Friday, April 10, 2009
The Japanese Student Association is bringing a little bit of Japan to Kansas this Saturday with the Japan Festival.
Miho Hayakama, president of JSA, said the festival would demonstrate daily Japanese life, with performances displaying both traditional and modern Japanese culture and hands-on workshops. Hayakama said workshops would include learning to fold origami, writing calligraphy, tea ceremonies and a fortune teller.
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Who: Japanese Student Association What: Japan Festival When: Saturday, April 11 Stage performances from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Workshops from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Dinner from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Where: Stage performances will be in Woodruff Auditorium, Kansas Union Workshops will be in the Big 12 room, Kansas Union Dinner will be at the Ecumenical Christian Ministries building, 1204 Oread Ave.
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How to make an Origami Crane
1. Start with a perfectly square sheet of paper. Paper made specifically for origami can be found at most craft stores. 2. Begin by folding one edge to meet to other, with the colored side outward. 3. Open up the paper and lay it flat. Now repeat step two in the other direction, and open it up again. 4. Fold diagonally with the white side out. Line it up corner-to-corner. 5. Open up the paper, repeat step four in the other direction, and open up the paper again. 6. Lay the paper with the white side up. Bring in the side corners, while bringing the top corner down. 7. With the open side pointing towards the left in this picture, fold one corner of the square so that the edge is lined up with the center line. 8. Repeat step seven with the other flap. 9. Flip the paper over and repeat step seven for the other two flaps. 10. Fold the top flap down and make a hard crease. Now fold it the same way in the opposite direction. 11. Open up one side, and lay it flat. 12. Lift the top flap on the open end and fold it upwards, bringing in the sides. 13. Flip the paper over and repeat steps 11 and 12 for the other side. 14. With the open end towards the left in the picture, fold in one flap in so that the edge lines up with the center line. 15. Repeat step 14 for the other flap. 16. Flip the paper over and repeat steps 14 and 15 for the flaps on the other side. 17. Fold over one side and lay flat. 18. Fold up the top flap on the open end, so that the tip of the lower flap reaches the tip of upper flap. 19. Fold two of the flaps over and repeat step 18 for the other lower flap. 20. Fold one flap over and lay flat. 21. Fold the top flap down. 22. Flip the paper over and repeat step 21 for the other side. 23. Invert fold one of the upper tips to form the head. 24. Pull back the other tip to form the tail. 25. Gently pull the wings apart to form the body.
Contributed by http://monkey.org/~aidan/origami/crane/index.html
“This is a kind of cultural introduction,” Hayakama said. “This is a good chance to know an Eastern culture and it is a good chance to meet other people interested in Japanese culture.”
Hayakama, Chiba, Japan, senior, said the traditional dances in the performance would focus on different regions of Japan. The performances will include a traditional Okinawan dance called Eisa, and Yosakoi, which is a dance style that developed in southern Japan in the 1950s that combines traditional Japanese dance moves with modern music.
The performances will include a main skit to explain a part of Japanese culture.
Erik Christensen, 2008 graduate from Wichita, said the main skit in last year’s performance was based on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” but this year’s skit was called “Vertical Relationships.” Christensen said this year’s skit would show how people who are younger have to show respect to people who are older in Japanese society in various situations. He said the skits would teach a real part of Japanese culture while incorporating comedy, and some of the skits would exaggerate how extremely polite younger people are to their elders.
As part of the series of performances, Christensen said he would act out a single-person narration called “Rakugo,” a traditional Japanese comedy routine where the actor portrays several characters using old Japanese language, with a punch line at the end.
“We want people to watch in order to learn just a little more about Japanese culture then they knew before,” Christensen said.
Charles Stern, Topeka senior, and a public relations officer for the festival, said the purpose of the workshops was to give students a hands-on cultural experience.
“This will help get people involved and they will learn more about Japanese culture,” Stern said. “You get a more hands-on experience, rather than just sitting back and watching.”
Hayakama said the dinner held after the workshops would focus on typical Japanese “countryside” food. Hayakama said the dinner would include a sweet potato tempura that was more common for Japanese people than stereotypical sushi.
“(Tempura) is one of the most popular foods in Japan,” Hayakama said. “It is more popular than sushi. This is more homemade.”
Christensen said the goal of the festival was to get people interested in Japanese culture and to watch and participate to get to know Japan better than they did before.
“We live in an international society now, everything is connected,” Christensen said. “It’s a chance to broaden your worldview.”
— — Edited by Casey Miles
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