Celebrate Culture Night: Haru Matsuri with USC’s Nikkei
By: Kelsey Cheng ‘25
For its annual Culture Night, USC’s Nikkei Student Union showcased an event in celebration of Japanese culture! On March 11 2022, Culture Night took the form of an Obon-style night market at the TCC Grand Ballroom, featuring game booths, performances, and dancing.
What is Nikkei?
Nikkei is a Japanese-American cultural and social club open to anyone interested in learning more about Japanese/Japanese-American culture! As a Nikkei member and intern, I encourage those who want to learn more about Japanese heritage to join. Nikkei is truly like a family, and we do fun activities like Little Tokyo outings, general meetings, and of course, Culture Night!
How did Culture Night come to be?
Culture Night has been in the making for months, with many meetings dedicated to brainstorming and organizing various festival activities. During general board meetings, interns and board members were able to share their thoughts and ideas for the event, said Culture Night Director Ethan Woo. Despite challenges like booking the venue, Nikkei members came together to put on a great event.
“My favorite part about Culture night was simply being able to see all of our work for this semester pay off and to have such a dedicated board and group of interns to help make this event possible.”
Festival Games and Booths!
Culture Night’s theme was Haru Matsuri, meaning “spring festival” in Japanese. When you enter the venue, you are welcomed with music, beautiful floral decorations, and festival games. Festival games included ring toss, origami-making, and kendama-playing. Players earned tickets, which they could enter into a raffle to win Starbucks gift cards, concert tickets, a speaker, and more. I grabbed some snacks from the concessions booth and took a picture in front of the sakura and lanterns tent. I also learned more about local Japanese-American organizations that sponsored the event, Little Tokyo Historical Society and Kizuna.
Culture Night Director Kylie Kishi said that it was great to see so many different people from the Japanese (and non-Japanese) community socializing and having fun, especially since we haven't had an in-person culture night in a while!
Performances
The venue pounded as Taiko players beat their drums. Displaying great musicianship and athleticism, USC’s Kazan Taiko performed two songs for the crowd: “Matsuri” and “Sansei”, the latter being a contemporary, K-pop and J-pop-inspired piece. Following the Taiko performance was Liuwenda Gao’s cover of a popular J-pop song.
Kazan Taiko and Gao showcased both traditional and modern aspects of the culture. Personally, these visceral performances left me feeling more connected to my Japanese roots.
Bon Odori Dancing!
At the end of the night, the audience came together for Bon Odori dancing. Bon Odori is a style of dancing performed during Obon, an annual Buddhist event commemorating one's ancestors. Nikkei members taught the crowd the moves, and altogether we danced to the traditional music. I never learned these dances before, but after practicing them together in a group, I quickly picked it up. I loved watching everyone —seasoned Obon dancers and newbies alike — come together and move to the music.
Highlighting Japanese and Japanese-American Identity!
Nikkei did a fantastic job of highlighting why and how we should celebrate cultural traditions and forge new ones of our own. The Japanese student population at USC consists of multi-generational Japanese Americans, Japan-born students, mixed-raced students, and many more, so it’s critical to express all sides of the Japanese identity. Cultural events like Haru Matsuri encourage Japanese-Americans and the general public to learn about and learn from our history. For Nikkei President Emily Matsui, Culture Night is a time for community.
“I think Culture Night is so important because our club is meant to spread awareness and celebrate Japanese-American culture and history. People often focus on the social part of our club like tailgating and game nights, and I feel like Culture Night is a way to bring the USC and local community together while celebrating Japanese culture.”
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