People of northeast get to know about Japanese spring festival Setsubun (節分) through Japan’s Kaleidoscope
NEW DELHI: In its bid to reach out to the people of the northeastern region of India, and make them aware of the rich Japanese culture, the Japan Foundation organized a 3-day online culture event “Japan’s Kaleidoscope – Hello! North East” on the theme: Setsubun (節分) Festival.
The event that took off on February 8 also aimed at promoting the Japanese Film Festival Online 2022 in the North East Region of India. The 22-week long film festival is starting on February 14, and it will have 20 movies to offer to the audience virtually.
While addressing the audience, Ms. Aoi Ishimaru, Director of Arts and Culture Program, Japan Foundation, New Delhi said that the idea behind the 3-day online culture event “Japan’s Kaleidoscope” on the theme: Setsubun Festival was to reach out to a maximum number of people of the northeastern states of India.
“An increasing number of people in the northeastern states of India are interested to know about the Japanese culture but they have limited opportunities to do so. We want more and more people in this region to know about Japanese culture and enjoy it. And the second reason for organizing this event is to make them aware that the Japan Foundation is organizing the Japanese Film Festival Online 2022 starting on February 14 for two weeks,” Ms. Ishimaru added.
Ms. Ishimaru also explained in detail the method of accessing the movies online which will be available for public viewing from February 14.
Setsubun (節分) is the day before the beginning of spring in the old calendar in Japan. The name literally means ‘seasonal division’, referring to the day just before the first day of spring in the traditional calendar, known as Setsubun, which was held on February 3. Japanese people celebrate the event by throwing soybeans on the demons, and people also wear demon masks.
On the first day of the “Japan’s Kaleidoscope – Hello! North East” event on February 8, the Japan Foundation conducted an origami workshop in collaboration with Origami Oritai. The participants who joined the workshop, which was conducted by Ms. Mona Bhardwaj, were asked to prepare 6 – 8 sheets of paper to practice the Origami techniques, the Japanese paper flower making art.
The next day on February 9, the Japan Foundation conducted a Mini-Seminar, the public version of the “Swagatam” event, which provided an opportunity for schools to experience the Japanese language. Ms. Chiaki Suzuki, Language Advisor, JFND addressed the participants.
On the third and final day, the Japan Foundation organized the event “Ehomaki Cooking Demonstration”. You can enjoy and see how to make “Ehomaki” a special sushi roll. The event was organized in collaboration with a famous and authentic Japanese cuisine restaurant KUURAKU, Gurugram. The chef Mr. Takawa san here joined the event live from KUURAKU to show how to make Ehomaki rolls.
