On Friday, January 7, we enjoyed our first school event of the year 2022.
At this student-government-led event, students participated in “Kakizome”, a traditional cultural event in Japan. Students wrote their first calligraphy words and phrases, imbuing in them their goals and wishes for the year ahead. They also re-used paper to assemble traditional Shinto “Kadomatsu”, or pine decorations, which normally decorate the entrance of houses and buildings during the New Year.

The themes of this year’s “Kakizome” were gratitude and aspirations for 2022.
We believe the students reflected deeply upon these themes as they took part in the activities.

Students in grades 7-12 collaborated in mixed-grade groups for the pine decoration design activity.
Please enjoy the images below of their handicrafts. The students even took care with design details such as plum flowers, camellia flowers, shrimp, tigers, and rice cakes.

Reflections by student government member Reiki Ishibashi:

“Students participated very actively, and each group was able to craft a wonderful `Kadomatsu`. Some groups used `Origami` and others built taller decorations by layering old newspapers. I also felt that this activity promoted interaction and friendship between students in different grades.”

Comments from student government teacher Hamada Sensei:

“We explored questions such as, `Why do we put shrimp into “Osechi”, our traditional New Year’s banquet?` It was a wonderful beginning-of-the-year event in which students were able to learn more about the role of lucky items in Japanese culture.”