A Takohachi taiko drum player focuses on performing at at Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)
The Japanese have identified this significance to the sakura, or cherry blossom, as a representation of the ephemeral and transient nature of life. This is the premise of the Sakura Matsuri, a festival to enjoy spring when the cherry trees bloom and to enjoy the blossoms before they fall.
The cherry trees on Salem’s Capitol Mall cooperated Saturday, April 8, and were in full bloom without rain to complement the Sakura Matsuri festival held at the Willamette University’s Putnam Center. The event organized by the Japan Studies student leaders.
The event was free and open to the public. Highlights were traditional koto and cello music from musicians Masumi Timson and Joseph Harchanko, a karate demonstration, traditional arts and crafts, yukata clothing try-ons, and a taiko drum performance by Takohachi, a dance and music troupe from Portland. A fully catered free lunch with traditional Japanese food was also available for sampling.
Anticipation was especially great for Takohachi, known for the lively performances and fast paced, colorful drum routines. Takohachi did not disappoint with a 30-minute jam-packed high-energy routine.
The overall event was crowded and lively with all ages of attendees, and the organizers said that the attendance greatly exceeded their expectations.
“We really feel people had a great time and enjoyed themselves and that is exactly what we wanted to happen,” one organizer said.
A drummer focuses during a routine that shows the skill of the Takohachi drummers at the Sakura Matsuri Festival. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Goldie Seim dresses up om traditional Japanese garb at the children’s section of the yukata booth at Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Taira Avery tries her hand at traditional hiragana and katakana Japanese calligraphy at Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. Avery was visiting from California and is a prospective student at Tokyo University. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Taira Avery tries her hand at traditional hiragana and katakana Japanese calligraphy at Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. Avery was visiting from California and is a prospective student at Tokyo University. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter). A visitor to the festival surveys the spread of delicious free Japanese lunch items provided by Goudy Commons kitchens at Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A drummer with the Taokohachi group from Portland focuses during a performance at the Sakura Matsuri Festival. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A Takohachi drummer plays a nagado style drum at the Sakura Matsuri Festival. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A participant enjoys watching the Takohachi troupe perform onstage at the Sakura Matsuri Festival. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Players in the Takohachi taiko drum troupe perform at Takohachi. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)The energy levels started to rise when the Takohachi taiko drummers from Portland started to play their drums at the Sakura Matsuri Festival. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A member of the Takohachi troupe from Portland plays the tsugaru shamisen at Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Members of the Takohachi troupe show their skill with a katsugi oke drum routine at Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A member of the Takohachi drum troupe awaits the cue to begin their routine at Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Yoichi Kazuma shows his roundhouse kick technique at Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Yoichi Kazuma and a student from his dojo demonstrate karate at Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Keto player Masumi Timson and cello player Joseph Harchanko play a duet at Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Masumi Timson, renowned koto player, laughs at a question from the audience asking if “playing the koto is difficult” at Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A participant makes a mask as part of the activities at Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Kel Ginther and Elizabeth Snyder concentrate on making some very intense small scale origami dragons at Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)The audience enjoys a koto and cello performance at Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Daigo Murakami tries on a yukata at the Willamette University’s Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday, April 8. Murakami is an exchange student at Tokyo University at Willamette and hails from Fukushima, Japan. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)
STORY TIP OR IDEA? Send an email to Salem Reporter’s news team: [email protected].
SUBSCRIBE TO GET SALEM NEWS – We report on your community with care and depth, fairness and accuracy. Get local news that matters to you. Subscribe today to get our daily newsletters and more. Click I want to subscribe!
Laura Tesler has lived in Salem, Oregon for 20 years and is originally from Flint, MI. Laura has been an underwater photographer for 15 years, and is an avid scuba diver. Topside, she has been taking photographs since age 12, and currently works on assignment for the Salem Reporter, and full time purchasing land for fish and wildlife habitat in the Willamette Valley. Laura attended Oregon State University, and has traveled extensively all over the world and the United States.
