Japanese festival celebrated

The Japan Club of Boston College (JCBC) held its first Spring Festival Friday night in Gasson 100, transforming the room into a festival of Japanese celebrations with food and entertainment. The festivities included free Japanese food, games, and performances that displayed the fun and eclectic culture of Japan.

Harumatsuri means "spring festival" in Japanese, which is celebrated in Japan with drums, lively folk and dance music, and a variety of cultural activities. The JCBC brought this spirit of Harumatsuri to campus by recreating the Japanese festival scene.

"We're trying to imitate local Japanese festivals," said Phoebe Lam, co-president of JCBC, and A&S '07. The night kicked off with food and games, where students and guests were able to sample a number of cultural dishes and try a hand at a number of booth games. The dishes included traditional Japanese foods such as shumai - Japanese dumplings - flank steak, and riceballs, or onigiri. Guests were able to purchase tickets to participate in the various Japanese-inspired activities, which included origami, writing their names in Japanese, and "pinning the tail" on Japanese cartoon characters such as Hello Kitty. They were also able to fish for prizes in a pool of paper sea critters, meant to mimic a traditional Japanese game.

The Spring Festival is the JCBC's first individual culture show, aimed to deliver both modern and traditional culture. "You get to experience all aspects of the Japanese culture with hip-hop dancing and also a drum performance which shows a more traditional aspect," said Lam.

The show started off with the more traditional approach with a taiko drum performance, from the Brown Taiko Club of Brown University. The loud, exciting beat of the drums set the mood for the rest of the night and was followed by a demonstration from the BC Karate Club.

Members of the JCBC performed the So-ran bushi dance, one of the most famous traditional dances of Japan, representing the work of fishermen.

Boston University's Asian hip-hop dance unit, Unofficial Project, kicked up the beat with its performance to modern Asian and Asian-influenced songs.

A number of J-pop-inspired performances also displayed the modern cultural aspect of Japan, with a dance demonstration of one of Japan's popular music groups called Takki and Tsubasa, and a performance by MIT's J-pop band named The Wasabi'z. The night ended with a mini-concert from BC's own J-pop band called The Ponz in true concert form with loud speakers and a pumped-up crowd.

Students had different opinions on what their favorite part of the show was. "I really liked the drums," said Stefanie Joseph, A&S '09. "I really felt the beat and the vibrations. It was really powerful."

"I liked the So-ran bushi dance. I liked seeing the traditional clothing and the music. It was also really energetic and there were so many people involved in it. It was just a lot of fun to watch," said Jonathon Lee, A&S '08.

Students also gained more cultural knowledge about Japan through the different activities and performances. "I already know about my own culture, so this allowed me to know more about others," said Joseph. The JCBC hoped that the festival would bring more cultural awareness to BC and provide a way for students to learn more about the different aspects of Japanese traditions and modern life.

"People should come out to events like this and learn about the different cultures out there in the world. I think this [event] is a great way to bridge gaps between cultures and between people of different backgrounds," said Sam Thompson, JCBC co-president and A&S '08.

Members of the JCBC also hoped that the success of the event would spark more interest in the small club, which has only started to be recognized within the past two years. They want to bring more diversity to the BC campus and increase membership in their group. "We're putting a lot of hopes on this event to make JCBC more well-known," said Lam.

"The purpose [of the festival] is to have fun and celebrate the Japanese culture. We're a small club and we're hoping it'll get better and bring more diversity to BC," said Shengye Song, A&S '09.

"We've never been a big club," said Thompson. "This is the first huge event to be pro-culture … This is the really, really big break out year [for JCBC]."

The JCBC prides itself on the fact that it is different from other culture clubs on campus. Because of the small percentage of Japanese students at BC, most of its members are from different backgrounds with their own respective cultures that all share an interest in the Japanese culture.

"We're hoping that students will be willing to appreciate the most unknown club on campus and will learn more about it," said Paul Yi, JCBC member and A&S '10.

The student turnout at the festival was the largest the club has ever had at a cultural event. The popularity of the festival brings plans of holding a spring festival every year. "We're hoping to start a tradition," said Lam. n