*LIVE REMOTE ONLINE OFFERING* OSHOGATSU: JAPANESE NEW YEAR

PLEASE READ ENTIRE CLASS DESCRIPTION

ZOOM CLASSES OPERATE THE SAME AS IN PERSON CLASSES. WE DO NOT RECORD CLASSES TO PROTECT THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF OUR TEACHERS.

PLEASE NOTE: This class is not an in-person class. This class is being offered as a LIVE ONLINE-ONLY OFFERING. The zoom link will be attached to your receipt. Please check your junk folder in your email if you do not receive a receipt. If you have not received one please email learn@ritualcravt.com. Please register ahead of time to ensure that you make it to the online session on time! (Class times are in MDT time zone)

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.

Registration will close one hour prior to class starting.

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.

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.