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| Culture & Press Division >Culture & Event> | ||||||
| SHARING ‘WHAT JAPAN IS’ WITH JUNIOR SCHOOL STUDENTS | ||||||
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On the 25th of November 2010, the Press and Cultural Division of the Embassy of Japan organized an experience sharing program with the Berihan International School in Addis Ababa with the aim of enriching the students’ knowledge and understanding of the Japanese geography, population, culture and technology. The event began with brainstorming with the students. Ms. Hikari Nishimoto, Head of the Press and Cultural Division, posed questions to the students about what comes to mind when they come across the word ‘Japan’. Several students associated Japan with robots while some others mentioned industriousness and Origami. Briefing the students, Ms. Nishimoto explained the meaning of Japan as the origin of the Rising Sun and said that Japan is an English word for the equivalent Japanese word, Nippon, which the Japanese people used to call their country. She also used projectors to depict the map of Japan. During the briefing, the students learned that Japan is made up of four major and almost 7,000 small islands occupying one-third of the size of Ethiopia and it has four climatic seasons. Then, a 15 minute documentary film about Japan was shown. The documentary described the different seasons, people, culture and technology of Japan at large. Following the show, Ms. Nishimoto asked for the impressions of the students; technology, martial arts, recycling, dance and the education system flooded the memory of the students. The discussion was followed by the demonstration of Origami, the art of paper folding. In three sessions, Ms. Nishimoto together with Dr. Ito, Councilor and Medical Attaché of the Embassy of Japan and Mr. Otake and Ato Dejene, Assistants at the Press and Cultural Division of the Embassy of Japan, demonstrated the art of Origami. These sessions were one of the most entertaining as the students were immensely interested in the paper folding art and subsequently mastering the techniques of Origami. The first Origami practice ended with the forming of a drinking cup and the second and third demonstrated a jumping frog and a balloon respectively. In the next session, the students further explained their impression of Japan and even posed some challenging questions. Some of the questions included, among others, how can we differentiate the Chinese from the Japanese? When and what are the origins of Origami? What is the approach of the Japanese towards forests? As part of the mainstream tradition in Ethiopia, a coffee ceremony and a special dance was held in honor of the visiting guests. Accompanied by the melodies of traditional songs, the students presented a different traditional dance that varies from Guragigna, Amharic, Agew, Somali and Afar, to mention some. They also invited the visiting guests to join in the dances. The program ended with the exchange of gifts. Three student representatives handed flowers to Ms. Nishimoto and Mr. Otake.
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