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Japanese fall festival a sign of growth of community, culture across North Texas

The Dallas Japanese Association hosted its first fall festival in 1988

Much has changed since Hitomi Dirbashi first moved to Dallas about 40 years ago, when there were few to no places for her to experience Japanese cuisine and culture.

As more Japanese companies started doing business in North Texas, however, she saw a community grow. Today she feels grateful to see the community finding its place in the area.

“Toyota came, and there are more Japanese people here,” Dirbashi said. “You can find Japanese grocery stores; that was impossible 30 years ago.”

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The annual Akimatsuri Fall Festival, which Dirbashi has attended with her family for many years, is proof of the community’s presence here. The Dallas Japanese Association first organized the festival in 1988 with a handful of vendors and performances.

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This year, the festival was held Sunday in the parking lot of an office building where the association is located in the 4100 block of McEwen Road, near the border of Dallas and Farmers Branch.

Food and art vendors, along with nonprofits, highlighted different aspects of Japanese culture and community. The event also featured traditional Japanese music and martial arts performances, including kendo and sumo wrestling.

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Fuji Japanese Music performs during the Dallas Japanese Association's annual Akimatsuri...
Fuji Japanese Music performs during the Dallas Japanese Association's annual Akimatsuri Japanese Fall Festival near the border of Farmers Branch and Dallas on Sunday.(Jason Janik / Jason Janik)

Michaela Banks said she tries to attend the event every year. Although not Japanese, she was an officer for the Japanese Student Association at the University of Texas at Dallas.

“It introduces you to a bunch of different experiences. This event alone, you can experience the language, the food and the different cultural aspects,” Banks said. “It’s also just fun.”

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More than 8,300 people identified themselves as Japanese in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton and Rockwall counties, according to 2022 U.S. census data. In July, Japan’s state minister for foreign affairs told The Dallas Morning News he expects continued investment in North Texas from the East Asian country.

Sam Shichijo, an honorary consul for Japan in Dallas, said about 4,300 Japanese nationals live in North Texas, with the largest concentration in Collin County.

Toyota’s U.S.-based headquarters in Plano was a major driver of the recent growth in the Japanese community, Shichijo said.

With that growth, he said, he hopes to see more people in the Japanese community getting involved in their local communities.

Earlier this year, Shichijo helped start Nakayoshi, an organization that works with the North Texas Food Bank, to address food insecurity in the area. Nakayoshi means “good friend” in Japanese.

The effort was inspired by the NiHao Initiative, which board members of the U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce Dallas shepherded. The initiative, which also works with the food bank, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and donated thousands of food items.

Guests visit various booths during the Dallas Japanese Association's annual Akimatsuri...
Guests visit various booths during the Dallas Japanese Association's annual Akimatsuri Japanese Fall Festival near the border of Farmers Branch and Dallas on Sunday.(Jason Janik / Jason Janik)
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Yuko Kitamura said she moved to Irving about 32 years ago after she got a job at Hitachi. In 2018, she started Dallas Japanese Career Women — now Japanese Career Women — to help those in the area network and find resources to meet career goals.

“Me, I was born and raised in Japan. I used to think Japanese women are supposed to be humble and not have ambition for leadership positions, but after working in the States for 20-plus years, I realized that’s not always the case,” Kitamura said.

Aki Yoshida and his wife, Nancy, have lived in North Texas for about 20 years.

Aki said he thinks North Texas’ economy is the main driver of growth in the region’s Japanese community. Nancy, who is of Japanese descent but was born in Peru, said she sees more people at the annual fall festival each year.

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“What I’m seeing is that every year, the Japanese community is getting more integrated into the community here,” she said.

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