Hosted By

Japan America Society of Southern California

Japanese Language & Culture Competition for High School Students

Deadline to submit application forms: January 18, 2013

2013 Japan Bowl® of Southern California

The inaugural Japan Bowl® of Southern California will take place on Saturday, March 9, 2013 at the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts at Loyola Marymount University. The event is made possible in part by a generous grant from The Freeman Foundation.

What is the Japan Bowl®?

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. 

The Japan Bowl® of Southern 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 Southern 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 Southern 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 Southern California competition, the winning Level 3 and 4 teams will be declared Southern California Champions, and the advanced-level Champions will be awarded a trip to compete in the National Japan Bowl® on April 11-12, 2013.

Find out more about National Japan Bowl®.

Study Guide

This Study Guide describes the format, content, and rules of the Japan Bowl® of Southern California competition. It also describes who is eligible to compete. The Study Guide’s purpose is to help students and teachers form teams and prepare for the 2013 competition. 

Download 2013 Study Guide

How to apply - Administrative Guide

Deadline to submit application forms: Friday, January 18, 2013

The Administrative Guide will describe the application process and payment procedures. 

Download 2013 Administrative Guide

Download Application Forms: PDF Format | Word Format (Form with Fields that can be typed)

Inquiries should be sent by email to Kay Amano, Programs Director, Japan America Society of Southern California at amano[at]jas-socal.org.

If you are seriously interested in volunteering for the event, please contact us.