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Japan Festival 2009 in University Technology of Mara (UiTM), Perak Campus

The response the Japan Festival crew members received on Monday, October 5, 2009, at Dewan Seri Iskandar, University Technology of Mara (UiTM), Perak Campus, was more than words can describe. There were about 1,000 culturally-enthusiastic people turned up at the venue to witness the 3-hour Festival.

Apart from the visit by the university students, Japan Festival 2009 in UiTM also came into limelight from Secondary Schools that offer Japanese Language course, such as Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman (STAR), and also other institutions. Visiting students had a great time to know more about chado (tea ceremony), ikebana (flower arrangement), origami (paper folding), yukata wearing and kimono display, and traditional toys and dolls.

Tea Ceremony

In tea ceremony, the utmost priority for the host is the guest. Its quiet atmosphere of harmony and respect for people and object, with attention to cleanliness and order, strives to bring peace to body and spirit.

Ms. Sumiishi, the leader of the group, explained, among others, the correct way of holding the tea bowl and drinking the tea served. For the tea group, their main attention during the ceremony is the serving of the guests. The process of preparing the tea, right from the boiling of water to stirring the tea powder with hot water, and at last serving to the guests, were outstandingly proceed in a quiet, careful and peaceful manner. The students were later told to eat the sweet prepared after sipping the green tea, as traditionally practised by Japanese people.

Ikebana Corner


It was Ms. Saito who had brought the flowers and plants to life at the precious lecture of flower arrangement. She taught the basic principles of the traditional art based on Sogetsu School. Mrs. Saito said anyone can enjoy Sogetsu Ikebana anytime, anywhere, and surprisingly, using any material, provided one has mastered the basics of the School’s teachings.

For better preserving the plants and flower materials, Ms. Saito said submerging stems and branches in water and snipping off 2~3 cm from the ends before arranging is very important. She strongly advised that the bottom part of plants and flowers must be cut in the water.

The ikebana corner received much attention from Malaysian ladies at the venue. Ms. Saito taught how her masterpiece, just in flashing 5 minutes, was to be arranged. Then, she proceeded with teaching lessons for beginners. Those interested in the joy of flower creation had wonderful ikebana lessons right from the ‘Flower Master’.

Origami Workshop and Food Display Corners


The Origami Workshop and Food Display Corners were not to be underestimated in terms of its audience received. In the Origami Corner, there were various shapes of paper art crafts displayed which visitors could not resist themselves from holding at least few of the art work. The students worked in teams, to discuss, to help teammates, to produce the art work, guided by Ms. Nishikawa, and also from reference sheets.
Food display corners exposed students to Japanese food like sushi, bento, tempura, soba and so on. The food samples were so real that tempted them to touch the samples and held chopsticks to mimic the way of eating sushi.


Yukata Wearing Corner

This corner is the most popular among students. It was their first experience to wear yukata, a traditional costume during summer. The teacher in-charged, Ms. Imura, demonstrated the fastest and simplest way of wearing yukata on each model in about 5 minutes. The interesting part to learn about this traditional costume is that it is a flexible piece of cloth that can fix any reasonable body size.
At the event, Mrs. Imura was the “personal image consultant” for every interested students; she would try to match her yukata collection of different colours to a model’s skin complexion. And then, carefully Mrs. Imura would choose the best matching of the yukata obi (belt) for those particular models. The students had the precious opportunity to take photos while they were wearing the traditional costumes for memory.

Dolls and Traditional Toys Corners


Visitors were amazed by the dolls displayed that representing the costumes for different occasions like wedding, New Year and other purposes. Besides the dolls, Japanese traditional toys were also attracted many people. Some toys’ way of playing like that from a place named Kyushu, and even those from Edo Era was explained by Consul Abiru to the enthusiastic audience. They enjoyed very much in the session.