Japanese Student Association celebrates the first day of spring over the weekend with laughter and food.
When about 200 cherry blossom trees bloom around campus, it’s hard to ignore the large pink flowers populating the trees.
However, not all students walking by know where the trees come from and the culture behind the cherry blossoms.
The trees come from Ohio University’s sister school in Japan, Chubu University. The Japanese Student Association’s largest event is centered on cherry blossoms, or sakura, as they’re called in Japan.
The Sakura Festival took place Sunday, with a total of seven performances for the audience of 350, who enjoyed bento boxes as they watched the evening filled with music and dancing.
The event was a collaboration between 32 Chubu University students, JSA and the International Student Union, said Eric Frazee, a fourth year studying music education and the master of ceremonies of the evening.
Some of the acts included an Okinawa dance performance from Columbus, a Japanese fencing demonstration and a traditional fisherman’s dance.
The Okinawa performances consisted of women from the Okinawa Island, dancing traditionally through symbolism in movement and dress.
“In Japan, we have a party in April under the trees with a picnic,” said Fuko Ito, president of JSA. “It’s a really big thing in Japan, so you’ll see many people get together in parks to party.”
The organization brought the celebrations to Baker Ballroom as it showcased the New Year, beginning in April for Japan.
“It’s kind of the one end of the year thing, so we say goodbye to the previous year starting a new one,” Ito said.
She said cherry blossoms are a major symbol of Japanese culture, and the New Year seemed like a good time to highlight that.
“This is my third year coming, so I always look for them selling tickets in Baker,” said Alex Farrar, a graduate student studying nutrition. “The food is always good, and I really love the traditional acts they put on.”
Farrar said she does not know much about Japanese culture, and JSA does a good job of conveying it.
The mood was light-hearted in the ballroom, with the audience laughing at jokes and the performers sharing smiles.
The Kendo club, a Japanese fencing sport, demonstrated the “way of the sword” with bamboo swords.
A humorous, yet informational skit explained the story of the Moon Princess, a tale important to Japanese culture.
Between performances, students from Chubu University quizzed people on Japanese trivia focused on cultural differences in the U.S. and Japan with videos, pictures and Pokémon references.
“The culture is very different here than Japan,” said Daiki Mashimo, a Chubu University student studying international studies. “It makes me happy that we can dedicate an entire performance to Japanese culture.”
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