News Details

Share :

Details

In the first week of May, from the 01st until the 05th, Hayakawa Japanese Language School and Culture Centre conducted a variety of 2-hour (from 10AM until 12AM) culture workshops for kids as a celebration of Japanese Golden Week. All the materials were prepared in-house, with healthy refreshments provided after every session.

The first day’s (Monday, May 1st) workshop was on Making Nori-Maki (Sushi Roll). During this hands-on activity, the children were taught how to make nori-maki and how to use chopsticks. They also played a short game afterwards to see how many beans they could pick up using chopsticks, and engaged in a treasure hunt on campus.

On the second day (Tuesday, May 2nd), a workshop on Shibori-zome (Tie and Dye) was conducted, with children learning and applying this dyeing technique on t-shirts. This was followed by an origami activity during which participants made koi (carp) fish origami to celebrate the upcoming Japanese Kodomo-no-Hi (May 5th) during which children in Japan partake in Koinobori (hoisting streamers that are designed like carps).

An Ikebana (Flower Arrangement) workshop was conducted on the third day (Wednesday, May 3rd). For this activity, the children were provided with a wide selection of plants and flowers to choose from, trim and use in their own arrangements. For the second activity for the day, the children solved simple crossword puzzles in Japanese.

The fourth day (Thursday, May 4th) was exercise day. First, for the warming up, Yoga was conducted a session on. Following this,  Karate was conducted and the children were instructed in simple self-defense moves and forms by Mr. Midhun, a 4th-dan black belt and professional Karate instructor.

The fifth and final day’s (Friday, May 5th) Kodomo-no-Hi (Children’s Day) event was presided over by His excellency Mr. Masayuki Taga, The Consul-General, and Ms. Mami Teraoka, Researcher/Advisor, from the Consulate-General of Japan in Chennai. The workshop began with a group craft activity where the children prepared two large koinobori designs. This was followed by a cosplay/talent show during which participants made various types of presentations, including showing their cosplay or sketches of their favorite anime/manga characters, singing and storytelling. A wide range of cosplays were seen including characters from popular anime such as Naruto and Chainsaw Man as well as generic models of samurai and ninja. Mr. Taga and Ms. Teraoka presented the Cosplay/Talent Show participants with gifts, after which Mr. Taga addressed the audience. Finally, the results of the previous month’s Illustration Contest 2023 - My Favourite Japanese Movie were announced, and the winners received their prizes and certificates from Mr. Taga. The event closed with special Japanese refreshments, including yaki udon, korokke, gyoza and inari-zushi, provided to everyone present by the authentic Japanese restaurant Dahlia.