 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Sakura Square" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Sakura Square (Japanese:サクラ・スクエア,Sakura Sukuea) is a smallplaza located on the north/east side of the intersection of 19th Street and Larimer Street inDenver, Colorado. The square containsbusts ofRalph L. Carr, Governor of Colorado from 1939 to 1943,Minoru Yasui, a Japanese-American lawyer, and Yoshitaka Tamai (1900–1983), aBuddhist priest who lived in Denver. Sakura Square also has a smallJapanese garden, and it serves as the entrance to the 20-story Tamai Tower apartment building that occupies most of the block. There are several shops and restaurants in the ground and first floors of the apartment building.
Denver's Japanese-American community installed the bust of formerColorado GovernorRalph Lawrence Carr as a tribute to his support ofJapanese Americans during theperiod of their internment. At the time, Governor Carr was the only elected official in the United States to publicly apologize to the Japanese Americans for their internment.
The annual Denver Cherry Blossom Festival takes place in late June in and around Sakura Square and the Tri-State/Denver Buddhist Temple.[1] Since it was first held in 1973, the festival celebrates the Japanese heritage and culture through live entertainment, food and drink, vendor marketplace, and informative exhibits and demonstrations. During the celebration, many traditional Japanese practices are celebrated, such asMin'yō dances, martial arts demonstrations, andikebana (flower arrangement). The Japanese-themed marketplace brings vendors from across Colorado and the United States selling jewelry, anime-themed merchandise, pottery, fine art, apparel and more. Delicious traditional foods and snacks can be found throughout the weekend festival. The Denver Cherry Blossom Festival is the largest fundraiser for the operations and programs of both the Tri-State/Denver Buddhist Temple and Sakura Foundation.[2]
39°45′07″N104°59′36″W / 39.7519°N 104.9934°W /39.7519; -104.9934
