{IN PERSON} OSHOGATSU: THE JAPANESE NEW YEAR

Please read class description in its entirety. This for is for IN PERSON registration only.

TICKETS ARE NOT TRANSFERABLE.

Class fees are non transferable, please note that we stick to the student agreements clicked on during registration. Please ensure you are able to attend the scheduled class time.

Alongside the summer ancestor festival of Obon, Oshogatsu is one of the most sacred of Japanese animist and magical traditions. During the Japanese New Year we welcome Toshigami into our homes. Traditions vary as to whether Toshigami is the kami of the New Year, grain or our collective ancestors, but the principle remains that we must prepare our homes for their arrival. In this hybrid class, we will cover the history of this sacred holiday and the rituals associated with it including cleansing and purifying, cord cutting, sacred decor, traditional foods, and the closing of the spiritual container that is held during this time. This class will include a small tasting of osechi ryori (New Years dishes). For those especially sensitive, the dishes will be separated to not cross-contaminate allergens. Allergens: fish, shellfish, soy, kelp, egg, chestnuts, legumes.

Akemi Tsutsui-Kunitake is a visual artist, karate-ka and creator of Live Deliciously. Based in Denver, her work is informed by her identity as a third and fourth-generation (sansei-han and yonsei), mixed-race Japanese American. Her artwork blends themes of Japanese folklore with Western mysticism. She is inspired by the intersectionality of cultural tradition, ancestral wisdom and modern identity. She is a lifelong student of Shotokan karate-do under the instruction of her father, Isao Gary Tsutsui, at Colorado Budokan.
Akemi has also been fortunate to train with masters of other karate styles in California, Hawaii and Japan. As karate embodies so many elements that are integral to the Japanese American experience, she describes karate as her ethnic and spiritual identity in motion. With a formal education in Ethnic Studies, Akemi has worked in the fields of culturally specific education, advocacy and holistic health. She has continued her studies through courses on Japanese energetic healing, Shinto, deep ancestral work and radical community care. Akemi is a frequent collaborator with the Japanese Arts Network as a Cultural Consultant and artistic partner.