19 May 2009

Japan Day at Sheffield University

The beauty and grace of Japanese culture was celebrated at an open day event at the University of Sheffield on 10 May.

The Sheffield University Japanese Society hosted the annual Japan Day at the Union's Octagon building, featuring a host of stands and displays covering all aspects of the Japanese culture.

The event attracted 350 visitors and was sponsored by Japan UK 150, Will.Yaki, Harmony cafe and Kuji furniture shop.

Japan UK 150, endorsed by both the Japanese and British embassies, celebrates 150 years of British-Japanese relations.

As a donation to the event, the Japanese Embassy provided traditional kimono style dress, known as 'yukata', for people to try on.

A tea set was also supplied to perform a traditional Japanese tea ceremony with green tea and rice sweets.

Visitors to the event could even sample Japanese cuisine, with all food suppied by Will.Yaki.

Members of the Japan Society later performed 'Soran Bushi', a dance originally established by fishermen in the region Hokkaido.

Postgraduate Japanese Studies student, Katrina Cordery, co-organised the event. She said: " A lot of students attended but many families came too. It was really enjoyable for me to see all the people smiling and laughing. It made it all worthwhile."

The day culminated with a taiko drumming performance by Joji Hirota. His troupe included both Japanese and non-Japanese drummers. In a career spanning 40 Years, Mr Hirota has toured throughout Europe and worked with The Royal Shakespeare Company on a production of Macbeth.