• Japan is no longer 8000 miles away.

    IT'S RIGHT HERE AT HARUMATSURI!

  • WHAT WE DO

    28th NECTJ Harumatsuri

    Monday, March 27th, 2023

     

    NECTJ Harumatsuri is an annual Japanese spring festival hosted by

    the Northeast Council of Teachers of Japanese (NECTJ) since 1994.

     

    Harumatsuri takes place in March 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

    2023 28th Annual NECTJ Harumatsuri

     

                9:30 AM - 10:30 AM  Opening Ceremony

                           ・Opening remarks

                           ・Japanese cultural performance   

                10:15-12:15 PM    Booth Activities

                12:15 - 1:15 PM    Lunch, Speech Contest

                1:15 - 2:00 PM     Talent Show

                2:00 -2:45 PM     Award Ceremony / Closing Ceremony

  • COMMITTEE

    Harumatsuri Committee

    2023 Teacher Committee Members

    NECTJ President : Kazuo Tsuda

    Committee Chair: Masahiro Tanaka

    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

    - 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 Harvey School, Tim Cornell

    - 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

    - Special Thanks, Naoto Kobayashi

     

    *Photo: 2019 Harumatsuri Committee

  • Registration & Applications

    Form 1: REGISTRATION FORM for General Admission

    Form 2: APPLICATION FORM for

    Talent Show, Cover Design, Video Skit, Student Booth Operation

    *All registration & applications must be submitted through Japanese teachers.*

    *You can find the speech contest application below.*

    NECTJ Harumatsuri

    For Japanese teachers and Japan related organizations in the tri-state & New England areas.

    If you would like to participate in NECTJ Harumatsuri, please fill out the registration form above.

     

    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.

     

    Registration fee including a bento box: $13

     

    Student booth application

    *Booth video description

    Talent Show

    *Not a contest.

    Deadline: Friday, January 27, 2023

     

    Teachers must submit the Online Application Form above on behalf of their students.
     

    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 and fill out this application form.

     

    Cover Design Contest

    Both Hand Written and Digital Entries

    Deadline: Friday, January 27, 2023

     

    Teachers must submit the Online Application Form above on behalf of their students.

     

    Criteria:

    1. Both Hand Written and Digital Entries are accepted,
    2. Sample themes: anime, manga, Japanese culture, spring, food, etc.
    3. Format: a JPEG in letter size / portrait orientation.
    4. Ensure that the entry is original and in compliance with all the legal and copyright requirements.
    5. The design must include all of the following phrases:

    - 二〇二三年 or 2023

    - NECTJ春祭り

    - ニューヨーク or NY

    Video Skit Contest

    Deadline: Friday, January 27, 2023

     

    Teachers must submit the Online Application Form above on behalf of their students.

     

    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.

    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: Monday, March 27, 2023 *Tentative

     

    Application Deadline: Friday, February 10, 2023

    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 Monday 27, 2023.

     

    Procedure for Preliminary Selection

     

    Application Deadline: Friday, February 10, 2023

     

    To be considered to be a finalist for the Contest, teachers must submit the Online Application Form on behalf of their students.

     

    👉Online Application Form

     

    1. Each teacher may apply up to three (3) 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 6, 2023.

     

    Song of 2023 NECTJ Harumatsuri:

    Mrs. GREEN APPLE – はじまり feat. キヨサク from MONGOL800

    Click here to see the lyrics and the translation of the song.

     

    👈Lyric video

  • 2022-23 SCHEDULE & APPLICATION DUE

    • Saturday, November 12, 2022
      Kick-Off Meeting for Japanese Teachers on Zoom
      9:00 am - 12:00 pm or 1:00 - 4:00 pm

      Saturday, December 10, 2022
      Volunteer Booth Application

      Friday, January 27, 2023
      List of Student Participants
      Proposals for Booths
      Speech Contest Application
      Pamphlet Cover Design Contest Application
      Video Skit Contest Application
      Talent Show Application with a 30-Second Demo-Video Application

      Saturday, February 4, 2023
      2nd Meeting for Japanese Teachers on Zoom
      9:00 am - 12:00 pm

      Saturday, March 4, 2023
      Preparation Meeting on Zoom
      9:00 am - 12:00 pm
      Final List of Student Participants

      Monday, March 6, 2023
      Notifications are sent to teachers of speech contest finalists.

    Saturday, March 25, 2023
    Preparation Meeting at UNIS
    9:00 am - 12:00 pm


    Monday, March 27, 2023

    28th NECTJ Harumatsuri

     

  • CONNECT WITH US

    Please follow us on social media and feel free to contact us.

    Facebook

     

    NECTJ Facebook

     

    Instagram

     

    @nectjharumatsuri

     

    Volunteer Opportunity

     

    Please contact us!

     

    Email

    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.