Features this year: Anime and Cosplay, make-up demonstration (traditional like kabuki, and cosplay), besides the tea ceremony, mochi pounding, bonsai, origami, shodo, Kimono Dressing, mini bon dance, kanzashi hair pin making, anime drawing, yatai food village.

Shih? Yumeori (Mayu Langford), Natori dancer, Traditional Japanese Dance
Mayu comes from a lineage of Japanese dance teachers, her late grandmother Miyama Toyomine and late mother Shih? Maisen, who shared a dojo in northern Japan with her grandfather who was a blackbelt kendo and iaido master. Yumeori is her natori (master dancer) name meaning Dream Weaver. While receiving an American education, Yumeori was born and raised in Japan in this unique bicultural environment. She has been on stage since the age of 4. Professionally trained as a musician and music therapist, Mayu graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston and has been featured in over 30 singles, albums, and vinyls worldwide. As a board-certified music therapist and holistic health practitioner, Mayu has provided services to a diverse range of clientele, from infants and children on the autistic spectrum to adults in DV and homeless shelters to nursing homes and hospice care. Since moving to Hawai?i, her focus has been on farming and creating natural products. As a former owner of a popular natural parenting store on O?ahu, she has been manufacturing and retailing natural herbal products for over a decade. Along with her husband, she is currently the co-owner of M?maki Skin, an organic skincare company featuring native Hawaiian healing herb mamaki.
Yumeori is dancing two pieces at Matsuri:

- Omatsuri Mambo (Misora Hibari)
Sung by the iconic post-war era singer Misora Hibari, Omatsuri Mambo tells the tales of Matsuri festival goers, Edokko (local east side Tokyoites) uncle and aunty whose house burns down and burglarized, respectively, while they are too busy partying. The song ends with the phrase “Atono Matsuri” which is the Japanese equivalent of “don’t cry over spilled milk,” literally translated to “after the festival is over.” The movements in the dance include the carrying of the Omikoshi (miniature shrine), with the mikoshi-carrying call, Wasshoi.

- Nada Sousou / Ka Nohona Pili Kai (BEGIN/Keali?i Reichel)
Nada Sousou is a song remembering a loved one who has passed on, originally written and performed by Okinawan group BEGIN. Nada Sousou means flowing tears in the Okinawan dialect. Flipping through an old album, whispering thank you, searching for the loved one in the sky… until they meet again. Mayu recorded this arrangement herself with the additional segment in Hawaiian (written by Keali?i Reichel).

Ayumi Miyashiro, Sculptor, Painter, Make-Up Effects Artist, Hair and Make-Up Artist
Ayumi grew up in a family of hairdressers and watching Hollywood monsters horror and fantasy films with her parents. An award-winning nail artist, she got a diploma for haircut, bridal hair/make-up, mail and Kitsuke for kimono. She also received 3rd place out of 8,000 contestants in the Vidal Sassoon Hair Cuttings competition. As a nationally licensed cosmetologist in Japan, she worked in a hair salon in Tokyo as well as Vancouver, Canada, where she was the supervisor for bridal hair and make-up. After 12 years in the salons, she studied to become a special effects make-up artist and studied under world-renowned special effects sculptor Akihito Ikeda. She made her first Hollywood debut as a sculptor for Harbinger Down, followed by an extensive roster of feature films, from two Maze Runner films to Independence Day: Resurgence, IT, Annabelle: Creation, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Predator, and the Nun. She is also credited for 2017 Netflix films, Bright and Rakka.
Ayumi will be demonstrating traditional Japanese make-up at her make-up booth at Matsuri.

Date: October 14, 2023

Time: 9:30am to 4:30pm

Location: Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall - 4191 Hardy Street Lihue, HI 96766

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