Ai Matsuda performed EDO KOTOBUKI JISHI (江戸寿獅子), the Lion Dance of Edo in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Japanese lion dance, or shishimai, is used in Japan during festivals to bring good luck, especially at the beginning of a new year. The art form has been popularized in North America in the past decade or so through the efforts of Kyosuke Suzuki, who studied at Wakayama Shachu school in Tokyo, Japan. Suzuki-sensei has been brought in by various taiko groups and organizations for several residencies and has many devoted students who are now spreading the art form outside of Japan. Unlike its Chinese counterpart, the Japanese lion dance was not brought over by Japanese American immigrants for use in community celebrations.