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Thank you all for making Holiday Delight such a successful event!
We sincerely appreciate your support, your enthusiasm, and your holiday spirit! What a wonderful time we all had, and we couldn’t have done it without you!
Over 1,000 guests paid us a visit, shopped with our local vendors, or enjoyed some of our tasty food.
We look forward to celebrating with you all again soon!
Did you attend Holiday Delight? Please let us know about your experience via our Attendee Feedback Survey!
Every voice counts and helps us improve the festival every year!
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Congratulations to our Tampopo Kai Teacher Naomi-sensei for winning this year's Foreign Minister's Commendation Award!
Her hard work has supported many families for generations. Thank you Naomi-sensei for your dedication to the community and for sharing Japanese culture with Chicago!
Naomi-sensei was presented the award by Deputy Consul-General Naoya Kishi during our 45th Holiday Delight & Kodomo Matsuri.
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Happy Thanksgiving Break!
Tampopo Kai classes will resume on December 6th!
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Tampopo Kai Japan Tree at Griffin MSI Highlighted on NBC Chicago News! | |
Since 1989, JASC’s Tampopo Kai families have proudly decorated the Japan Tree at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry’s annual Christmas Around the World and Holidays of Light exhibit — a Chicago holiday tradition that celebrates global cultures and community spirit.
Each year, our Tampopo Kai teacher Naomi Negi and participating families including our Children’s Program Coordinator Yuri Yatsuda, gather to adorn the Japan Tree with handcrafted ornaments that reflect traditional Japanese artistry.
These include temari (embroidered thread balls), washi-ningyō (paper dolls in kimono), orizuru (paper cranes), kabuto (samurai helmets), and kusudama (origami balls). Together, these ornaments symbolize both the beauty and creativity of Japanese culture.
In Japan, Christmas is celebrated as a joyful, secular holiday shared with family and friends. The Japan Tree brings that same spirit of togetherness to the Museum’s exhibit, which runs November 8, 2025 through January 5, 2026.
We thank our Tampopo Kai families for continuing this special tradition and sharing the warmth of Japanese culture with the Chicago community each holiday season!
NBC Chicago News highlighted this exhibit, including an interview with our Tampopo Kai teacher Naomi Negi! Click below to watch the full video:
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Interested in learning Japanese or building up your language skills?
JASC language classes are led by native Japanese speakers and are a great way to strengthen your comprehension with in-person and online options.
How do JASC Japanese classes work?
Our Beginners I and II classes operate in 4 sessions throughout the year with each session focusing on 3 chapters in the Genki I and II textbooks.
Beginners I Session 1 is the best match for introductory level Japanese, where students learn hiragana and basic vocabulary before building up to later sessions.
Join our Intermediate or Advanced Class - if you have studied Japanese for some time or have completed the Genki II textbook (or equivalent), you can try our higher level classes for more exposure and practice.
You can always join a class mid-session! It may require some self study of previous chapters to keep up with the class, but students can join sessions at any time so long as there is capacity.
Please reach out to Ruby at rgrillier@jasc-chicago.org for additional information on language classes or to arrange for a free trial class.
The next Beginner I Session 1 class is expected to start in February 2026 - Please stay tuned for registration dates or join our waitlist!
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Japanese Conversation Table:
Thursday, December 11, 2025
12月の日本語お話会は12月11日（木）です
開催日：12月11日
開催時間：午後12:00から2:00まで
参加費：１人/１回5ドル
日本語で交流したい方へのお知らせです。（日本語の会話クラスではありません。）
普段あまりほかの方との交流のない方、一人でお住まいの方、思いっきり日本語でおしゃべりしてみませんか？
楽しい話題や暮らしのアイデアを分け合い、ちょっとした悩みや不安など、皆で話し合えば解決法がでてくるかも知れません。いろいろなことを日本語で話し合い、英語社会で溜まったストレスを解消しましょう。
このプログラムに興味のある方、参加したいと思われる方は、Eメールで川口ケイclasses@jasc-chicago.org とルビー・グリリエー rgrillier@jasc-chicago.org
または電話：773-275-0097内線226, までご連絡ください。
Calling all native Japanese speakers to our monthly gathering of fellowship and connection with other native Japanese speakers! Please note this is not a Japanese language class but rather a time for fellowship while speaking in fluent Japanese.
Date: Thursday, December 11, 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Cost: $5 per person, per session
Location: JASC 5700 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago IL 60659
JASC's Conversation Table welcomes everyone to share their experiences, ideas, and stories through social interaction and offers an opportunity to expand their social networks with others in the local community.
If you know someone who would like to participate, please contact Kay Kawaguchi by email at classes@jasc-chicago.org or call her at 773-275-0097 x 226 and leave a message to RSVP. Kay can answer any questions about the program in Japanese or in English. You may also reach out to Ruby Grillier at rgrillier@jasc-chicago.org
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JASC’s Adult Day Services provides older adults with a safe, engaging environment that supports their physical, mental, and emotional well-being through customized care plans and daily activities like art, music, and dance. Located at 5700 N. Lincoln Ave., our program also offers respite for family caregivers and the added support of two on-staff Registered Nurses.
Interested in Adult Day Services?
For more information, you can contact us:
We urge prospective clients and their families to tour our new facility on 5700 N Lincoln Ave and check out this wonderful program.
| | | | 80th Anniversary Fundraiser: Eighty years ago, JACL Chicago was formed to support the civil rights and livelihoods of people of Japanese ancestry who moved to Chicago after the closing of the WWII incarceration camps. To honor this legacy and look towards the future, we invite you to join JACL Chicago to celebrate 80 years of community building, education, and advocacy! Visit our EventBrite page for more information and to purchase your tickets. | |
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Taiko Legacy 22 & Reduction 11
Taiko Legacy 22 | Saturday, December 20th | Edlis Neeson Theater | 2PM
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, 220 E Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
Asian Improv aRts Midwest & Tsukasa Taiko present Taiko Legacy 22 with a return to the original essence of theatrical taiko. Tsukasa's performance unit Gintenkai is joined by the next generation of community performers and longtime collaborators Melody Takata and members of GenRyu Arts from San Francisco to present the simplified grandeur of contemporary taiko with traditional aesthetics.
Featuring: Melody Takata & GenRyu Arts, Yoshinojo Fujima, Ikunojo Fujima, Kioto Aoki, & Tsukasa Taiko.
Purchase Tickets HERE.
Reduction 11 | Friday, December 19th | Edlis Neeson Theater | 7PM
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, 220 E Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
In tandem with the exhibition Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Asian Improv aRts Midwest & Tsukasa Taiko is delighted to present Reduction 11, as part of our annual end-of-year concert series.
This year's program features the music of Yoko Ono's SKYLANDING, a project recorded by Tatsu Aoki's The MIYUMI Project in 2016 and a collaboration with Yoko Ono for her sculpture in Jackson Park. The MIYUMI Project plays with Tsukasa Taiko to present this project on the theatrical stage with traditional Japanese music & dance.
Reduction 11 also marks the last of 30th anniversary of the Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival programming, celebrating three decades of jazz and experimental music by Asian and Asian Americans in Chicago.
Featuring: Nicole Mitchell, Dee Alexander, Michael Zerang, Hamid Drake, Mwata Bowden, Edward Wilkerson Jr., Rami Atassi, Jamie Kempkers, Tatsu Aoki, Eigen Aoki, Kioto Aoki, and Gintenkai at Tsukasa Taiko
Pre-show programming at 6:30pm will be the final public presentation for Kioto Aoki & Helen Nagata's Folk Arts Mentorship program grant received from the Illinois Arts Council.
Purchase Tickets HERE.
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If you’re a Japanese–English bilingual speaker—or know someone who is—here’s a great opportunity to support important research!
PhD candidate Onae Parker from the University of Iowa is conducting a study on the communicative strategies used by Japanese-English bilinguals, with a special focus on heritage speakers and the diverse language experiences within our community. Their research aims to highlight and better understand the rich, lived experiences of bilingual speakers.
Onae is still working towards their recruitment goal, and every participant makes a difference.
If you’d like to support their work, you can take part online in one or both 30-minute studies.
Participants will receive a $20 Amazon gift card for each study completed.
Thank you for helping uplift bilingual voices in our community!
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