31st Black Ships Festival Celebrated in Newport
On July 18th and 19th, the Japan Society of Rhode Island held the Newport Black Ships Festival at Touro Park in Newport RI. It was the 31st anniversary of the Black Ships Festival which is an annual summer event in Newport.
In the opening ceremony, Governor of RI Chafee, Rear Admiral P. Gardner Howe, Prof. Kuniko Inoguchi, a member of the House of Councilor and City of Newport Mayor Winthrop gave speeches. Deputy Consul General Watanabe read a message from Minister of Foreign Affairs Kishida.
In “The Art and Crafts Fair”, there are workshops and booths demonstrating the traditional Japanese martial arts “Okinawa Budo” and “Aikido”, and Japanese culture, calligraphy, kites, tea ceremony, Ikebana, anime and manga.
