Widyatama Japan Matsuri (WJM) is an annual event organized by the Japanese Language Undergraduate and Diploma Programs at Widyatama University, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, and the Nihongo Gakka Student Association (HIMANIKA).
UTama is proud to host WJM 2024, which will take place on May 18, 2024, at the Widyatama University Multipurpose Building (GSG). This annual event aims to introduce and celebrate the beauty of Japanese culture to the university community and the wider public through a variety of interesting and educational activities.
WJM 2024 is held under the theme of “Rhythmic Whiskers.” “Rhythmic Whiskers” has a philosophy of combining two powerful elements: captivating musical rhythms and the presence of adorable cat mascots. In Japan, music plays an important role in their culture. “Rhythmic Whiskers” presents an interesting and entertaining combination of Japanese culture. It creates a unique experience, combining the beauty of Japanese music with the gentleness of cats in a diverse cultural context.
WJM 2024 features a number of attractions and activities that reflect the richness of Japanese culture, including:
- Traditional Art Performances: Traditional dance, music, and theater performances showcasing the beauty of Japanese art.
- Traditional Market (Yatai): Stalls selling a variety of Japanese foods and drinks, such as takoyaki, okonomiyaki, ramen, and dorayaki.
- Cosplay Parade: A cosplay competition and parade featuring costumes of popular characters from Japanese anime, manga, and video games.
- Exhibition: An exhibition of Japanese arts and crafts.
- Band and Dance Performers
In addition, this year’s WJM held academic and non-academic competitions for high school/vocational school/Islamic high school students, including:
Academic Competitions
- Monogatari, a storytelling competition in Japanese
- Rodoku, a competition reading hiragana and katakana (kana) characters in a Japanese text.
- Shuuji is a competition in beautiful writing of hiragana, katakana, and kanji characters.
- Kana is a competition in reading and writing hiragana and katakana (kana) characters by answering questions.
Non-Academic Competitions
- Cosplay Walk Competition is a competition in cosplaying characters from anime, games, and movies by performing on stage.
- Cover Song Contest is a competition to sing Japanese songs of any genre using background music or playing your own instrument.
- Character Design is a competition to draw characters with a theme determined by the committee, namely kemonomimi (half-human, half-animal), wearing modern clothes and music-themed accessories (playing musical instruments and other music-related accessories).
“Widyatama Japan Matsuri 2024 is the perfect opportunity to experience and enjoy the beauty of Japanese culture without having to travel far,” said Dr. H. Hendar, M.Pd., Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, in his speech. “We hope this event can strengthen the relationship between the Japanese and Indonesian people, as well as increase knowledge and understanding of Japanese traditions and modernity,” he added.
