Redmond’s Ito and Nakata honored in Japanese Queen Scholarship Organization of Washington

Published 11:03 am Tuesday, May 14, 2013

On May 4, Redmond High graduates Christine Ito and Kristi Nakata were crowned queen and first princess, respectively, in the Japanese Queen Scholarship Organization of Washington (JQSOW).

This scholarship program is aimed toward Japanese women who are pursuing higher education, community involvement and cultural awareness. Ito and Nakata competed against each other, as well as two other girls in the Seattle area for the title of 54th Cherry Blossom Festival Queen.

Since January, they have been training for their scholarship celebration, which consisted of public speaking, creative expression and odori, a classical Japanese dance. Each girl receives scholarship money, and Ito will be representing the Japanese community in the Miss Seafair Scholarship Pageant this upcoming summer. The entire queen’s court will visit their sister cities in Los Angeles, Honolulu, San Francisco, and Kobe, Japan.