The new ‘Japanese Culture Link’ club hosted its first major event on Friday, October 16, 2017 in the Multicultural Center. The event was sponsored by the International Student Program.
They invited guests to come together and watch the critically acclaimed Japanese anime called “Your Name” (also known as “kimi no na wa”). This is a movie about two high school students, a girl in rural Japan and a boy in affluent Tokyo who swap bodies.
Before the film started, the organizers of the event taught the spectators a few Japanese words and phrases so they could better understand of the movie. They also gave them a brief explanation of the movie’s message and its origins. The students enjoyed some Japanese snacks and watched the movie picnic-style. This was one of the many ways that this club will try to get students to learn more about Japanese culture.
Japanese Culture Link was formed with the intention of expanding knowledge about Japanese culture at Skyline College. Kae Yoshii, the club’s president and founder, is an international student from Japan. She feels that there’s a need for this club on campus and believes that the students do not know enough about Japanese culture.
Kae aims to add many new members to the club. She emphasizes that membership is not restricted to just Japanese students, but anyone who is interested in the culture.
“I want to connect different people who are interested in Japanese culture to form a community”, she said. “There is no Japanese language class so there is no opportunity to learn Japanese culture. The club is a doorway to that.”
She hopes that people will gain interest in learning about the Asian country and hopefully even travel to Japan themselves.
Club meetings are held every second Wednesday from 12:10 to 12:40 in the Multicultural Center Conference Room, Building 4. The next meeting is on Wednesday, October 25.
If you are interested in joining, you can attend the meetings or send them an email to jculturelink@gmail.com. Keep up with the club’s events and announcements by following them on social media: Facebook: Japanese Culture Link, Instagram: jculturelink.
Article by Naledi Mthembu | Photo by Chikako Walker
