Japanese School Festival
The sunny, crisp air of autumn in Japan whets the appetite not just for food but also for cultural and artistic refinement. For kids, autumn is a time for bunkasai, or school-sponsored cultural festivals. Virtually all middle and high schools in Japan hold such festivals between late October and November.
The festival is usually held on a Saturday or Sunday, and sometimes on both days. It’s a chance for kids to show off what they’ve learned at school to their families and neighbors, and it offers students a change of pace from their normal school routines.
Most festivals feature exhibits and skits. In many cases, the students themselves write scripts for the skits, choose the cast, and build scenery and props. Through this experience, the students learn to pool their talents and energies in creating something by themselves, gain a sense of satisfaction, and experience the joy of presenting what they created in front of others. The festival provides students with a rich harvest of fond memories and valuable experiences.
The exhibits, meanwhile, are usually held in classrooms and feature works created in industrial arts classes, such as radios and toolboxes, and paintings drawn in art classes.
Now, even though I’ve stated that the Komajo bunkasai was a more representative experience, that’s not to say you’ll be missing out by going to Todai. Rather, it’s the opposite. Todai’s festival was like Komajo’s, only ten times bigger and chaotic. Crowds pack the halls and walkways, and students–some in costume–drum up business for stands of meat skewers, takoyaki, choco-banana, and crepes. Whereas Komajo only had one stage, Todai had three. Komajo had three or four rock bands; Todai had at least three classroom tuned “live”-style club venues with a different band scheduled every hour and that doesn’t include the bands on the main stages or the non-rock musical groups.
