The Japanese Club hosted its first Aki Matsuri, also known as Autumn Festival, to celebrate the upcoming fall season Thursday in the Liberal Arts Center. According to BBC, Aki Matsuri is an event based in the Shinto religion to thank the kami for a successful harvest of crops.
The Japanese Club offered multiple activities for attendees to participate in, including traditional carnival games, chocobanana making, a Japanese ghost stories presentation, prizes and snacks. This event is the club’s first time hosting a fall-related event.
Ivys Quintana Leira, president of the Japanese Club, wants to bridge gaps between cultures by combining Aki Matsuri with American Halloween traditions.
“We’re mixing it with Halloween, but it’s basically celebrating the fall transition, and we are putting also some Japanese traditions here,” Quintana Leira said. “We have carnival games that are played in fall festivals in Japan. We have Shateki, which is a gun-shooting game. We have Senbonbiki, which is unique from Japan, and you use pull cords to get prizes.”
Quintana Leira said she wants to bring Japanese traditions to students by showing the similarities between the different cultures’ celebrations.
“I’m hoping to get people to know a little bit more about Japanese culture,” Quintana Leira said. “Usually, Halloween is more related to American culture, but in Japan, it’s also a big celebration. People in Japan have costumes, and at midnight, they all gather together for a big party,”
Students who attended Aki Matsuri shared their experiences.
Miyu Sugiyama, sophomore communications major, hoped attendees would enjoy themselves while being immersed in Japanese culture.
Faith Smithhart, sophomore nursing major, said she has never attended an event on campus, and this would be her first one.
Smithhart said the event is an opportunity to meet new people.
“I think it’s really nice, and playing games is always fun,” Smithhart said.
Jessica Fauquher, junior diagnostic medical sonography major, said she liked participating and learning about Japanese culture.
“I enjoy seeing other cultures and even getting to experience them here,” Fauquher said.
Katie Wagler, junior diagnostic medical sonography major, said the event was interesting to attend and liked being able to immerse into Japanese culture.
“It’s cool and allows the people who are here, that are international students, to show their culture, and we get to experience it in a more personal level,” Wagler said.