The 2022 Northern California Cherry Blossom Queen Program was held on April 9 in San Francisco Japantown and Sydney Matsuko Kasson, who was sponsored by JAMsj, became the First Princess. Yay!!
Sydney is a Junior Visual Designer at Cisco Systems, Inc. and volunteers on the marketing team at JAMsj as a graphic designer.
The Queen Program aims to “develop young women of Japanese descent to become future community leaders who will preserve and continue traditions and bring forth new ideas” according to the program’s mission statement. It is one of the highlights of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco.
On program night, Sydney and the court showcased everything they had been learning, practicing, and preparing since December of last year. The opening number was a traditional Japanese odori (dance), which came together beautifully despite the fact that they had to learn the dance through Zoom meetings.
They then each made a speech for the Japanese American community. In her speech, Sydney talked about how at first she did not feel “Japanese enough” but how she appreciated her family and became to want to be an advocate for Japantown. She also acknowledged the strength of our community and emphasized that every single person matters.
The JAMsj blog asked her how she feels and here is her answer.
“This title is such an honor to have, and I honestly could not have done it without the help from my family, the museum, and each of the girls on the court. I am honored and excited to be able to represent the community, but even happier to represent the museum. I hope that people really turn to me as not just a leader, but a friend. I want to be an advocate for the community, but also an active member in it! I hope to continue to do so through the museum.”
As First Princess, Sydney will volunteer with her court members at local community events and organizations over the course of a year and build a foundation for life-long involvement in the community.
Congratulations Sydney!!!
By Norri Kageki
Interested in writing for the JAMsj blog? Contact PublicPrograms@jamsj.org