The Japan Youth Collective – November Round-Up and Photos

Throughout November the Japan Youth Collective took a Deeper Dive into their interests. The group not only started to think more about their particular interests in Japan, but also worked on the skills that would help them find out more. 

During the first Catch-up session at Japan House London, the group met Masato Kimura, a Japanese Freelance journalist and two young professionals whose passion for Japan had informed their life and career choices. All the guest speakers imparted useful tips and advice to the group and provided inspiration for the future. The Collective took turns interviewing the guests to gather useful information for their own Japan-related event in 2024. 

November’s Japan Lab, called Meet the Experts, was an opportunity for the group to do exactly that! Over the course of the afternoon, the Collective took part in 3 sessions related to particular interests they identified earlier in the programme: Studying Japan through Television with Dr Griseldis Kirsch; Shamisen and Min’yo with Hibiki and Akarai; and Hello Japanese! A Japanese Language session with The Japan Foundation London.  

In a separate session, a small group joined artist and calligrapher Aya Burbanks for some shodo (calligraphy) practice. They got to grind their own ink from an ink stick and try gyosho style calligraphy for the first time!

Our Collective learnt a lot from all our November guests and now have the skills to look beyond the surface level of their interests.  

Find out more about the Japan Youth Collective’s activities and read our Member’s Voices Blog on our Japan Youth Collective page.