Bringing in the sun: what surprised the Hinode 2025 Festival of Japanese Culture

Singer Aya Hirano, the Akatsuki Drums drumming show, sumo champions and a cosplay contest became the centers of attraction at the Hinode Japanese Culture Festival, which took place on October 18-19. It has been held in Moscow since 2011, then in 2020 there was a covid pause. And only last year it resumed, but in a test mode, very locally. Thousands of people already came to the exhibition in 2025, and its scale was impressive compared to last year's, but it did not obscure the main problem: without official cooperation with the largest representatives of the Japanese computer game industry, as it was before, holding this forum will inevitably look like a compromise between desires and reality.

Little Japan at the Timiryazev Center

On October 18-19, the Timiryazev Center exhibition complex in Moscow was transformed for two days: a large—scale forum of Japanese culture - festival Hinode Japan 2025 — gathered thousands of people again. And he declared himself not just as a vivid mass event, but as a landmark cultural and social phenomenon, a symbol of the ongoing intensive dialogue between Russian and Japanese cultures, despite all political obstacles.

The organizers sought to create not a "stand‑up show", but an immersive space with streets filled with the rhythm of taiko drums, bright kimonos, the smell of rice cakes and the voices of anime characters. And although the festival looks outwardly entertaining, its significance goes beyond leisure. It reflects broader trends: the growing interest in Japanese culture in Russia and, in general, the growth of cultural exchange.

Upon entering the site, the "dive" occurred instantly. The spacious lobby was decorated with banners with the rising sun, zone signs, and reminders of the shocking format of the event. Plus a shopping area, a stage, workshops, and cosplay corridors. Conversations in Russian and Japanese, children's laughter, people of all ages — from teenagers to parents with toddlers, from students to artists — created the effect of a cultural polygon.

Age and cultural background didn't matter. The festival was attended by those who entered the space of Japanese culture for the first time, as well as sophisticated fans of manga and anime. On the one hand, this is evidence of a large-scale audience reach. On the other hand, such formats become a kind of "points of attraction" for those who are looking for a new alternative to popular culture, as well as the possibility of self—identification through cultural codes.

— It was magical. It's like I'm back in Tokyo. The atmosphere, the people, the energy — everything is real. Thank you for this holiday," one of the visitors, cosplayer Maria Semushkina, told Izvestia.

Key events and cultural policy

The festival included vivid cultural markers. Arrival of former sumo wrestlers — Toyonoshima Daiki and Daikiho Masahiro added surprise and traditional Japanese aesthetics to the event: master classes, talks on the philosophy of martial art, autographs. This is no longer just entertainment, but a form of cultural enlightenment: the Japanese tradition is becoming tactile, tangible.

The music segment included a performance by Ai Hirano, a Japanese singer and voice actress known for her roles in anime. Her concert became the emotional point of the festival: the audience sang along, filmed on their phones, and gave a standing ovation. The show of Japanese drummers Akatsuki Drums, performances by the band RADOPI and jazz interpretations from Miyazaki's films demonstrated that Japanese popular culture has gone beyond the national and has become a global, universal phenomenon.

Cosplay, marketing, and cultural consumption

One of the central elements of the festival was a cosplay contest. The participants had been preparing for the performance for months: they sewed costumes, thought out images, and practiced facial expressions. There were solo and group performances, children's contests and full-fledged theatrical performances. The jury was headed by Japanese cosplayer FRAN, and the winner received the right to represent Russia at the international stage of the World Cosplay Summit in Japan.

The festival provided platforms for businesses. Kimonos, fans, figurines, manga and author's products (illustrations, decorative art), a food area with Japanese cuisine (teppanyaki, gyoza, omuraisu, matcha desserts) and a demonstration of the mochitsuki ceremony (cooking rice cakes) — all this works both for the consumer and for the image of the festival. However, one can only dream of returning, for example, the grandiose stands with the latest Japanese consoles and games. But it was the Nintendo platform that was the semantic center of the event during the festivals held before 2020.

Instead, this time there was a relatively modest gaming area, which included retro consoles, virtual reality, karaoke and musical rhythm games. The visitors were offered master classes: ink drawing (sumi‑e), origami, making masks, manga basics, learning Japanese writing. Training sessions and demonstrations of aikido, iaido, and karate were held in the martial arts zone. The children were given a separate part of the program with adapted classes and game formats.

Despite the numerous positive aspects, it was not without negative feedback.

— To be honest, I expected more. It was in 2024, when the scale and organization were more impressive, and the venue was more interesting — the Main Stage on Ball Bearing Street. This time it's kind of... rotten. I hope they will return to their former scale next year," said visitor Alexander.

The position is controversial, especially since there were clearly fewer people last time, and so were the events with booths. But the public clearly lacks what usually moves such events forward: the feeling of looking into the future, playing ahead of the curve, which is what is associated with Japan and its culture today. Advanced technology, games, literature, music — all this needs additional conceptual understanding and, importantly, implementation, which today, even in the form that it was, already seems fantastic and impossible.