The Los Angeles Tanabata Festival celebrated its 11thanniversary as part of the Nisei Week Japanese Festival on Aug. 10 and 11 in Little Tokyo.
The festival is known for its 7-foot kazari decorations hung in the Aileen Getty Plaza at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. The kazari are inspired by the long-running Tanabata Festival in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture.
In addition to 10 award-winning kazari shipped from Sendai, the festival features a kazari contest with entries from individuals and groups in various categories. Community judges choose the winners, except for the People’s Choice Award, which goes to the kazari that got the most votes from attendees on Aug. 10. The Founders Award goes to the overall winner among the first-place winners.
Following are this year’s results:
Founders Award
America Miyazaki Kenjinkai (Anime/Manga Category)
People’s Choice Award
Gedatsu Church (Theme: “Romance in the Stars”)
Received 107 out of 474 votes
Anime/Manga
First Place: America Miyazaki Kenjinkai
Second Place: Noriko Shibata
Japanese Prefectural Associations
First Place: SoCal Tokushima Club
Second Place: Nanka Gifu Kenjinkai
Third Place: Nanka Hiroshima Kenjinkai
Fourth Place: Shiga Club
Fifth Place: L.A. Yamanishi Kenjinkai
Business
First Place: Natural Nails by Yasko & Salon Tosca
Government
First Place: San Gabriel Valley Services Center
Theme
First Place: Gedatsu Church
Second Place: Nanka Hiroshima Kenjinkai
Third Place: Nanka Ehime Kenjinkai
Family/Individuals
First Place: Yasuko Sanaka
Second Place: Susan Purple Jekari
Third Place: Poppy Kwong
Fourth Place: Poppy Kwong
Fifth Place: Teramachi
Nonprofits/Schools/Churches
First Place: OC Japanese American Association
Second Place: Little Tokyo Historical Society
Third Place: San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center
Fourth Place: Far East Lounge/Little Tokyo Service Center
Fifth Place: Japanese Language School
2019 Kazari Breakdown
109 kazari
30 nonprofits
18 family/individuals
15 kenjinkai
3 theme
2 anime
1 business
1 government
39 display only
Photos by BRAD MATSUDA