Japanese Language & Culture Team Competition for High School Students

              

The Japan Bowl® of California is held in early March every year. Study Guide is posted on JAS website in fall to assist students and teachers prepare for the Japan Bowl® of California.

In 1992, to make the study of Japan and the Japanese language both challenging and enjoyable, the Japan-America Society of Washington, D.C., launched the National Japan Bowl®, an annual competition that recognizes and encourages the nearly 50,000 high school students across the United States who have chosen to study Japanese as their foreign language. Over the years, the National Japan Bowl® has grown to become the pre-eminent venue for demonstrating American students’ knowledge of Japan, its language, its history, and its culture, focusing a national spotlight on the close, longstanding relationship between the two countries and their people. 

Japan Bowl® of California is an academic team competition that tests the achievements and caliber of high school students who are studying the Japanese Language. This uniquely designed high school contest evaluates not only the students’ proficiency of the Japanese language, but also their knowledge about Japan as a country. Japan Bowl® recognizes their efforts to study such a complex language and encourages these students to enhance their Japanese language skills even further each year. The competition format models popular quiz shows such as, “It’s Academic,” the longest-running television high school quiz show in the world. Teams participating in the Japan Bowl® of California can compete at two different levels depending on how long they have studied Japanese. This challenging and exciting atmosphere created at Japan Bowl® will allow students of all levels to showcase their Japanese language skills and knowledge. Students will also have opportunities to make connections with new language partners from all over California who have a similar interest in Japanese.

The Japan Bowl® of California will be modeled on the National Japan Bowl®. Given that one-third, or approximately 15,000, of all high school students studying Japanese in the U.S. live and go to school in Southern California, Japan Bowl® of California promises to be one of the most important regional contests of its kind. 

In addition to being an outstanding opportunity for students of Japanese language and culture to meet one another, immerse themselves in all things Japanese for a day, and publicly demonstrate the depth of their knowledge of Japan, the Japan Bowl® of California will serve as a preliminary round for the National Japan Bowl®, with the winning team representing Southern California in the national championship. 

At the conclusion of the Japan Bowl® of California competition, the winning Level 3 and 4 teams will be declared California Champions, and the 1st place teams from both Level 3 and Level 4 will be awarded a trip to compete in the National Japan Bowl® in Washington, D.C. The National Japan Bowl® trip, accommodation and participation fees are funded by a generous grant from the Mazda Foundation.

Find out more about National Japan Bowl®.

Download 2015 Japan Bowl® of California Study Guide (PDF)

Administrative Guide and Application Forms
To apply for the Japan Bowl of California, please review the Administrative Guide carefully, and fill out all the forms by the deadline.

Deadline to apply is January 23, 2015

Download 2015 Japan Bowl® of California Administrative Guide (PDF)

Download 2015 Japan Bowl® of California Application Form (PDF)


Financial Support Sponsor a Team
You can sponsor a Title 1 school (2 teams from each level, total of 6 students and 2 chaperones) for only $250! Click on the "Donate" button below, and check "JASSC Educational Programs - Japan Bowl of California".




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Past Japan Bowl® of California

2014 Japan Bowl® of Southern California

2013 Japan Bowl® of Southern California

Highlight video from 2013 Japan Bowl of Southern California

Japan Bowl^® is a registered trademark of The Japan-America Society of Washington, Inc. The Japan Bowl^® name and logo may be used only with the permission of The Japan-America Society of Washington, Inc.