Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and Japanese residents, students, and leaders take part in kakizome, at Waki Elementary School, Waki Town, Japan, Jan. 11, 2019. Kakizome is the first calligraphy writing of the year that sets the writers goals for the New Year. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Triton Lai) - Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and Japanese residents, students, and leaders take part in kakizome, at Waki Elementary School, Waki Town, Japan, Jan. 11, 2019. Kakizome is the first calligraphy writing of the year that sets the writers goals for the New Year. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Triton Lai)

MCAS Iwakuni residents, Japanese locals bond through calligraphy event - U.S. Marine Corps Col. Richard Fuerst, commanding officer of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japanese government officials and participants pose for a photo as part of the U.S.-Japan joint calligraphy event, “Kakizome,” at Waki Town, Japan, Jan. 6, 2018. The purpose of the event was to bring the Japanese and American community together by sharing cultural values through art. “Kakizome” is a tradition the Japanese people participate in at the beginning of each year, and it resembles what is known in the Western Hemisphere as a New Year’s resolution. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Mason Roy)

Yamamoto Yuko, a local calligraphy instructor, helps a child from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni practice calligraphy during a calligraphy event in Waki Town, Japan, Jan. 7, 2017. The children learned how to write their goals in Kanji for the new year. Similar to the American tradition of New Year’s resolutions, the Japanese use calligraphy to write their goals at the beginning of every new year. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Joseph Abrego) - Yamamoto Yuko, a local calligraphy instructor, helps a child from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni practice calligraphy during a calligraphy event in Waki Town, Japan, Jan. 7, 2017. The children learned how to write their goals in Kanji for the new year. Similar to the American tradition of New Year’s resolutions, the Japanese use calligraphy to write their goals at the beginning of every new year. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Joseph Abrego)

Japanese locals make their way toward the Kumano Brush festival in Kumano, Japan, Sept. 22, 2016. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni residents traveled to Kumano with the Cultural Adaptation Program to experience calligraphy, tradition, history and entertainment the festival offered. After attending the festival the residents visited the Fudenosato Kobo Museum where they learned how calligraphy equipment is made. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Joseph Abrego) - Japanese locals make their way toward the Kumano Brush festival in Kumano, Japan, Sept. 22, 2016. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni residents traveled to Kumano with the Cultural Adaptation Program to experience calligraphy, tradition, history and entertainment the festival offered. After attending the festival the residents visited the Fudenosato Kobo Museum where they learned how calligraphy equipment is made. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Joseph Abrego)

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni home-schoolers pose for a group picture with the Calligraphy Club from Kannon High School, Hiroshima, during a calligraphy event at the Waki General Community Center in Waki Town, Japan, Jan. 4, 2016. This event allowed the home-schoolers to learn about the culture that they are now a part of. Community relations events like these help bolster the relationship between the station and the local Japanese community. - Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni home-schoolers pose for a group picture with the Calligraphy Club from Kannon High School, Hiroshima, during a calligraphy event at the Waki General Community Center in Waki Town, Japan, Jan. 4, 2016. This event allowed the home-schoolers to learn about the culture that they are now a part of. Community relations events like these help bolster the relationship between the station and the local Japanese community.

Mikie Watanabe, cultural adaption specialist with the cultural adaption program, speaks to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, residents during a trip to the annual Japanese Calligraphy Brush Festival, in Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture, Sept. 23, 2015. Guests wandered through the brush decorated city, where they interacted with Japanese locals, practiced their calligraphy skills and enjoyed local cuisine. The cultural adaption program aboard station coordinated this event to provide service members and their families a chance to travel beyond the installations gates and experience the Japanese culture. - Mikie Watanabe, cultural adaption specialist with the cultural adaption program, speaks to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, residents during a trip to the annual Japanese Calligraphy Brush Festival, in Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture, Sept. 23, 2015. Guests wandered through the brush decorated city, where they interacted with Japanese locals, practiced their calligraphy skills and enjoyed local cuisine. The cultural adaption program aboard station coordinated this event to provide service members and their families a chance to travel beyond the installations gates and experience the Japanese culture.

Visitors, volunteers and staff pose for a picture after the closing ceremony at the Hina Doll Festival in Shunan City, Japan, March 7, 2015. Shunan International Children’s Club invited School Age Care aboard Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, to celebrate the Hina Doll Festival at the Shinnanyo Fureai Center in Shunan City. The Hina Doll Festival, or Hinamatsuri, is a day in Japan when parents celebrate their daughters’ happiness, growth and good health and is usually held on March 3. - Visitors, volunteers and staff pose for a picture after the closing ceremony at the Hina Doll Festival in Shunan City, Japan, March 7, 2015. Shunan International Children’s Club invited School Age Care aboard Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, to celebrate the Hina Doll Festival at the Shinnanyo Fureai Center in Shunan City. The Hina Doll Festival, or Hinamatsuri, is a day in Japan when parents celebrate their daughters’ happiness, growth and good health and is usually held on March 3.