Distinguished teacher Toshiko Chinen will provide participants the opportunity to be dressed and photographed in the classic performing art attire of Okinawa. Cost is $64 per JCCH Member; $80 per non-member (price includes traditional hair and makeup; cost of photos is separate). For more information or to register, call the JCCH at (808) 945-7633 or email info@jcch.com.

Sponsored by the JCCH, Yasuko Arakawa of Aki no Kai Okinawa Koto group and Dr. Bernice Hirai of Sawai Koto Kai of Hawaii, this event will give men, women and children (aged 3 and up) the chance to be properly dressed in Okinawan costumes—including hair and make-up—by Chinen, who will share her knowledge and collection of traditional clothing from the Ryukyu Kingdom (what Okinawa was formerly referred to before it became part of Japan). Once dressed, participants can capture this memory with professional photographs by King Digital Imaging Center.

"The dressing is an important aspect of the traditional performing arts that developed several centuries ago when the kingdom of Ryukyu attained a measure of wealth and prosperity as a trade agent between China, Southeast Asia and Japan," said Mandy Westfall, JCCH Programs Director, in a written statement. "The distinctively Okinawan kimono is made from fabric dyed in the bingata style, which is created by the application of stencils featuring flower, bird, wave and cloud motifs in intense primary colors. The traditional white-faced make-up and hair complete the look of this art form that depicts the spiritual and cultural life of the people of these islands."