Washington Japanese Heritage Center (Keisho Center)

To inspire a lifelong love for Japanese language and culture.

The Washington Japanese Heritage Center (Keisho Center) is designed to meet the needs of families residing in the Washington, D.C. area who want their children to learn the language and culture of their heritage. Keisho Center provides:

• An environment tailored to the needs of each child so as to develop a life-long interest in Japanese culture while maintaining and expanding their Japanese language skills.
• A student-centered curriculum based on Progressive Education theory to increase the children's knowledge of Japanese culture as well as maintain and develop their skills in the language.
• An opportunity to study in an atmosphere that respects each child as an individual, building their self-esteem and social skills so that each child can become a contributing member of the communities.

For those families who plan to live outside Japan, there are few opportunities to use Japanese on a daily basis. While traditional methods of studying of Japanese often lead to frustration, Keisho Center goal is to develop a desire in each child to continue learning throughout his or her life. Come join us!

Enrollment:

Keisho Center enrolls 135 pre-K-12 students and 16 family members in the adult program. The General Manager worked with the Education Team, which included the Curriculum Coordinator, eight teachers, and six teaching assistants (TAs). We also employed a Treasurer, Webmaster, and Admissions Assistant.

Curriculum and Learning Methods:

Youth classes were divided into nine homerooms and most of the activities followed a project-based, student-centered curriculum. With a good balance of hands-on activities and linguistic lessons, students learned Japanese language and culture while discovering their multicultural identities. Teachers mixing younger and older students for class activities deepened the students’ sense of belonging to the Keisho Center community. Keisho Center continued to offer an adult program for family members and alumni to involve the entire family in studying Japanese, which is one of the Center’s roles as a heritage language program.

Cultural Workshops and External Events:

Keisho Center holds various activities throughout the year to learn Japanese culture and traditions, such as undoukai, mochitsuki, setsubun, sakura-mochi making, ikebana, koinobori crafts, kite-flying, shogi-games, tea ceremony sessions, as well as an all-school field trip to the National Zoo. A group of Keisho Center students had the opportunity to attend Japanese Prime Minister Kishida's state visit to the White House. During Sakura Matsuri, Keisho Center students and families performed onstage and staffed a popular arts and culture booth. We hosted five guest lecturers at our Center in 2023-24: Masanori Murakami, the first Japanese player to play for a Major League team; Takuma Matsubayashi and Naoki Okai of JR Central; acclaimed violinist Kenneth Naito from Yale University; Nobel laureate Dr. Syukuro Manabe and his wife Mrs. Nobuko Manabe from Princeton; and Mr.Tatsuki Honda from Toyota Corporation.

Academic Competitions: Keisho Center students continue to join in competitions that enrich their learning of Japanese. During the 2023-24 academic year:

• 18 students and one teacher took the Kanji Kentei
• Two students took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)
• 30 took the National Japanese Exam (NJE)
• 37 Keisho Center students competed against hundreds of students from across the country in the virtual Junior Japan Bowl.
• Three students were selected as finalists in the J.LIVE Talk Japanese language competition: Shima Harrison won the gold award, Kyla Austin won the silver award, and Chloe Shafran won the bronze award.
• Eighty-one students entered the United Nations International Student Haiku Contest, and nine were selected as finalists.
• Students entered 474 New Year’s cards in the American Association of Teachers of Japanese Nengajo Contest: Umi Hines won 2nd place in the Lower Elementary Artistic division, and Momoka Kitahara won 2nd place in the Upper Elementary Comical division.

Family Involvement:

We are sincerely grateful for the help from our family members. With their support, Keisho Center can provide our students with many rich learning experiences. In 2023-24, families dedicated hundreds of volunteer hours in the classroom and for many other activities. Parent volunteers teach calligraphy, tea ceremony, ikebana, sashiko (a traditional Japanese embroidery technique), sashimi-slicing and sushi-making experiences, and cooking lessons; create the yearbook; organized the all-school potluck; and manage the library. Families also join Onigiri Action, an annual campaign against world hunger.

Partnerships:

Keisho Center maintains strong partnerships with the Embassy of Japan, the Japanese Commerce Association of Washington (JCAW), the Japan Foundation Los Angeles, the Japanese American Citizens League, O-en Network, Japanese Americans’ Care Fund, Hub Park, and the Japan America Society of Washington, D.C. We are deeply grateful for the precious donations made from our partners: Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, Mitsubishi HeavyvIndustries America, Keita Seafood and Harmonious Kitchen.