• HOME
• International Exchange
• Exchange students enjoy International Student Day in Nijo Castle

Exchange students enjoy International Student Day in Nijo Castle

On Saturday morning, October 17th, an International Student Day was held in Nijo-jo (Nijo Castle), a UNESCO World Heritage site, hosted by Kyoto City Hall. Some 142 international students from 12 universities and colleges in Kyoto City gathered to expand the wave of exchange together with about 75 Japanese students who helped make this a memorable experience of Japanese culture. From KSU, 24 students participated in the event; 22 exchange students, one full-time international student and one Japanese student, all who reside in the KSU International House (I-House).

The meeting began in the Seiryu-en Garden with the powerful dancing by a group of Kyoen Sodefure followed by the speech of Mayor Kadokawa of Kyoto City. He emphasized Kyoto as a city of ecology asking everyone, “Do you Kyoto?” which means “Are you doing something good for the environment?” And then, everyone enjoyed Japanese traditional performing arts such as Kenbu (Sword Dance) and the lovely dancing of two Maikos (apprentice of Geiko or Geisha) as well as the rap poetry by Chori, a young Japanese poet.

After appreciating the performances, foreign students learned various Japanese traditional cultures like Tea Ceremony, Calligraphy and Origami guided by Japanese students. Some students enjoyed just having Maccha (powder tea) and Wagashi (Japanese sweets), some sat in the seiza position (kneeling) and tried the procedure for making tea, and others were given the chance to try calligraphy (Shodo).

Eyes sparkling with fun and curiosity, many international students seemed to be satisfied with the experience of Japanese culture. Meeting different people and understanding something of a different culture will help the students get to know more about Japanese people and culture in a way which can not be experienced in a regular class.