:

The Quan Ngua Stadium, 30 Van Cao Street, Ba Dinh District will be the main venue.

Fine Arts Museum - Hanoi University of Fine Arts, 42 Yet Kieu Street will hold exhibitions.

Nui Truc Japanese Language Center, 15 Nui Truc Street, Ba Dinh District will serve as a meeting hall for cultural seminars.

Hanoi Daewoo Hotel, 360 Kim Ma Street, Ba Dinh District will be used for the opening reception.

* ACTIVITIES:

Japan Archaeology Association's presentation of the Thang Long Citadel relics, including a comparison between the Thang Long Citadel relics and the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara of Japan by Kunikazu Ueno from Nara Women's University.

A presentation on Japan and An Nam relations will be made by Professor Yumio Sakurai from the University of Tokyo.

Yosakoi dancing performance (90 participants from three Japanese dancing troupes and 1,000 people from 11 Vietnamese troupes).

Japanese circus Tamasudare from Kobe City + Hanagasa dancing from Sakura City and Chiba's Narita

Introduction on Japanese universities and companies

Traditional Kabuki drama

Japanese films with subtitles

Modern fashion Harajuku and Akihabara + Gypsy Queen troupe with J-Pop

Exchange between Japanese and Vietnamese tourism companies

Hanoi e-map: Thang Long-Hanoi "ancient and now" lecture will be given by Mamoru Shibayama from the Kyoto University.

Vietnamese folk arts performance (performance of monochord, flute and Vietnamese traditional dances)

Introduction of Vietn

Source : thanhniennews.com