Anna Rosato Information

Japanese Cultural Expert
Tampa, FL

Biography:
Ana's Ikimaru is a Kimono-ya and Japanese Cultural Panelist team founded by Anne and RJ Schafer of Tampa, FL. Their roots in Artist's Alley quickly expanded into a fully-fledged Dealer's Room booth in a three-month period in their first year of business, with their goals of bringing affordable, authentic kimono, antiques, geisha merchandise and handcrafted items to the general public. Ana's Ikimaru has educated thousands in their panels on how to wear the kimono properly regardless of size, as well as encouraging others to find their own unique, trendy style in wearing kimono. Using technology of the modern era, and the history of Japanese textiles, Ana's Ikimaru strives to continue breathing fresh life into the kimono industry to prevent it from fading away.

Anna Rosato is currently a student of Kawahara Tomoko in nagauta and jiuta shamisen, the Yamano Aiko and Komagoma Waso Kitsuke Academies, and has given lectures at events and festivals across the Southeast United States. She teaches a full schedule of subjects from kimono, geisha culture, and Japanese history, as well as workshops on tsumami kanzashi hairpins, and shibori tie-dye. She is also known for her kimono-san persona (stage name "Eiko-san"). She launched her kimono exhibit last fall, "San Maru" featuring highlights of her and her partner's antiquities collection- with some items dating over three hundred years in age. In addition, Anna is active in her pursuits of nihon buyo, and independently learning katsura wig re-styling and kanzashi crafting.