Sachiyo Ito and Company presents the culmination performance of her Dance and Poetry of Japan Workshop on Tuesday, June 24. Participants will present the Japanese classical dance Yanagi no Wakaba (Young Leaves of Willows) and dances inspired by haiku and renku (linking verses). Special guest vocalist Beth Griffith will join to accompany the dances.

The program highlight is Sachiyo Ito’s work created for the Chinese community, titled Hiei Oroshi (Cold Wind from Mt. Hiei). Sung by Yong Jhong Jia from the Chinese Opera Theater with the Japanese melody, the work is choreographed to selected poems from Shajin-Shu, the collection of poems by Chinese poetesses.

The presentation will conclude with dance improvisations on haiku stanzas from the audience. Audiences are invited to bring their own haiku. A reception with refreshments will follow the program.

To reserve your spot, please send an email to sachiyoitoandcompany@gmail.com. (Please note: The venue has changed from 94 E. 1st Street to the current location of 189 Allen Street.)

Photo courtesy of Sachiyo Ito and Company

About the Dance and Poetry Workshop

Sachiyo Ito has conducted the free Dance and Poetry Workshop for the last ten years at several senior centers in Manhattan. Seniors from various cultural backgrounds who share a love for and interest in Japanese culture have attended.

The culmination concert showcases an example of artists’ efforts to unite the peoples of New York, known for its diversity in culture, ethnicity, and races.

Sachiyo Ito’s Memoir on JapanCulture-NYC.com

Sachiyo Ito has been serializing her memoir on JapanCulture•NYC, each chapter revealing a different aspect of her early life in Tokyo and career in New York City.

Ito offers of a profound exploration of the experience of dedicating herself to traditional Japanese dance at an early age, arriving in New York City during the tumultuous ‘70s, and making a successful career in the arts. Each chapter offers a glimpse into the complexities that shaped her journey. It is a literary examination of not only Ito Sensei’s life, but of how New York City’s culture evolved over the decades and what sacrifices one must make to achieve a thriving career in the arts.

The memoir is an invitation to delve into the layers of a creative life and career that has spanned more than 50 years. As a work in progress, it is also an invitation for you to offer your feedback. Your insights will contribute to the evolution of this extraordinary work.

To read all the chapters, please click here. For more information about Sachiyo Ito, please visit her website, dancejapan.com.

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Susan McCormac 4/5/25 Susan McCormac 4/5/25

Incarceration & Resettlement Told Through Tanka

Join Japan Society for a special book talk and signing of By the Shore of Lake Michigan, a newly translated tanka poetry collection by Japanese American WWII incarcerees Tomiko and Ryokuyō Matsumoto. Discover firsthand Issei perspectives on displacement, resilience, and postwar life. Free tickets with promo code TANKAFRIEND.

By the Shore of Lake Michigan: Recovering WWII Prison Camp & Resettlement Stories through Poetry

Monday, April 7 at 7:00 p.m.

Japan Society – 333 E. 47th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues)

Admission: $15 | $12 Seniors & Students | Free for Japan Society members

Japan Society presents a book talk and signing in honor of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, featuring By the Shore of Lake Michigan, a newly translated collection of tanka poetry by Tomiko and Ryokuyō Matsumoto. As first-generation Japanese Americans, the Matsumotos were among the 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans incarcerated in U.S. wartime prison camps.

Our friends at Japan Society are offering complimentary tickets to JapanCultureNYC readers! Go to Japan Society’s website to select the number of tickets you’d like and use promo code TANKAFRIEND at checkout.

About the Book

The Matsumotos’ poetry, written in tanka—the oldest form of Japanese poetry—captures their experiences of displacement, resilience, and rebuilding life after the war. Published by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center Press, By the Shore of Lake Michigan spans 17 years, tracing the Matsumotos’ forced relocation from Los Angeles to Wyoming’s Heart Mountain prison camp in 1942 and their postwar resettlement in Chicago. While many accounts of wartime incarceration have come from second- and third-generation Japanese Americans through fiction, theater, and film, Japanese-language writings from the Issei generation remain largely untranslated. This collection is a rare, firsthand poetic chronicle of a pivotal moment in history, nearly 15 years in the making.

Originally in Japanese, these poems are now available to English-language readers for the first time, thanks to the efforts of editor Nancy Matsumoto, the poets’ granddaughter, along with translators Mariko Aratani and Kyoko Miyabe.

Event Highlights

The evening includes a discussion with:

Nancy Matsumoto — editor and granddaughter of the poets
Mariko Aratani — translator
Kyoko Miyabe — translator
Eri F. Yasuhara — scholar and panelist

They’ll offer insights into the power of tanka and its role in documenting history.

Book Signing

Books will be available for purchase at the event. Guests are also welcome to bring their own copies for signing following the talk.

Dance and Poetry of Japan Workshop

Culmination Performance of Dance and Poetry of Japan Workshop