by F. Agustimahir
On the 9th February 2017 we were visited by
some high school students from Vietnam for JENESYS 2016.
On this occasion, the students had exchange
activities with other students at Kofu Nishi Koukou (Kofu West High School).
First, the students were welcomed by the
Principal at the main hall. Both of them exchanged souvenirs.
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| Speech by Kofu West High School Principal |
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| Souvenir for Kofu West High School |
After that the students were divided into 3
groups, and prepared to attend several classes about Japanese culture.
The first class was Shodo class, or
Japanese Calligraphy class. This class was held simultaneously for the 3 groups
in 3 different rooms. The teachers were students from Kofu Nishi High School.
The class began with a brief explanation about several calligraphy styles.
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Calligraphy class is divided into several groups
|
The students tried to make ink or 'sumi' by
rubbing an inkstick on an inkstone. After that they were taught to write their
favourite kanji in the Japanese calligraphy style.
After shodo class, there were another 3
classes waiting: Koto class (traditional stringed instruments), Sado (tea
ceremony), and Kendo (martial art). The groups took turns in all of the
classes.
Koto is one of Japan's traditional
instruments. This is my first time seeing this instrument. Back when I was a
university student, the instrument I saw was the Taisho-goto, a modification on
koto created during the Taisho era, with keys like a piano.
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| Enjoying koto performance- |
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| Trying koto |
I thought the koto would be a similar size
to the Taisho-goto, but it's really big.
There is a special tool to pluck the
strings called 'tsume'.
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| Tsume |
In Sado class, the students learned how to
make Japanese green tea. Just like in the real tea ceremony, a small sweet is
served before the green tea. After trying to make their own green tea, the
instructor checked their results, judging it from the tea foam.
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| Waiting for instructions |
In kendo class, the students were allowed
to take a kendo sword and learn the basic methods of swinging the sword. The
sword they used was made from bamboo, and called 'shinai'. They were also
allowed to swing the sword directly towards the kendo club students.
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| Learning to swing shinai |
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-Swinging shinai-
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During these activities, the students from
Vietnam tried their best to keep communicating in Japanese.
That's it for the JENESYS report this time.
See you again next time.
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