{"id":247659,"date":"2024-08-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=247659"},"modified":"2024-08-07T09:15:53","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T09:15:53","slug":"camp-zama-celebrates-japanese-culture-fosters-friendship-during-65th-bon-odori-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=247659","title":{"rendered":"Camp Zama celebrates Japanese culture, fosters friendship during 65th Bon Odori Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Capt. Chase Martin, left, and Kenesha Chandler, center, both assigned to I Corps (Forward), right, dance together with other unit members and locals on the Bon tower at the 65th Bon Dance Festival held Aug. 3 at Camp Zama, Japan.
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CAMP ZAMA, Japan \u2013 More than 15,000 people gathered to celebrate Japanese culture and share in a day of games, live entertainment, dancing and more during the 65th Bon Odori Festival held here Aug. 3.<\/p>\n

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\n Many people wore yukatas, lightweight kimonos worn during the summer, as they danced to traditional Bon music at the 65th Bon Dance Festival held Aug. 3 at Camp Zama, Japan.
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U.S. Army Garrison Japan and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force co-hosted the event, which USAG Japan Commander Col. Marcus Hunter said is meant to bring together and foster friendship between the military and Japanese communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bon Odori festival is a very fun event because it is an opportunity to interact, share and learn about different parts of each other\u2019s cultures,\u201d Hunter said.<\/p>\n

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\n The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force\u2019s combined unit team, \u201cHimawari,\u201d one of 17 teams that danced during the 65th Bon Odori Festival held Aug. 3 at Camp Zama, Japan, poses for a group photo at the Bon tower. (Photo by Kei Sasaki)
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Hunter emphasized the significance of the longstanding festival, both from a historical standpoint and for the impact it has had on strengthening the relationship between the U.S. Army here and its host nation.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of community members, including Hunter, learned the moves to the traditional Bon dances in the weeks leading up to the festival. The experience of dancing together on and around the large white and red tower on Camp Zama\u2019s Rambler Field will create special memories that will last for decades and generations to come, the commander said.<\/p>\n

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\n A child sits in the cockpit of a Black Hawk helicopter and poses for a photo with a Soldier assigned to U.S. Army Aviation Battalion Japan at the 65th Bon Dance Festival held Aug. 3 at Camp Zama, Japan.
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\u201cI think that represents the strength of our relationship,\u201d Hunter said of the festival. \u201cIt\u2019s all about being able to share our home with the local community and have a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a reception earlier in the day, Maj. Gen. David Womack, U.S. Army Japan commander, gave special recognition to the Zama Women\u2019s Association members who have dedicated countless hours over the years to help teach the Army community the traditional dances.<\/p>\n

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\n Toyoko Akutagawa, who has been volunteering as a dance instructor for Camp Zama for more than 50 years, dances to traditional Bon music at the 65th Bon Odori Festival held Aug. 3 at Camp Zama, Japan. (Photo by Momoko Shindo)
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They included Toyoko Akutagawa, who has volunteered for more than 50 years, and Masako Kawasaki, who has volunteered for more than 20 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks for sharing your culture with us,\u201d Womack said while leading a round of applause for the special guests.<\/p>\n

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\n Masako Kawasaki, who has been volunteering as a dance instructor at Camp Zama for more than 20 years, dances to traditional Bon music at the 65th Bon Odori Festival held Aug. 3 at Camp Zama, Japan. (Photo by Momoko Shindo)
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Capt. Chase Martin, assigned to I Corps (Forward), is a newcomer to Japan and said attending the festival and interacting with the Japanese visitors offered him an immersive cultural experience.<\/p>\n

Martin, like Womack, praised the dance instructors and the volunteers who helped dress him in his yukata, a lightweight kimono worn during the summer, as being incredibly supportive and helping him to fully enjoy his first major cultural event since coming to Japan.<\/p>\n

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\n Many people wore yukatas, lightweight kimonos worn during the summer, as they danced to traditional Bon music at the 65th Bon Odori Festival held Aug. 3 at Camp Zama, Japan. (Photo by Momoko Shindo)
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\u201cBeing thrown into [the festivities] just two weeks after arriving has been amazing,\u201d Martin said. \u201cThe dance lessons [were] a great way to connect with the local community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin said performing the Bon dance onstage in front of a large crowd was initially a bit nerve-wracking, but despite that he formed a sense of camaraderie among the other dancers in his group who helped him through the performance.<\/p>\n

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\n The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force\u2019s combined unit team, \u201cHimawari,\u201d one of 17 teams that danced during the 65th Bon Odori Festival held Aug. 3 at Camp Zama, Japan, poses for a group photo at the Bon tower. (Photo by Kei Sasaki)
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The festival is a great way to bring two communities together, welcome guests to the installation, and share in each other\u2019s cultures, which is \u201cwhat it\u2019s all about,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about being part of this experience, and I couldn\u2019t ask for anything more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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\n Children pose for a photo in front of a fire truck at the 65th Bon Dance Festival held Aug. 3 at Camp Zama, Japan.
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Local resident Kanako Yamakuma returned to the festival for the second straight year, saying she had so much fun last year that she was eager to share the experience with her other family members whom she brought with her this year.<\/p>\n

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\n Kanako Yamakuma, second from left in the back row, poses for a photo with her family and military police at the 65th Bon Dance Festival held Aug. 3 at Camp Zama, Japan.
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\u201cMy family and I enjoyed the festival to the fullest,\u201d Yamakuma said. \u201cWe\u2019d like to come back next year, and I would like to see more open-post events like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n A Black Hawk helicopter flies over the Bon tower with dancers on it at the 65th Bon Dance Festival held Aug. 3 at Camp Zama, Japan.
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Bon Odori has been celebrated throughout Japan in midsummer for more than 500 years as a Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one\u2019s ancestors. As part of most Bon Odori festivities, a Bon tower is erected and people dance to traditional folk songs on the tower or in a circle around it.<\/p>\n

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\n Fireworks burst during the finale of the 65th Bon Odori Festival held Aug. 3 at Camp Zama, Japan. A traditional Bon tower can be seen on the left. (Photo by Momoko Shindo)
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There are three open-post festivals held annually on Camp Zama, and Bon Odori is one of the largest in terms of attendance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Capt. Chase Martin, left, and Kenesha Chandler, center, both assigned to I Corps (Forward), right, dance together with other unit members and locals on the Bon tower at the 65th Bon Dance Festival held Aug. 3 at Camp Zama, Japan. (Photo Credit: Noriko Kudo) VIEW ORIGINAL CAMP ZAMA, Japan \u2013 More than 15,000 people gathered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":247661,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=247659"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247673,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247659\/revisions\/247673"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/247661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=247659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=247659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=247659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}