Okinawa Day 2026

Okinawa Day is a family friendly event that will introduce the audience to music, dances, and food from the islands of the Ryukyu archipelago to highlight its incredibly rich cultural diversity. Okinawa Prefecture encompasses an archipelago of islands in Southern Japan that formed part of the historic Ryukyu Kingdom and as such has its own distinct music and traditions.

Live Performance

A variety of performances showcasing Okinawan culture will feature throughout the day. From elegant Ryukyu Classical Music and energetic sanshin performances of Okinawan Folk Songs to traditional Eisa dance performances. There will be the chance to try Eisa dance through a workshop taught along with demonstrations of Ryukyu Karate, a martial art originating from Okinawa.

In addition, guest performers from the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Amami, and Tokyo will be visiting the UK to showcase their unique island folk songs and dances.

Food and Goods Stalls

Okinawan cuisine, food, and crafts will be on sale from a variety of stalls run by the London Okinawa Sanshinkai and other independent retailers.

Arts & Crafts - Bermondsey Puppet & Storytelling Festival

Make traditional Japanese Eisa Dancing Puppets with artist Miyuki Kasanara. Bermondsey Puppet & Storytelling Festival is offering free puppetry and storytelling workshops across local schools, community venues and public spaces. You can find free activities in and around The Blue Market Place every Saturday May - July, leading to a lively outdoor celebration in Bermondsey Spa Gardens on Sunday 12 July, 12–5pm. Bermondsey Puppet & Storytelling Festival is supported by Blue Bermondsey BID, Connection With Wonder and Southwark Cultural Celebration Fund,

London Okinawa Sanshinkai

London Okinawa Sanshinkai was formed in 1999 at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) by academics specialising in Ryukyu Classical Music and Yaeyama Folk Songs studies. Since then, the group has been disseminating Okinawan music, dances and culture through a variety of activities and performances not only in the UK but also in other European countries. At the centre of these activities is our annual “Okinawa Day” event.

A history of “Okinawa Day” in the UK

There have been many events in London over the years introducing traditional Okinawan music and dance to the UK. Notably, the Rinken Band’s performance in Hyde Park, Sonoda Eisa’s performance at the Thames Festival, and recitals by Shinji Kise (Master of the Nomura School of Ryukyu Classical Music).

In June 2009, London Okinawa Sanshinkai and Okinawa Kenjinkai (The UK Okinawan Association) organised an event called “Okinawa Matsuri” at Café Oto in Northeast London. In Okinawa, a public holiday called Memorial Day is observed annually on the 23rd of June, and to coincide with this, we have been holding our London Okinawa Day event on the third Saturday of June ever since.

Since 2010, the event has been held under its new name “Okinawa Day”.

Moving its location to Spitalfields in East London, it has successfully run for 10 years, growing to the point of attracting an audience of around thousands of visitors each year.

After a hiatus due to the pandemic, Okinawa Day restarted in 2022 in a new location; The Blue Market in Bermondsey, South London. The Blue Market, built with a unique architectural style focusing on sustainability and community was a perfect fit for our growing event. The Blue Market’s central philosophy of embracing the diversity of people and culture matches our own and we hope to attract even more people, from all backgrounds, to enjoy this year’s Okinawa Day and celebrate music from across the world.

Blue Bermondsey BID

This event continues Blue Bermondsey BID’s on-going programme of events and workshops to promote co-creation and wellbeing though creativity, music, physical activity, inspiration learning and awareness of the local environment. Events such as Okinawa day bring diverse communities together to participate and mix and encouraging footfall to local businesses and amenities including The Blue Market, Big Local Works and Blue Anchor Library. Visitors enjoy different kinds of participatory activities at each event exploring a wide range of interests with art and crafts, music, storytelling, games, and environmental activities, with everyone welcome to join in and participate, especially local families. Our target audience is people of all ages, colours and genders who live in the locality, especially families with school age children. We believe that having held many successful events on the site over the past 14 years, we have built up a solid understanding of the safe management and delivery of events in this location.

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