Aki Matsuri, a Japanese fall festival, returns to Henderson for 15th year

Vendor Maiko Yamazaki came to the 15th annual Aki Maturi Festival in Henderson on Saturday, hoping to sell some of her wares, including colorful purses and bags made with Japanese fabric.

“Lots of people come here,” she said of the festival, held at the Water Street Plaza.

Yamazaki runs an Etsy shop called Zakka Ya Green Lotus that along with the bags and purses, sells other items including handmade jewelry and hand-painted kitsune masks.

And the popular festival draws potential customers, she said.

“It helps my small business,” Yamazaki said.

Founded in 2010, the festival aims to bring awareness to the growing Japanese population in Southern Nevada, according to organizers.

“I want Japanese culture to carry on,” said Mayumi Coffman, the festival’s organizer. She said the event is a way to keep Japanese culture alive.

The event held a Haiku contest, accepting submissions for the famed three-line poem structure. Organizers also offered Odori workshops, teaching participants how to do a Japanese folk or theater dance.

The festival featured more than 60 food and community vendors, who sold a variety of clothing and other goods, including kimonos, straw hats, jewelry and hand-painted kitsune (or fox) masks.

‘Moving with the flow of things’

Teachers and students also presented aikido, a form of martial arts, on a stage. Arlene Mendibles explained that the defenders move in the same direction as their attackers.

“Aikido is a way to interact with the world,” Mendibles told the Review-Journal, “It’s kind of a way to flow through the world.”

“It’s learning to move with the attacks and not fight attacks on a philosophical level. It’s a way to move through the world with as little conflict as possible,” Mendibles explained.

One parent watching the show, Maria Hernandez, 39, said she was thinking of enrolling her kids in the program.

“I like the idea of moving with the flow of things,” Hernandez said, “I think they’ll be learning lessons that’ll be used later on in their lives.”

There are no aikido competitions nearby, so the festival has become the centerpoint for students to showcase skills learned throughout the year, Mendibles said.

A visit from a Mikoshi

The festival also presented an opportunity to carry a traditional Mikoshi, a portable shrine that transports a deity. The gold Mikoshi, reflecting the sun, drew interested gazes from festivalgoers.

The Mikoshi weighs 1,000 pounds and requires multiple people to carry it. Tak Ishidn, the owner of the Mikoshi, said he bought and shipped the Mikoshi directly from Japan and only displays it in public at the Aki Matsuri Festival.

Ishidn said that the Mikoshi is meant for gods to go around the city to meet people and spread good luck.

“People who know the Japanese culture, they are surprised that we have it,” Ishidn said.

People are surprised because there are only a few in America and Mikoshis that are in Japan have long waiting lists for people who want to carry it, said Ishidn.

Ishidn, however, was on the lookout for volunteers who want to carry the Mikoshi.

At one of the booths, Jodie Cohen explained a shortened version of a traditional tea ceremony. A typical ceremony is over four hours, she noted.

“The tea ceremony incorporates many parts of Japanese culture like woodworking, metalwork, calligraphy and architecture,” Cohen said.

Saturday’s festival marked their second time attending the event, she said, noting that they returned to continue spreading appreciation of the Japanese culture.

Contact Annie Vong at avong@reviewjournal.com. Follow @annievwrites on X.