For more than 40 years, the Missouri Botanical Garden has produced this annual festival in conjunction with the Japanese Activities Committee, a coalition of several Japanese-American organizations that provide art, dance, food and entertainment for thousands of visitors each year.

This year, the Garden will welcome Kanariya Eiraku, an expert in the Japanese art of lone storytelling known as rakugo. Seated alone and with minimal props, Eiraku will show the audience how to weave masterfully comedic tales with multiple characters using only simple movements and voice changes.

The Garden is also partnering with USA Sumo to welcome back the sumo wrestlers who have been a festival favorite for many years. Sumo is a form of full-contact wrestling and Japan’s national sport, originating as religious performances to the Shinto gods in ancient times. These professional sumo wrestlers will give live demonstrations and often invite spectators onto the mat to try some of the moves for themselves.

When: Labor Day weekend, August 31 through September 1, 9 a.m.– 9 p.m.and September 2, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Where: The festival takes place across the Missouri Botanical Garden grounds, with performances at the Bayer Event Center and Farr Auditorium inside the Jack C. Tayor Visitor Center, the Cohen Amphitheater, and throughout the Garden all weekend long.

What’s in bloom? When you’re visiting the Garden, don’t miss out on the August blooms! Roses, lavender, asters, coneflowers and water lilies are some of the "can’t miss" flowers blooming this month.