The Japanese Student Association will bring traditional Japanese food, fashion and music at the Sakura Festival on Sunday.
The sakura is a cherry blossom tree, which is the sign of spring in Japan.
They bloom for a very short time ... but Japanese people really like to watch the sakura trees
said Hisako Inomata, a second year graduate student studying international development studies and president of the JSA. In spring many people go to see sakuras and sit under the trees drinking or dancing. It's so much fun.
About 30 or 40 Japanese students and students studying Japanese will share the culture through song, dance and fashion. There will also be professional drum players who received first prize in a drum festival in Japan, Inomata said.
Guests can purchase a lunch box filled with rice, fish and meat before the show. Vegetarian lunch boxes will also be available. The food was brought in from a Japanese restaurant in Columbus called Akai Hana.
Inomata said she hopes for Ohio University students to get a feel for spring through Japanese culture.
We have this festival every year and I think it's getting to be a popular event in Athens so I hope ... more people will be interested in coming to the festival and getting more interested in Japan
Inomata said.
Tickets for the lunch and show are available at Baker 348. The association will also be providing tickets outside of the fourth floor baker from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. today.
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Culture
Alex Moning
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File Photo
Takumi Katou, left, and Ryo Shiobara perform a traditional Japanese drum ensemble April 12 in the Ping Recreation Center during the 2008 Sakura Festival. The event featured a traditional Japanese meal, games, music and Kendo, which means
