Special Japanese cultural festival to be held in Derry next week

A special event celebrating Japanese culture will be held in Derry next week.

The Risshun – Japanese Spring Festival will take place at the Holywell Trust building on Bishop Street on Sunday, February 5, from 1pm to 4pm. It has been organised by the North West Japanese Cultural Group which was set up in 2014. A spokesperson for the group said that Risshun is the name given to the day which marks the beginning of spring in Japan. “On the day before it, people do a special ritual called “Mamemaki”, throwing beans at Oni, a sort of bad spirit to drive it away, and to welcome in a happy spirit. “On the day of Risshun, people eat sushi rolls facing the lucky direction of that year.” The spokesperson said the activities at the Derry event will include Japanese Taiko Drumming, Japanese traditional dance, storytelling in English, Japanese karate performance, sushi demonstration and children’s activities. Japanese food will also be served. The spokesperson added: “The North West Japanese Cultural Group was set up in July 2014, after seeing the great interest in the Japanese Autumn Festival organised to raise awareness of the plight of the 2011 Japanese Great Tsunami victims and to raise money to send to help them. “We discovered there was much local interest in aspects of Japanese culture, from the traditional to the more contemporary in the form of manga/cartoons and anime/animation. “Since then we have organised workshops on different aspects of Japanese culture – sushi demonstration, calligraphy, Ikebana flower arranging, Shibori which is the Japanese form of tie-dyeing; there have been workshops and events for children of all ages and adults. “We look forward to welcoming people next week to an interesting and fun afternoon.” Admission to the Derry festival will be £3 for adults and £1 for children over the age of 12. Children under 12 will be admitted free.