Kyodai, a small
Japanese cultural club at Loyola Marymount University, has hosted Japanese
Cultural Night (JCN) since 1999 in order to truly express the amazing diversity
and cherished tradition of Japanese culture. This year, Kyodai is collaborating
with sister club NSU, known as Nikkei Student Union, to broaden and engage in
other aspects of Japanese culture. JCN is a yearly celebration of Japanese
culture that involves a night full of entertainment, food, games and
activities. Entertainment at JCN has ranged from performances by experienced professional
musicians fine-tuned to the delicate Koto instrument to silly dance routines
performed by Kyodai members. Shin Kanarazu Daiko is a local taiko team and they
also make a regular appearance at JCN. Food for JCN is oriented around Japanese
culture and includes Japanese staples such as sushi and Teriyaki chicken. The
food chosen for JCN also helps promote local Japanese restaurants to the attendees.
Among the various opportunities of fun in JCN, the more exciting ones are the
games that the audience can participate in. For example, Human Tetris was first
introduced by a famous Japanese game show and has since caught the attention of
the world. Kyodai has embraced this game as well in order for the audience
members to participate in and it has had much success at past JCN events. The
last major element of JCN is the activity booths that are set up and run by
Kyodai club members. The activities include small games, fortune telling,
photos, prizes, origami and chopstick challenges. Another popular activity
booth is the calligraphy booth which is run by fellow Japanese professors at
LMU. At this booth, the Japanese professors share their culture with others as
they teach people how to write Japanese characters in calligraphy using ink and
brushes. Last year, JCN also had a station for donations to help aid the 2011
earthquake and tsunami in .
Everyone
who attends JCN will be able to gain exposure to a respected culture that has
long been revered as one of the most beautiful and delicate of traditions. JCN
provides a creative outlet LMU student as well as the Kyodai and NSU members as
they perform in front of an audience. JCN also offers a great opportunity for
diversity within the LMU community. It is hopefully a reward to faculty and
staff, especially those of Japanese origin, to watch JCN unfold as they see the
results of dedication from a diverse group of people united by their love of
Japanese culture.