A day at The Japanese School: "I left feeling closer to the culture"

Learning Japanese at SOAS brings with it many opportunities to not only immerse yourself in the language but also in cultural activities. BA East Asian Studies student Masami shares her recent university trip to the unique Japanese School in London. 

As students at SOAS, we recently had the opportunity to visit The Japanese School in London. The Japanese School in London follows a Japanese curriculum and is approved by both Japanese and British governments. It is the only school of its kind with the status of a public school in the UK, and for this reason it is a very valuable place for SOAS students to visit. 

I left the visit, feeling closer to Japanese culture and the Japanese way of interaction.

Taking part in this visit was a really enriching experience and a uniquely SOAS opportunity. A fellow student, Mila Lepavtsova, summed it up well: "I left the visit feeling closer to Japanese culture and the Japanese way of interaction." Here's how the day at The Japanese School went. 

The day began with Shodō (書道)

The day began with some Japanese calligraphy practice. Shodō (書道), as it is called in Japanese, is literally translated as ‘way of writing’, which points to the fact that it is an art form. 

The Japanese School students demonstrated how to correctly use the paper, brush, and ink (sumi – the type of ink used for shodō). We had such fun writing a range of Japanese characters in stylised forms.

The crafting continued with mon-kiri 

Following the shodō, the school students showed us how to make Japanese paper crests. This art form is called mon-kiri, which is translated as ‘crest-cutting’. 

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, mon-kiri was developed by the working class during the Edo period (1603-1867), as a pastime and craft. We used scissors or craft knives, depending on the design. It was very enjoyable to try out different designs with varying levels of intricacy. Some of them were very challenging!

We hope that all students will have many opportunities to gain deeper insights into each other’s cultures while also critically reflecting on their own.

We got to present in Japanese

In the afternoon, we learnt simple Japanese songs together, which was a great way to interact with the school students and to practise our language skills. We then gave a presentation in Japanese to The Japanese School students and staff, introducing SOAS and the Japanese language modules offered at our university. Both presenting and preparing the presentation were fun learning experiences.

The visit came to a close with an incredible singing performance of the song Greensleeves by The Japanese School students, through which I caught a glimpse of the strong Japanese teamwork culture.

My Japanese teacher explains more

My Japanese teacher this year, Dr Seiko Harumi, shares her thoughts on the school visit:

“This was our third annual school visit, and I hope that more and more SOAS students will continue to enjoy these precious opportunities to gain valuable insights while exploring and learning about the Japanese language and culture. The visit was driven by mutual aspirations to facilitate opportunities for collaborative learning, harnessing the potential of Japanese and English to deepen cross-cultural awareness and encourage language use."

Dr Harumi continues: "We are constantly looking to provide SOAS students with these experiences. Through this engagement in extensive cultural and language activities, we hope that all students will have many opportunities to gain deeper insights into each other’s cultures while also critically reflecting on their own, providing enriching and diverse views informed by each other’s perspectives.” 

If you're interested in learning more about studying Japanese at SOAS, make sure to browse the course, attend an open day or chat with a student.