Foreign students enrolled at universities in the Kanto region experienced Japanese traditional cultural activities with their Japanese counterparts at an exchange event on Oct. 20 in Tokyo.
The annual event, named "Japanese Traditional Culture Day," was organized by Soroptimist International of Tokyo-Azuma, a Tokyo-based club dedicated to empowering women through international goodwill.
For this year's event, 26 foreign students registered with the Japan-United States Student Congress (JUSCO), an international exchange program, from Australia, China, South Korea, Thailand and other countries attended.
During the three-hour event held at the Akasaka Civic Center in Minato Ward, the students were divided into six groups and enjoyed four different Japanese cultural activities -- tea ceremony, flower arrangement, calligraphy and origami -- taught by Soroptimist club members who are experts in those activities.
In the origami session, participants folded colorful pieces of paper to transform them into various objects, such as Pikachu, a Pokemon character, with yellow paper and a dinosaur with multi-colored paper.
"I was amazed that a piece of paper could turn into a dinosaur," said Florian Stuhldreier, a German student at Waseda University. "I wish I could live in Japan someday."
During flower arrangement, students put various flowers into a kenzan, also known as a "spiky frog." "I am happy to see foreign students enjoy not only the experiences, but also talking with participants," said Tomoyuki Hotta, 21.
About 20 Japanese university students, members of the Japan National Student Association (JNSA) Fund, ran the event.
The JNSA Fund has been committed to English education since 1946, and is also known for organizing the annual H.I.H. Prince Takamado Trophy All Japan Inter-Middle School English Oratorical Contest with The Yomiuri Shimbun.
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