The Japanese Cultural Incursion

The Japanese Cultural Incursion

On the 18th of August, Parkdale Secondary College’s year 9 students who learn Japanese, had a fantastic incursion. It was called “Bunkasai” which means Cultural Day. From lunchtime to period six, we experienced many different aspects of Japan, from eating real Obento to listening to traditional Japanese instruments, this incursion had it all!

We celebrate the start of our Bunkasai by enjoying our Japanese Obento lunch. The Obento boxes came in a little box with a wide variety of Japanese foods. The meat obento consisted of deep-fried crumbed pork, teriyaki chicken wing, California rolls with crab, rice ball, yakisoba fried noodles and a slice of orange, which was in a good volume. A vegetarian obento consisted of a variety of vegetable sushi rolls and sushi with fried tofu, which looked yummy as well. The food was extremally delicious and each food item in the box was presented nicely. We learned that visual presentation is an absolutely essential ingredient in Japanese food. The obento boxes were definitely a good way for us to learn about the Japanese food culture. The taste of the Obento was delicious, and we were very happy to fill our stomach with Japanese flavour.

After the amazing Oobento lunch, the students all gathered in the theatre. Once there, we were introduced to Brandon Lee, a professional Koto performer. He showed us a live demonstration of a piece called ‘Shadows’. The Koto sound was sometimes calm and sometimes loud and strong.  I thought the sound was so beautiful and harmonising with nature. We didn’t know that Koto was created to look like a dragon. The Koto has thirteen strings. With its movable bridges (used to tune sounds) as the spikes, the front as its mouth, the back as its tail and the front view of strings as its eyes. While Mr. Lee was playing, he moved the movable bridges to tune sounds along at any time, unlike other instruments like the guitar. At the end of the work shop, we had an opportunity to play a popular Japanese folk song ‘Sakura Sakura’ (Cherry blossoms) on Koto. It was an amazing experience!

In the last period, we met Junko Azukawa, a Japanese brush painter with an amazing talent. She has drawn countless beautiful pieces of art, everything from plants to cats. She showed us how to make our own ink, blend the colours and how to use gradients. It was important to make it one smooth stroke. Using these skills she drew a stunning bamboo stem, and we each could practise it too! It was really rewarding seeing how simple brush strokes could produce an amazing 3D looking art piece. She gave us encouraging feedback and stamped our finishing artwork, which we got to take home afterwards. It was a spectacular experience!

Overall, the Japanese incursion was such a fun day and a good way for us to learn and experience the Japanese culture. 

Dion Dongalis (9K), Evie Hol (9E), Victoria Lau (9E) and Max Lorencak (9E)

Year 10 and 11 Japanese Excursion to the City

In Term Three, the Year 10 and Year 11 Japanese classes went on an excursion to ACMI in the city to be immersed in Japanese cinematography, and later Japanese cuisine at a local Melbourne restaurant - Tokyo Maki. Before watching the Japanese film, My Small Land, we walked through The Story of the Moving Image, entering an exhibition in the lower levels of ACMI and learning about the progression and innovation of videos, television, and cinematography through the decades. The exhibition was bright and colourful and featured many areas where gallery-goers could interact with the art and technology, allowing for an immersive and engaging experience. There were displays for everyone, of all ages, from the designing and making of the Thor costumes, to displays of past videogame consoles and similar memorabilia, creating both awe inspiring and nostalgic moments. Out of all the different displays, we enjoyed seeing the infamous Thor costumes and props featured across the different movies and seeing the process of their design and production. 

Then we went to see a film at ACMI. The drama “My Small Land” gave the students a glimpse into Japanese culture and customs. The film explores the problems faced by asylum seekers in Japan when seeking refuge and the difficulty of living without refugee status. Students observed the effects of having no residential status that forces asylum seekers to live without earning an income. It was an opportunity for the students to consider the impact of living disadvantaged in another country. This opportunity at ACMI deepened language learning and understanding of Japanese culture outside the classroom. 

As we exited the wonderful ACMI theatre and finished watching the Japanese film, My Small Land, many of us had stomachs rumbling. We went to a wonderful restaurant, Tokyo Maki, which had lovely decorations, from the entrance with lovely flags to inside with beautiful images of cities from Japan, hung up on the wall. It was a lovely restaurant, with luckily, a room big enough for all 50 students. For some of us who had never had original Japanese food before, it was a great experience. When we sat down, the different dishes came all at one time. As the dishes came out, the smell was unbearable, and some of us realised what we really were missing out on by not having Japanese food before. We could hear everyone saying, “WOW!” when the meals were served in front of us. We had ordered various dishes such as obento, ramen, udon, katsudon, tonkatsudon, etc. Along with our main dish, we received miso soup, just adding to our food experience. The time at the restaurant was great, and most definitely the best time I have had in terms of food on a school excursion. 

It was a wonderful experience, from the beginning of the day, at the ACMI exhibition, to the ACMI theatre and finally the restaurant. Students will remember the experience for years. All Japanese students who attended this excursion loved it, and owe thanks to our wonderful Japanese teachers, Mrs Weeraratne, Ms Shimazoe and Ayako Sensei.

Brian Lim, Jack Ojaimi and Krystal Proestaki of 10E