A two-day event was held in Japan (June 18) to choose Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ) Japan’s representatives who will compete in Mullingar next month.
The Japanese CCÉ branch is the only one in Asia and is the first of the more exotic branches to have begun choosing their competitors for the finals. There are six CCÉ branches in South America, four in Australia and more than 20 in North America.
CCÉ Japan is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Embassy Ireland, and the Ireland Japan Chamber of Commerce.
Fiddle and sean-nós dancing workshops were held during the event which has been called Féile Tokyo and is the fifth edition of the event. The competition states: “If you’re looking to test how well your performance is in Ireland, take part in the Féile Tokyo 2022 Music Competition.”
Well-known Sligo fiddle-player Oisín MacDiarmada made the trip over to Tokyo for the occasion to perform and share his skills. Speaking ahead of the trip he said: “It will be great to meet our friends in Japan again!”
All-Ireland Fiddle Champion in 1999, Oisín, was judging the competition over the two days. The two categories were dance and music.
Irish dancer Samantha Harvey also made the trip over to mark the occasion and shared her skills with the eager Japanese competitors.
The Tokyo CCÉ branch is run by Tsuyoshi Miyamoto.
