Karuta at Arlington Central Library

On January 28th, we had the pleasure of inviting the nationally renowned competitive Karuta players from Japan to attend our weekly Japanese conversation class. 

A legendary competitive Karuta player, Meijin Kumehara, Ms. Kimoto, Mr. Fujiharu, and Ms. Stone appeared in class wearing traditional Karuta attire. 

Following the educational presentation on the history of Karuta by Ms. Stone, we watched an intense match by Meijin Kumehara and Mr. Fujiharu up close, as the Karuta reader, Ms. Kimoto recited the poems. 

By their incredible speed and masterful techniques in the live demonstration, all the participants were completely captivated by the world of Karuta, and one lucky participant even had the chance to play a match against a Meijin! 

The Q＆A session was filled with questions from enthusiastic participants. We took a group photo at the end, making it a truly memorable and wonderful event for everyone. 

We sincerely appreciate the presenters and participants coming all the way to this special event despite the inclement weather. We hope that the appeal of competitive Karuta will continue to spread in the States. 選手の皆さん、本当にありがとうございました！