Brighton celebrates its culture with the community’s first Japanese American festival

Brighton celebrated more than a century of its history on October 12 as the community gathered in the arcade between the Brighton Armory and the Chamber of Commerce, filling it with traditional Japanese food, watching and participating in Japanese folk dances, and enjoying art and history, vendors and Entertainment.

The Brighton Japanese American Association and sponsor Brighton City Museum hosted the first-ever Brighton Japanese American Festival, celebrating the city’s Japanese culture. The children also took part in face painting and crafts.

Bill Armstrong, historic preservation specialist at the Brighton City Museum, said this is the first Japanese festival the city has hosted and raises awareness of the heritage of Japanese Americans in Adams County and Southern Weld County – particularly in Brighton.

“We bring history to the community. “Japanese culture is deeper than you think,” Armstrong said. “It actually dates back to 1900, around the time the Japanese left Japan after it changed and became a modern country during the reign of Emperor Meiji.”

“Most of the Japanese people here have deep roots in Adams County that go back generations, most of them were farmers and business owners,” he said. There are several Japanese organizations in Brighton and nationwide in Colorado.

The Issei and Nisei were the first farmers to settle in Brighton. The terms refer to their generations. The Issei were the first generation of Japanese in America and were not eligible for U.S. citizenship. The Nisei were the second generation and were native-born U.S. citizens. These groups formed the Japanese Farmers’ Association at a meeting in Brighton Town Hall in 1909.

Then, in 1914, the Japanese community grew and established a separate branch of farmers’ associations. The independent Brighton Nihonjin Kai, also known as the Brighton Japanese Association, was founded in 1920.

The Japanese American Association played a significant role in the growth of Colorado’s Japanese population. The Issei and Nisei farmers who settled in Brighton have numerous third generation families who were also successful farmers in the Brighton area.

Megan Shibao is a member of the Japanese Association and is a fourth-generation Brighton resident.

“We are very excited,” she said. “I was so happy when Bill Armstrong came forward and wanted to work with us and we also got the Brighton Chamber of Commerce involved. We have been in Brighton for 76 years and are very grateful and happy that they wanted to do something with us this year.”

According to the Brighton History Museum, Colorado’s Japanese American population grew during World War II. Colorado Governor Carr, who served from 1939 to 1942, opposed Japanese American internment camps during World War II and supported policies favorable to Japanese Americans.

Armstrong said World War II was still hard on Japanese immigrants.

“Some of the Japanese, including their descendants, were in some concentration camps around the state,” Armstrong said. “We want to show how vibrant the community still is and that these people are still here and try to bring them together and help them, as well as help ourselves, to build a shared event from collaboration and learn about their heritage learn.”

The event was free and sponsored by Brighton City Museum.

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