O-Tsukimi: An Evening of Celebrating Japanese Arts & the Harvest Moon at Vancouver Public Library
Image credit: Xun Yu 六入處感官美學研習社 The Six Sensorial Lab
Since ancient times, the Harvest Moon has held deep seasonal significance in Japanese culture, manifesting in a wide range of different art forms. It was our great pleasure this year to create a public program for the Vancouver Public Library Main Branch offering multiple activities and opportunities to learn about the legends and symbolism of the moon in Japan and its associated seasonal motifs. For two hours on Tuesday October 7, 2025 - in celebration of the Harvest Moon - events took place on the 8th and 9th rooftop floor spanning a range of different traditional arts presented and performed by classically trained experts in their respective fields.
As guests were welcomed on by members and volunteers of The Dōjin Japanese Arts society, they had several program options to explore at their own pace:
IKEBANA GALLERY
An open Ikebana presentation area was created making full use of the ninth floor gallery space. Here guests could view several arrangements created by Weijing (Jean) Zou in the Ikenobo style that showcased seasonal materials as well as provided opportunities to learn more about the philosophies behind flower arranging according to Japan’s founding school of ikebana. Jean was on hand to give brief, but deeply contextual, presentations about ikebana to groups as well as to answer questions and have more in depth conversations with attendees.
SHAKUHACHI BAMBOO FLUTE
Adding an element of magic and mystery, the talented Alcvin Ryuzen Ramos delighted guests to the sounds of the Shakuhachi - roaming both indoors and out on the rooftop level under the anonymous garb of a komusō monk/musician.
POETRY READINGS
Taking place in the beautiful Wosk Poets Corner room, Sonja Arntzen (poet and literary scholar) held several sessions introducing and reading Japanese moon-themed poetry from across the ages in both Japanese and English.
CALLIGRAPHY & NIHON BUYŌ PERFORMANCES
For the second half of the program, all guests assembled around the atrium and grand staircase, where they were treated to an optimal viewing of the evening’s final performances. First, in a live calligraphy performance, Calligrapher Kisyuu created three giant calligraphic works before the audience’s eyes, to the accompaniment of Alcvin’s shakuhachi music. Once the calligraphy pieces were complete, the pair of waka poems celebrating the moon were raised up from the floor and hung from above, creating a backdrop for the final performance of the evening, a dance entitled “Tama-Usagi” - the “Moon Rabbit” - performed by HANAYAGI Toshikotono/Mamie Kakimoto of the Hanayagi tradition.
We were thrilled to share traditional Japanese arts and O-Tsukimi traditions with close to three hundred visitors on this occasion. We would like to thank all the artists who participated in the event as well as our dedicated volunteers who assisted with programming planning, setting up the space, greeting attendees and facilitating wayfinding during the event, providing program support to the artists, and much more. We are also most grateful for the gracious and enthusiastic support of the VPL Cultural Programming staff.
This event was presented in partnership with the Vancouver Public Library.
With generous funding support from:
