provide a sample of the exotic Japanese culture

The 46th Nisei Week Japanese Festival this Friday through Aug. 17 provides a midsummer break and an opportunity to sample the best of an exotic culture. The festival was started by Nisei, or second generation Americans of Japanese ancestry, to honor their ethnic heritage.

The events center in Little Tokyo, bordered by 1st and 3rd streets and by Los Angeles Street and Central Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, is an architectural melange of sleek shopping malls, stylish office buildings and small shops.

Street parades and carnivals, displays of traditional arts and special programs will celebrate the cultural legacy of Japan. Joyce Wakano Chinn, general manager of the festival, suggests these 10 ways to enjoy the celebrations. For update, call (213) 687-7193.

1. Walk through the streets and malls of Little Tokyo where merchants, businesses and community groups will have special displays of arts, crafts and products from Japan. Stroll into a market to see a potpourri of exotic foods, and browse through a Japanese bookstore, where, in addition to books, you will find assortments of origami papers.

2. “Yankee Samurai,” a 50-minute documentary film about the famed World War II 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Teams, which were comprised of Japanese-Americans from Hawaii and the internment camps, will make its Los Angeles premiere. The documentary recounts the exploits of the most decorated combat unit in the history of the United States. Friday, 8 p.m., $20 (benefit); Saturday, 11 a.m. and 2, 3 and 5 p.m., $3; $2 for seniors over 65 or students with ID. Japan America Theatre, 244 S. San Pedro St., (213) 628-2725.

3. The Nisei Week Grand Parade features bands, floats, the appearance of the Nisei Week queen, plus queens from Hawaii, Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Nagoya, Japan. Ondo , street dancers in traditional costumes, give this parade an unusual Oriental flavor. Pre-parade entertainment starts Sunday at 3 p.m.; the grand parade begins at 4 p.m. along 1st Street and continues along Los Angeles and Second streets.

4. Demonstrations of different forms of Japanese martial arts are scheduled at the newest of the area’s shopping malls, Little Tokyo Square, at 3rd and Alameda streets, as follows: Saturday, aikido, 1 p.m., and muso shinden iaido, 3 p.m. Sunday, jujitsu, 1 p.m.; ninjutsu, 2 p.m.; ninpo bugei dojo genbukan, 3 p.m.; American Nippon kempo, 3:30 p.m., and Okinawa karate, 7 p.m.

5. The Japanese America Optimist Club sponsors the Samurai Seven 5K Run through the streets of Little Tokyo 8 a.m. Saturday. Runners should check in at the Japanese Village Plaza at 1st Street and Central Avenue between 6:30-7 a.m. Fee of $5, or $8 for those who enter on the day of the race. For $10, participants also receive a 5K-run T-shirt.

6. Sample ethnic foods and try your luck at game booths at a carnival in the parking lot on San Pedro Street between 2nd and 3rd streets from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Aug. 16 and 17. Then stroll over to Weller Court to view brush painting, calligraphy and other folk crafts at the Street Arts Festival, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

7. Soke Fujima Odori, a classical dance exhibition to benefit Nisei Week, presents local dancers in full costume accompanied by Japanese percussion instruments performing traditional dances at Japan America Theatre, 244 S. San Pedro St. Aug. 16, 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets, $12-$50, (213) 680-3700.

8. Traditional arts of Japan will be showcased during the week. Ikebana, traditional flower arrangements, will be exhibited at the Japanese American Cultural Community Center (JACCC), 244 S. San Pedro St. on Saturday and Sunday; at the New Union Church, 401 East 3rd St. and Zenshuji Temple, 123 S. Hewitt St., Aug. 16 and 17; the three exhibits are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aficionados of bonsai may view examples of the art of miniature trees at Doizaki Gallery in the JACCC Aug. 16 and 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and at Higashi Honganji Temple, 505 East 3rd St., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 16 and 17. Bankei and Suna-E, the art of nature in miniature and landscape in sand, may be viewed from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the JACCC. The art of textile dyeing can be seen from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 16 and 17 at JACCC.

9. The traditions of the 700-year-old, serene ritual of the tea ceremony will be demonstrated as follows: noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Higashi Honganji Temple, 505 East 3rd St.; noon to 3 p.m. Aug. 17, Little Tokyo Square, 3rd and Alameda streets, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 16 and 17 at the New Union Church, 401 East 3rd St.

10. Bystanders are encouraged to join in the special exhibition of Ondo street dancing accompanied by taiko or Japanese drums. Chinn predicts that 400 to 500 dancers will turn out to entertain on Aug. 17 at 4 p.m. on San Pedro Street between 2nd and 3rd streets. Ceremonies at 7:30 p.m. at the Japanese American Cultural Community Center, 244 S. San Pedro St., will officially close this year’s festivities.