University hosts Japan Day

On April 10, within the framework of the year of Japan in Russia, the main campus of Moscow Technological University hosted the Japan Day arranged by the International Relations Department in cooperation with the Japanese Culture Department "Japan Foundation".

At the opening ceremony, Vladimir Pankov, First Vice Rector of MIREA, and Mr. Takahashi Masakadzu, Head of the Japanese Culture Department "JapanFoundation", Adviser of the Japanese Embassy in Russia, made welcoming speeches.

The guests enjoyed the traditional Japanese game "Kendama", combining the elements of juggling, knife fighting and even the nunchaki skills, demonstrated by the team "BelkaTeam" - one of the brightest masters of the kendam style in our country. Russian and foreign students had the opportunity to test their concentration, dexterity and emotions control necessary for the game, and the luckiest received a set for it.

In the central hall of MIREA there were four areas for conducting master classes: "Calligraphy", logic game "Go", "Ikebana", "Origami".

The participants of the intellectual desktop strategic game "Go", an official sport in Russia since 1984, got completely absorbed in the creative process, similar to chess and checkers included in the program of the Olympiad in intellectual sports (Intelliada). The practice of Go is useful to people both with technical specialties and with a creative focus, since it enhances innate talents and abilities in almost every field.

Many visitors wished to learn Japanese calligraphy - one of the traditional art forms of Japan. A practitioner of calligraphy always has only one opportunity to create a piece of art. The brush conveys the state of mind at a certain point in time, so the students who managed to concentrate as much as possible succeeded in the Japanese writing.

The master class "Ikebana", the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement, astonished everybody with the magnificence of bright colors. The creators of Ikebana strive to reveal the natural essence of the presented plants, the deep meaning of their combinations and location - the composition as a whole. The students were able not only to touch the mystery of the creation of ikebana, which is one of the most popular hobbies in modern Japan, but also to make for oneself or to present to a friend the created piece of joy and beauty.

A lot of positive emotions were presented by the master class on origami, during which participants learned how to fold a piece of paper to make various figures, flowers and animals.

High level of the professionalism of the teachers allowed the students of MIREA to get acquainted with traditional forms of Japanese art.

The female part of the audience had a unique opportunity to take a photo in the traditional Japanese clothes "Yukata", which is a kind of kimono.

As part of the Japan Day the University hosted the exposition of the photo exhibition "World Heritage: Japan", which featured works by Japanese photographer Miyoshi Kazuyoshi. These are the Shinto sanctuaries buried in greenery and the striking Buddhist temples, majestic castles, mysterious stone gardens and paths of pilgrims, as well as other cultural and natural sites of Japan, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The exhibits were provided by the Japanese Culture Department "Japan Foundation".

The holiday turned out to be large and interesting, gathered about 500 students, teachers and employees of MIREA. The questionnaire conducted by the International Relations Department showed that for the participants received only positive impressions and wanted to learn more about Japan, its traditions and culture.

The organizers express their gratitude to the Japanese Culture Department "Japan Foundation", Mr. Takahashi Masakadzu, Adviser of the Japanese Embassy in Russia, Ms. Sakanoue Yoko and A.V. Bogomolova, who provided assistance to the Department for Educational and Social Work, the Student Union, the MIREA Admissions Committee.

Video from the event