The 2024 Houston Regional Japanese Language Speech Contest was held at the University of St. Thomas on February 17, 2024.
Twenty-eight (28) contestants gathered to demonstrate their Japanese skills in the areas of (i) POETRY RECITATION, (ii) HAIKU, (iii) FREE SPEECH AURORA, and (iv) FREE SPEECH COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY.
6 students competed in beginner level Poetry Recitation division.
6 students competed in the lower intermediate Haiku Presentation division.
13 students competed in the upper intermediate Free Speech High School division.
3 students competed in the advanced Free Speech University division.
Lyrics to FUJII Kaze’s “Tabiji” were recited, original haikus were presented and free speeches were given covering topics ranging from “One Piece” and Ryuichi Sakamoto to Lolita fashion and the Japan-Korea relationship.
"Otsukaresama" to all contest participants! As our generous host, Dr. Yao-Yuan Yeh, Chair of International Studies and Modern Languages at University of St. Thomas, noted, studying Japanese is no small feat as Japanese is ranked by the U.S. Department of State as a Category IV language — a language having significant linguistic and/or cultural differences from English.
We congratulate all the contestants for their hard work and commitment to learning Japanese.
Meet the winners of the 2024 Houston Regional Japanese Language Speech Contest!
Winners are listed below by category.
Those placing in the top two in each division will move on to compete in the TEXAS STATE JAPANESE LANGUAGE SPEECH CONTEST, which will be held at Rice University on March 9, 2024.
DIVISION 1 - POETRY
1. Wendy WANG – 10th, William P. Clements High School
2. Rayan WAQAR – 11th, William P. Clements High School
3. Wenxin ZHANG – 10th, William P. Clements High School
DIVISION 2 - HAIKU
1. Emma CHEN – 10th, William P. Clements High School
2. Ziyi ZHAO – 10th, William P. Clements High School (not pictured)
3. Dylan TING – 10th, William P. Clements High School
DIVISION 3 - FREE SPEECH HIGH SCHOOL AURORA
1. Zacharia HUSAIN – Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12th, William P. Clements High School
2. Zafir KHAN – Life Adventures Learned from the World of One Piece – 11th, William P. Clements High School
3. Tyler PATTON – New Experiences in Japan – 12th, William P. Clements High School
DIVISION 4 - FREE SPEECH COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY
1. Bryson JUN – Me and Japanese – Senior, Rice University
2. Tianlan LI– How Fashion Changed My Life – Sophomore, Texas A&M University
3. Giulia COSTANTINI – The Beauty of Language – Sophomore, Rice University
Contest winners will receive the following prizes courtesy of KINOKUNIYA BOOKSTORE KATY & THE SHINTECH-KANAGAWA FUND & THE YASUHIKO & AKEMI SAITOH FOUNDATION:
DIVISIONS I & II: POETRY and HAIKU (Beginner & Intermediate)
1st place: $25 gift card & four (4) private lessons through JASH’s Online Japanese Language Program
2nd Place: $15 gift card
3rd Place: $10 gift card
DIVISIONS III & IV: FREE SPEECH High School and University
1st place: $50 gift card & four (4) private lessons through JASH’s Online Japanese Language Program
2nd Place: $25 gift card
3rd Place: $15 gift card
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS:
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR JUDGES:
Tomoko INOUE - JTAT
Yuko KUDO - Instructor, JASH Japanese Language Program
Kei KUON - Instructor, JASH Japanese Language Program
Kosuke OI - Instructor, Volunteer, JASH
Hiroko SATO - Board Member, JASH
Hiromi TAKAYAMA - Instructor, Rice University
Yuko YAMADA - Instructor, JASH Japanese Language Program
Masato YAMAMURA - Consul, Consulate-General of Japan in Houston
SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL PARTICIPATING JAPANESE LANGUAGE TEACHERS IN HOUSTON:
Elizabeth HOJO
Yoshimi SHERIDAN
Satoko SHOU
Hiromi TAKAYAMA
Yuki WAUGH