The Wadaiko Gouken Japanese Drum Troupe — based in southwest Ohio — will be attending JASCO’s Obon Festival this year to perform Taiko, a Japanese style of drumming. Credit: Preeti Manchanda
While college is a chance for students to fulfill their study abroad dreams, many may find a semester out of the country impractical for various financial or personal reasons.
Luckily, the Japan-America Society of Central Ohio — known as JASCO — has found ways to bring Japanese cultural experiences to Ohio State, all while providing a welcoming community to Japanese students in the process.
JASCO is an independent nonprofit in Dublin, Ohio, dedicated to uniting Ohio’s Japanese and American communities, according to its website. Preeti Manchanda, JASCO’s programming director, said one of the many ways in which the organization accomplishes this mission is through its annual summer festival. This year, the celebration is Obon — inspired by the week-long festival observed in Japan.
“It’s a time when the Japanese pray to their ancestors, people who have gone to the other side, and then the whole week, it’s kind of observed in paying respect to their ancestors,” Manchanda said.
JASCO’s first summer festival, which took place in 2018, was inspired by the Tanabata Festival, held in Japan every July. However, when Honda Motor Company — a major Japanese employer — experienced shutdowns in 2019, Manchanda said the local Japanese community was weakened. Manchanda said the shutdowns, plus many Japanese families leaving Ohio to visit Japan for summer vacation in July, impacted JASCO’s summer festival attendance.
“We wanted to be more inclusive of them, and that’s why we moved our festival to August, a month later, when everybody’s back and the Honda shutdown is over,” Manchanda said. “And that timing coincided with the Japanese festival called Obon.”
Manchanda said many Asian countries, including Japan, hold views on family systems distinct from what many Americans are used to. Namely, there is a very high respect paid to elders and ancestors; as such, she said Obon is a cherished holiday in the Japanese community.
“That’s why it’s very important to the culture of Japanese also: They want to pay respects,” Manchanda said. “Typically in this week, people will, even if they’re working in different cities, big cities, they will try to go back to their families, to the graves of their parents or elders or ancestors and pay homage to them.”
Yui Ramdeen, JASCO’s programming assistant, said Obon is popular in Japanese culture because it provides the chance to connect with loved ones and simply have fun. This, she said, will also be true of JASCO’s local Obon Festival.
Manchanda said the four-hour festival will involve everything from live performances of Japanese pop music to games inspired by Japanese street festivals to vendors selling authentic Japanese ramen. Plus, she said new performances like a kimono fashion show and a Kendo martial art group demonstration will be on display.
Regardless of the specific activity, Ramdeen said this year’s festival — as is true with all JASCO events — is intended to bring together Japanese and American communities.
“It’s definitely like a bridge between Japan and America,” Ramdeen said. “For Japanese people in the U.S., they can still, you know, feel at home almost, like they can keep up with the Japanese community. And then for American people, who are studying or have lived in Japan before.”
And with such an active local presence, Manchanda said JASCO is looking for interns to help out.
“We’re always in need of dedicated, committed students who would also like to have an exposure to the Japanese community, festivals, culture and everything,” Manchanda said.
The JASCO Obon Festival will take place Saturday from 4-8 p.m. at Riverside Crossing Park in Dublin, Ohio. For more information on the festival or JASCO as a whole, see the organization’s website.