Japan is no longer 8000 miles away.
IT'S RIGHT HERE AT HARUMATSURI!
WHAT WE DO
29th NECTJ Harumatsuri
Thursday, April 11, 2024
NECTJ Harumatsuri is an annual Japanese spring festival hosted by
the Northeast Council of Teachers of Japanese (NECTJ) since 1994.
Harumatsuri takes place in April this year at United Nations International School (UNIS) in New York City and
offers professional Japanese performances, cultural booths, various contests, and a talent show.
More than 400 students mainly in high school who are learning Japanese and
100 volunteers participate in Harumatsuri every year.
Through Harumatusri, the students not only experience Japanese culture but also interact with performers, volunteers, and new friends in Japanese.
If you would like to bring your students or volunteer, please contact us. nectjharumatsuri@gmail.com
Students, please tell your Japanese teacher about Harumatsuri and join our event!
Click this link to watch recap videos of the past Harumatsuri.
*Due to schedule, Akimatsuri 2015 was held instead of Harumatsuri 2016.**Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Harumatsuri 2020 was canceled
and Harumatsuri 2022 & 2021 were held online.
WHO WE ARE
Northeast Council of Teachers of Japanese
北東部日本語教師会
New York, NY & Boston, MA
NECTJ is a non-profit organization for K-16 Japanese teachers in the Northeast area and a regional affiliate of American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ). NECTJ is one of the biggest teacher's organizations in the United States and actively holds events for students and workshops for teachers.
Website: www.nectj.org
Logo Design by Masahiro Tanaka
Program
2024 29th Annual NECTJ Harumatsuri
9 AM Registration
9:30 AM Opening Remarks and Performance
10:05 Rules
10:15 AM Visiting Booths
12:15 PM Lunch and Speech Contest
1:20 PM Talent Show
2:05 PM Contest Results
2:30 Closing Remarks
COMMITTEE
Harumatsuri Committee
2024 Teacher Committee Members
NECTJ President : Kazuo Tsuda
Committee Co-Chairs: Yukiko Wilson & Emi Yamasaki
Participating Schools & Committee Members :
- Bronx Collaborative HS, Emi Yamasaki
- Clarkstown HS: Akiko Uchiyama, Kazuko Saito
- East-West School of Int'l Studies, Yukiko Wilson
- Felix Festa MS, Kazuko Saito
- Forest Hills High School, Natalia Higashide
- High School for Law and Public Service, Kuniko Hall
- LaGuardia Arts HS, Chiaki Rochkind
- Marble Hill School for Int'l Studies, Johanna Yokokawa
- Riverdale Country School, Ayako Ito
- Saint Ann's School, Yasuko Otsue
- The Hudson School, Ritsuko Yokota
- Townsend Harris HS, Mariko Sato
- UNIS: Tatsuki Sakamoto, Masahiro Tanaka
- Valley Stream Central HS, Noriko Koide
- Movement for Language and Culture, Kazuo Tsuda
*Photo: 2019 Harumatsuri Committee
Registration & Applications
NECTJ Harumatsuri
For Japanese teachers and Japan related organizations in the tri-state & New England areas.
The Harumatsuri Committee also welcomes other teachers of Japanese, their students, and Japan related organizations to join our Harumatsuri. If you would like to bring your students, please contact: Yukiko Wilson
Japanese teachers from participating schools need to attend preparatory meetings in November and February and preparation on the day before Harumatsuri if the event takes place in person. Please find the schedule below.
Participation fee including a bento box: $20 ~ (please inquire to Yukiko Wilson )
Talent Show
Deadline: Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Performance duration: 5 minutes or less including a set-up and off the stage.
Contents: Must be related to Japan or Japanese culture, performed in Japanese, and appropriate for screening in the school environment: No violence or inappropriate language and acting.
Requirements: Must submit a 30-second demo video of the performance for application and record your performance to be played on the event day.
Submission format: Upload the demo video on YouTube..
Application Form for 2024 Talent Show, Cover Design Contest, and Video Skit Contest
Cover Design Contest
Both Hand Written and Digital Entries
Deadline: Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Criteria:
- Both Hand Written and Digital Entries are accepted,
- Sample themes: anime, manga, Japanese culture, spring, food, etc.
- Format: a JPEG in letter size / portrait orientation.
- Ensure that the entry is original and in compliance with all the legal and copyright requirements.
- The design must include all of the following phrases:
- 二〇二四年 or 2024
- NECTJ春祭り
- ニューヨーク or NY
Application Form for 2024 Talent Show, Cover Design Contest, and Video Skit Contest
Video Skit Contest
Deadline: Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Length: 2-5 minutes
Contents: Must be appropriate for screening in the school environment. No violence or inappropriate language and acting. Can be live-action, animated, or voice-over with copyright-free images. Can be a monologue such as rakugo-style.
Requirements: It must include English subtitles. The script must be an original work by students.
Judging Criteria: Satisfaction of the guidelines. Originality & Creativity, Japanese language skills.
Submission format: Upload your video to YouTube.
You can watch the 2016 and 2019 winner's videos here.
Application Form for 2024 Talent Show, Cover Design Contest, and Video Skit Contest
NECTJ High School Japanese Speech Contest
NECTJ 高校生日本語スピーチコンテスト
Regional Contest for the All-USA Speech Contest by Aurora Foundation
オーロラ基金による全米スピーチコンテスト地区予選
Date: Thursday, April 11 , 2024
Application Deadline: Friday, March 1, 2024
Regional Contest for the All-USA Speech Contest by Aurora Foundation
Purpose:
The purpose of this speech contest is to provide an opportunity for local high school students to learn from each other and deepen their international understanding by presenting the diverse perspectives and new knowledge they have gained through studying the Japanese language and culture.
Content:
Speakers can choose any topic; e.g. "Traditional Culture vs Pop Culture,” “International Relations,” etc.
Past Speech Contest Topics:
You can download the Speech Contest 2021 program here.
Eligibility:
Applicants must be high school students and may NOT:
a) be native speakers of Japanese;
b) have a Japanese parent (Issei), or;
c) have had more than six months of schooling in Japan after age six.
d) These students also may not be the past 1st place winners, and
e) their teachers must be current members of NECTJ.
Any student who places in the top 3 at the NECTJ High School Japanese Speech Contest will be eligible to submit their speeches for consideration to the Aurora Foundation All-USA High School Japanese Speech Contest. However, the winner of the All-USA Contest must be a US citizen or permanent resident to enter the World Speech Contest in Japan.
For more details, see Aurora Foundation's website.
http://www.jlsf-aurora.org/eng
*Date and Venue:
The Northeast Council of Teachers of Japanese (NECTJ) High School Japanese Speech Contest will be held during Harumatsuri on Thursday April 11, 2024
Procedure for Preliminary Selection
Application Deadline: Friday, March 1, 2024
To be considered to be a finalist for the Contest, teachers must submit the Online Application Form on behalf of their students.
👉 2024 Online Application for Speech Contest
1. Each teacher may apply up to four (4) students. If you have multiple entries, please rank the speeches from your school with the strongest speech as ‘1’ and so forth.
2. Upload student’s typed speech script in Japanese (PDF) with the title:
Student’s full name - Name of your school (teacher’s name)
Ex. John Smith - New York HS (Tanaka)
3. Upload student’s speech file (mp3) ( 5 minutes or less) with the title:
Student full name - Name of your school (teacher’s name)
Ex. John Smith - New York HS (Tanaka)
Selection Procedure:
NECTJ members will judge the speeches and select 6 speeches for the Contest, where contestants will present their speeches remotely via Zoom.
The teachers will be notified of the finalists by the Speech Contest Committee by the end of March 2024.
Theme Song of 2024 NECTJ Harumatsuri:
Sekai no Owari 最高到達点 The Peak
Click here to see the lyrics and the translation of the song.
👈Lyric video
ソーラン節(ぶし)のおどり方
2023-24 SCHEDULE & APPLICATION DUE
- HARUMATSURI 2024
Saturday, September 23, 2023
Kick-Off Meeting for Japanese Teachers on Zoom
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Saturday, December 3rd, 2023
Meeting for Japanese Teachers on Zoom
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Wednesday, January 31, 2024
List of Student ParticipantsProposals for BoothsPamphlet Cover Design Contest ApplicationVideo Skit Contest ApplicationTalent Show Application with a 30-Second Demo-Video Application
Saturday, February 3, 2024
2nd Meeting for Japanese Teachers 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Friday, February 23, 2024
Final List of Student Participants Due
Friday, March 1, 2024
Speech Contest Application due
Saturday, March 2, 2024 (to be determined)
Preparation Meeting on Zoom OR at UNIS
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Final List of Student Participants
Monday, March 6 , 2024 (to be determined)
Notifications are sent to teachers of speech contest finalists.Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Preparation Meeting at UNIS
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Thursday, April 11, 2024Harumatsuri
9AM-2:30PM
CONNECT WITH US
Please follow us on social media and feel free to contact us.
Email
nectjaharumatsuri
@
gmail.com WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT
NECTJ is a non-profit organization and organizes Harumatsuri with generous support and donations from various organizations and companies.We will appreciate your both voluntary working at the event and monetary support. If you are interested in volunteers, please contact us by e-mail. If you are willing to make a donation for our event, please click the Donate button below and put amount of money you would like to donate through PayPal. Thank you for your support.Arigatoo gozaimasu.
© Copyright 2014-2023 NECTJ
Created & Managed by Masahiro Tanaka