MotivAsians for Cleveland is a non-profit organization established to cultivate a vibrant Asian community for Greater Cleveland by promoting the attraction and retention of Asian-American professionals. They hosted their first Taste of Asia gala banquet in the Dolan center of John Carroll University on Saturday November 2, 2024. The evening included Asian food, entertainment, cultural performances, silent auction and more including a demonstration of Kimono by Traeonna Wagener from Kimono Kitsune.
Traeonna spoke about and demonstrated the Japanese fashion of kimono as well as fusion fashion which combines clothing and accessories from two or more different styles (e.g., Lolita+Kimono) or cultures (e.g., Japanese+American) to create a unique look.
Traeonna Wagener
Watch a video of the Kimono presentation.
Mrs. Mieko Fujimoto and Emily Viland gave a demonstration of Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement. They are members of Ikebana International Cleveland Chapter #20. Typically, program meetings are scheduled for the first Wednesday of the month at the Cleveland Botanical Garden.
The Japanese community of Cleveland and NEOhio participated in the Parade of Flags at One World Day on August 25, 2024 in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens.
Japanese community in Parade of Flags at One World Day
The Pan-American Masters Games are a multisport event for Masters Athletes over the age of 35. The 2024 Pan-American Masters Games were held in Cleveland Ohio USA and featured athletes from 6 continents, 48 states and more than 70 countries. Participants competed in 24 medal-contending sports.
Athletes came from Japan to compete and there was also a group showcasing the World Masters Games that will be held in Kansai, Japan in 2027.
Sho-Jo-Ji Japanese Dancers at 2024 Cleveland Asian Festival
The Sho-Jo-Ji Dancers are a Japanese dance group that had its first performance in 1956. They perform traditional dances from Japan in authentic kimonos.
Sho-Jo-Ji Japanese Dancers in the Cultural Gardens
The Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation presented a series of World on Stage events during the summer of 2023 at the Centennial Peace Plaza in the Gardens. The September 9, 2023 event celebrated Asian heritage and culture and they performed several traditional dances.
Yume Daiko Japanese taiko drummers at 2023 Cleveland Asian Festival
Matt Richards studied, taught and performed taiko with the group Mukade Daiko during the fifteen years he lived and worked in Yasu, Japan. Matt had the opportunity to attend camps and workshops with the world famous Japanese taiko group Kodo. He began with Mukade Daiko as a beginner and left as the leader. After moving to Cleveland he and his children began performing in various scholastic and private function venues. Other members joined and the group took the name, Yume Daiko; the two words meaning "Dream" and "Drums".
They performed at the 2023 Cleveland Asian Festival.
Yume Daiko taiko drummers at Cleveland Asian Festival
Sho-Jo-Ji Japanese Dancers at 2023 Cleveland Asian Festival
The Sho-Jo-Ji Dancers are a Japanese dance group that had its first performance in 1956. They perform traditional dances from Japan in authentic kimonos. 3 generations performed at the 2023 Cleveland Asian Festival.
They performed at the 2023 Cleveland Asian Festival.
2023 Statement from President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on the Day of Remembrance of Japanese American Incarceration
When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, eighty-one years ago today, it ushered in one of the most shameful periods in American history. The wrongful incarceration of 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent tore families apart. Men, women, and children were forced to abandon their homes, their jobs, their communities, their businesses, and their way of life. They were sent to inhumane concentration camps simply because of their heritage. And in a tragic miscarriage of justice, the Supreme Court upheld these immoral and unconstitutional policies.
Despite losing liberty, security, and the fundamental freedoms that rightfully belonged to them, 33,000 Japanese Americans volunteered or were drafted for service in the U.S. military during World War II. While their own families were behind barbed wires, Japanese Americans fought in defense of the nation's freedom with valor and courage.
The incarceration of Japanese Americans reminds us what happens when racism, fear, and xenophobia go unchecked. As we battle for the soul of our nation, we continue to combat the corrosive effects of hate on our democracy and the intergenerational trauma resulting from it. We reaffirm the Federal Government's formal apology to Japanese Americans for the suffering inflicted by these policies. And we commit to Nidoto Nai Yoni - to "Let It Not Happen Again."
Sho-jo-ji Japanese Dancers at Lunar New Year 2023
Sho-jo-ji Japanese Dancers performed at a Lunar New Year event in Cleveland's Asia Plaza on January 21, 2023.
Obon is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. The annual festival was held on Sunday July 17, 2022 at the Cleveland Buddhist Temple.
The Japanese community of Cleveland and NEOhio participated in the Parade of Flags at One World Day on August 29, 2021 in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens. JANO(Japanese Association of Northeast Ohio) led the effort and the Yume Daiko traditional Japanese taiko drum ensemble marched with them.
Japanese community in Parade of Flags at One World Day
TV Anchor Chris Tanaka shows where his family is from
Okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake) at Night Market in Cleveland
Ice or Rice is a start-up based in Cleveland, Ohio. They started as a food vendor at a local summer event called Night Market Cleveland in August 2019. Their motto is 'Eat new foods. Learn about the culture they come from. Love your world.' At the August Night Market they made Okonomiyaki.
Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake containing a variety of ingredients. Theirs featured a pork belly, cabbage pancake topped with Okonomiyaki sauce, mayo, powdered seaweed and bonito flakes.
The 10th annual Cleveland Asian Festival was held on the weekend of May 18 and 19 in Cleveland's AsiaTown neighborhood on Payne Avenue. It has become a not-to-miss annual event with great entertainment, food, shopping and fun.
Dr. Hiroyuki Fujita speaks at Cleveland Sister Cities Conference
Dr. Hiroyuki Fujita, Founder, President, CEO and Chairman of the Board, Quality Electrodynamics has a 20-year career history illustrating his exceptional technical and professional expertise in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology development and productization. Dr. Fujita is the author of 17 patents and has published more than 40 technical papers and abstracts.
In 2018, Dr. Fujita was appointed as Honorary Consul of Japan in Cleveland by the Embassy of Japan and the United States Department of State. He spoke at the kickoff event of the first annual Sister Cities Conference held in the Cleveland Public Library. Cleveland is a sister city with over 20 other cities from around the world. The event was out on by Global Cleveland.
Japanese community at International Cleveland Community Day
International Cleveland Community Day at the Cleveland Museum of Art is a celebration of the rich diversity of our region’s multiethnic communities, featuring traditional music and dance performances, cultural displays, and ingallery experiences. During this vibrant afternoon, visitors enjoyed presentations from more than 50 community groups expressing the continued vitality of the global cultures and arts that enliven our city.
The Japanese community was represented with a banner of the Sho Jo Ji Dancers.
Sho Jo Ji Japanese Dancers banner in Cleveland Museum of Art
2017
Consul General of Japan at Ohio Asian American Economic Summit
The Ohio Asian American Economic Summit took place November 14, 2017 at Ariel International Center in Cleveland. Ariel International and Margaret Wong & Associates LLC were the event sponsors. Ariel CEO Radhika Reddy had worked toward this event for years and with the support of Margaret Wong was able to fill the room with people interested in doing business in and with Asia and a stellar group of speakers and panelists including the Consul General of India who flew in from New York and the Consul General of Japan who came in from Detroit.
Radhika Reddy and Consul General of Japan in Detroit Mitsuhiro Wada
JETRO Chicago Chief Executive Director Ralph Inforzato spoke about doing business in Japan.
JETRO Chicago Chief Executive Director Ralph Inforzato
Justin Kocher of Jobs Ohio spoke about Japanese and other Asian Foreign Direct Investment in Ohio.
Chris Tanaka and Reakt at Cleveland Asian Festival
WOIO news anchor Chris Tanaka introduced Reakt, an artist from Tokyo Japan who is touring North America. Reakt performs a mix of Japanese pop and hip-hop. Here is a sample.
Even though the annual Kurentovanje Festival and Parade is a Slovenina event, one of the most popular parts of the Parade was the appearance of two Pikachus from The Pokémon Company, a Japanese corporation.
In this short video, the Pikachus pretend to fight.
Sho-Jo-Ji Japanese Dancers at ICC-WIN Multicultural Holiday Party
One of the highlights of the 7th annual Cleveland Multicultural Holiday Celebration put on by the International Community Council Worldwide Intercultural Network (ICC-WIN) in Cleveland at the Global Center for Health Innovation was the performance of the Sho-Jo-Ji Japanese Ensemble. THe group is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year (founded in 1956).
Health Disparities in Asian Populations November 10, 2016
Margaret Wong and Associates and Case Western Reserve University joined together to create an evening reception to promote health, education, and awareness to the Asian community in Cleveland. The event featured an educational seminar by Li Li, MD PhD, Mary Ann Swetland Center for Environmental Health at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Professor and Director. Dr. Li spoke about Acculturation and Health Disparities in Asian Population.
Healthy Asian Cooking by Rose Wong November 10, 2016
Rose Wong founded Pearl of the Orient restaurant in 1978. It was the first to offer Northern and Szechuan cuisine in Cleveland Ohio and continues to be a favorite among Chinese food cognoscenti.
Rose created two healthy dishes and answered questions about woks, soy sauce, MSG and more.
About 1000 people celebrated the Annual Mass and Gathering on Sunday, October 5, 2014 at 12 noon at St. Clarence Church. This is the 17th year the event was hosted by the Asian Ministry of the Diocese of Cleveland. It was an afternoon of family celebration of Asian culture and spirituality beginning with the celebration of the Mass with the Most Rev. Roger W Gries, OSB along with priests from the different Asian Catholic communities.
The cultural and ethnic diversity of the Asian Catholic communities assembled at the Mass was reflected throughout the celebration. Members of the various Asian communities came together with their own traditions, dressed in colorful ethnic clothes: shimmering saris, kimonos, karawangs, hanboks, barongs, and ao dai. The entrance procession included Vietnamese drums. During the Mass there was an incense ceremony by the Vietnamese, and the Indian aarti. Hymns were sung by the choirs in various Asian languages: Tagalog (Filipino), Korean, Vietnamese and Hindi (Indian).
The readings and the prayers of the faithful were also said in various Asian languages.
Cleveland City Hall Rotunda
May 28, 2014 The City of Cleveland Community Relations Board, led by Asian Liaison Chia-Min Chen, hosted an Asian Heritage Day Celebration on May 28, 2014 in the Cleveland City Hall Rotunda.
Over 60 Asian community groups and organizations participated. Chia-Min Chen called them up to the stage one at a time and each gave an elevator speech explaining their organization.
This included the Japanese American Citizen League of Cleveland
Learn more about each organization including photos and videos of the group leaders at the Asian Organizations in Cleveland pages.
2013
2013 Cleveland Asian Festival - May 18-19, 2013
The 4th annual Cleveland Asian Festival attracted 38,380 attendees over the weekend of May 18-19, 2013. They spent over $2 million in the AsiaTown neighborhood. There were dozens of performances from local, regional, and national performing groups including headliner Cheesa from NBC's The Voice.
People enjoyed Asian cuisine from over 20 different restaurants and shopping in the World Market which was filled with merchants of Asian themed products while sponsors had informational displays at their tent.
Mame Daiko Japanese Drumming Ensemble performed at the 2013 International Folk Festival at Wade Oval in University Circle in Cleveland. Mame Daiko is traditional Japanese Taiko drum group sponsored by the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) Cleveland Chapter.
Aikido is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying (with) life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit."
***Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan and all who are suffering from the earthquakes and tsunamis. ***
Overview of Disaster Relief Efforts in Japan
Margaret W. Wong hosted a fundraiser for disaster relief for Japan featuring Kuninori Matsuda, Consul General, Consulate General of Japan on May 5, 2011
In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture.
Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854, Japan opened its ports and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia.
It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia.
After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians - with heavy input from bureaucrats and business executives - wield actual decisionmaking power.
The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally.
Read more about the Japanese and other Ambassadors. If you are interested in being considered to be an official ClevelandPeople.com Ambassador to the Cleveland Japanese community, please contact us.
