Uwajimaya Bellevue to Mark Anniversary with Dancing, Martial Arts, Hello Kitty

It's been a year since uprooted from its location in the Overlake/Crossroads neighborhood where it had been for more than 30 years, and headed to its current location east of Interstate 405.

The store mark the occasion with dancing, drumming and martial arts and Hello Kitty, according to a press release.

According to the press release:

To celebrate their anniversary, the Bellevue store will have food samples as well as entertainment on April 14 & 15, 2012.  Kaze Daiko Taiko Group will perform on Saturday, April 14 at 1:00pm.   Seattle International & Ying Yong Lion Dance Team and Master Tony Au's Martial Arts team will perform on Sunday, April 15 at 2:00 pm.  Hello Kitty will also be making a special appearance on both days.  In addition, there will be a drawing for a trip for two at each of Uwajimaya's four stores to one of nine destinations across the US.

"The Bellevue community has been wonderful to us and our anniversary is a way to say thank you to everyone in the eastside for continuing to support us." says Uwajimaya CEO, Tomoko Moriguchi Matsuno, in a prepared statement.

The store will also Uwajimaya will commemorate the anniversary with "Bellevue's One Year Anniversary Sale" at all of their retail locations. The sale runs from April 11 - 17, 2012 with special events at the Bellevue store on April 14 and 15, 2012.

Uwajimaya Bellevue opened in its new location at 669 120th Ave. NE, just east of Interstate 405, which used to be the site of a Larry's Market and, most recently, a G.I. Joe's sporting goods store.

The new store is closer to the freeway and is 35,000 square feet, which is 75 percent larger the 20,000 square feet in its old location, .

The company's founders started businesses as a Tacoma-based grocery delivery service specializing in Japanese goods started in 1928 by Fujimatsu and Sadako Moriguchi. Fujimatsu Moriguchi would deliver imported goods to the native-Japanese millworkers and other laborers throughout Western Washington.

That business ended during World War II, when the Moriguchis and their children were sent to an internment camp in California.

When the Moriguchis returned, they opened the first Uwajimaya store in Seattle in 1946. The store is named after Uwajima, the Japanese fishing community where the Moriguchis traced their roots.

Today, Uwajimaya sells grocery products from different Asian countries and the U.S.