The JYC Blog - January
New Year is a great time for reflection and resolution. The Japan Youth Collective is back with a focus on Reflect and Refine this January! For the first session of 2024, the Japan Youth Collective learnt about the significance of New Year in Japan and how people celebrate, such as playing the popular New Year's game Fukuwarai (福笑い).
After playing a traditional Fukuwarai game as a warm up, Atsuko Console gave a short presentation to the Collective, taught them Japanese phrases used at this time of year, and explained important traditions observed by many in Japan such as hatsumode – the first visit to a shrine or temple of the year.
Guided by Aya Burbanks, each of our members then decorated their own ema board (絵馬) with a wish for the upcoming year and design of their choice; many members chose to include a dragon, the zodiac animal of 2024.
In a separate session, a smaller group attended a wagashi-making workshop led by Noriko from 和 Japanese cafe an-an and learnt to make popular New Year wagashi (和菓子), traditional Japanese confection that is often served at tea ceremony.
A few weeks later, the Japan Youth Collective once again had a chance to get creative when they met with graphic novelist Fumio Obata. Fumio spoke about his work and shared his insights about manga and the industry inside and outside of Japan. He also spoke about narrative storytelling in the Japanese context and set students the task of creating their own work creating a self-portrait, including drawing in a manga style.
In response to January’s theme of Reflect and Refine, the Collective used the remainder of the session reflect on their JYC journey so far, both individually and collectively, turning their story into large-scale illustrations!