This summer, we had a total of 45 students attended the Culture Exchange Summer Camp. Out of the 45, 15 students were from Musashi University. Musashi University is approximately 40 minutes from TUJ, and is has a friendship agreement with TUJ. During the camp, we had a photo scavenger hunt, made Japanese curry, sat around the camp fire, made smores, did fireworks, and a few of the participants also helped put together a test-of-courage ghost walk — which was a lot of fun! Everyone got along well, and made many new friends. Thank you all for participating, I hope you enjoy the video footage one of our students put together (see below). It includes footage from this summer as well as last year’s camp.
Please look forward to future semester activities, as we work on having more opportunities to interact and get to know fellow TUJ and Musashi University students!
Photo scavenger hunt: “I can’t believe you all fit!”
Boys will be boys
Pink ladies
Hanging out in the sun
Something smells good!
Making curry rice for dinner
Curry rice (soup?) . . . Tastes better than it looks!
On March 30th, TUJ students headed off to Yokohama to watch baseball’s Yokohama Bay Stars take on the Tokyo Giants. Through an OSS sponsored event, fans of both teams headed off to the stadium with their team caps and gear close at hand. Baseball was first introduced to Japan in the late 1800s, and the Japanese baseball culture has evolved quite differently from America’s For many students it was their first time watching a professional Japanese baseball game, and needless to say, everybody enjoyed themselves. Students joined in on the cheers and joined the other fans in the stadium, experiencing first hand Japan’s most “traditional” sports.
At the Zazen Experience at Kenchoji Temple in Kamakura, the temple prepared shojin ryori (精進料理) for us to eat after the meditation. Shojin ryori is a type of vegetarian cooking which was brought to Japan together with Buddhism. The students especially loved the kenchinjiru (けんちん汁), a vegetable soup that originated from Kenchoji Temple. Here is the recipe for those of you who are interested: (more…)
On Wednesday, March 3, the Office of Student Services (OSS) held a group sightseeing event to Kamakura, Kanagawa! Kamakura was once the 4th largest city in the world in 1250 AD and was designated as a city in 1939. Although Kamakura today is a rather small city, its historical significance has made it a popular tourist attraction.
Being different from previous years, the day started by going to the famous Kenchoji Temple for Zazen Experience (Meditation) and Shyojin Ryori (Vegetarian Buddhist meal). The Master explained and demonstrated the proper way of performing meditation session by session. Starting off by only 10 minutes per session, the time interval gradually increased depending on participants’ condition. During the session, if one’s concentration is faltered, the master would use his stick to hit his/her upper back, not as a punishment, but to help them stay focused. After completing 5 sessions of meditation, students had the chances to taste the authentic vegetarian meal served for monks in the temple. During the meal, the master showed students the procedures and manners to eat in the temple.
The second stop of the day was the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. It is considered as Kamakura’s most important shrine founded by Minamoto Yoriyoshi in 1063. The shrine is reached via a long, wide approach that lead from Kamakura’s waterfront through the entire city centre (japan-guide.com). Students had two hours of free time to take pictures and purchase souvenirs. As the last stop of the day, the group visited the Great Buddha of Kamakura, which is Japan’s second tallest Buddha that was built in 1252 and exhibited a magnificent height of 13.35 meters.
In order to get a true taste of what traditional Japanese culture has to offer, paying a visit to Kamakura would certainly be a means towards this end.
Hey TUJ students! Check out our webpage to find out how to get involved in TUJ Activities, Events and Workshops.
On Wednesday, February 17, the Office of Student Services (OSS) held a group discussion. After the students arrived, they were broken into diverse groups. The night started out with each person introducing themselves to the group and telling one secret about themselves. Each group then proceeded to discuss a variety of subjects.
The first subject of the night was meant for the foreigners; they asked what things surprised them about Japan. After each group discussed this question then they proceeded to tell everyone what things surprised them the most. The second subject for the night was a decision between four different questions. Each question was based on something important to Japanese people. Each person in the group could then give their input about the subject and discuss how it’s different in their culture. Everyone had a good time and learned a lot about different cultures.
The last of the night was free time for everyone to talk with one another and make new friends. They were having so much fun that they didn’t want to leave at the end of the night.
Hey TUJ students! Check out our webpage to find out how to get involved in TUJ Activities, Events and Workshops.
On February 17, OSS held a Samurai Workshop where about 20 students joined and experienced Japanese traditional sword action taught by a professional group of teachers. The teachers were a group of sword performers called “Kamui,” who also choreographed and acted in the movie Kill Bill. The workshop was held at a community center near Tamachi Station where the students were very enthusiastic about learning the Japanese sword action. The students learned several basic moves as well as a choreographed routine in which they each performed at the end.
Hey TUJ students! Check out our webpage to find out how to get involved in TUJ Activities, Events and Workshops.
The students were very excited about experiencing how to make the most traditional of Japanese food – sushi. A group of students visited a famous sushi restaurant – Bikkuri Sushi, where the Sushi Shokunin, or sushi chef, went very carefully in teaching the foreign students the art of making sushi. The students made a variety of sushi, which they later got to eat. They also learned about the history and the usage of traditional Japanese knives used to cut fish in making sushi. All of the students did a very good job in making sushi for the first time and impressed the chef.
Hey TUJ students! Check out our webpage to find out how to get involved in TUJ Activities, Events and Workshops.
On a cold and snowy day in Tokyo, you wouldn’t expect anyone to be crazy enough to go out walking around, but when the location is Akihabara and you are an Otaku, a little snowflake or two couldn’t possibly keep you away.
Hey TUJ students! Check out our webpage to find out how to get involved in TUJ Activities, Events and Workshops.
When considering Japan, the colossal image of the sumo wrestler is one of the concepts that comes to mind. However, when closely examined, one finds that there is much more to the sumo wrestler than the stereotypes. TUJ students who attended the event were fortunate enough to be able to experience sumo for themselves in Ryogoku, an area in Sumida, Tokyo that is often considered the heartland of sumo. While watching the event, many questions were raised. What is it that the wrestlers toss into the air? Why do they stomp the ground with their feet? Simply watching sumo is one thing, but to truly appreciate this ancient art of Japan, a knowledge of the rich tradition that lies within it is needed.
