Marshall University’s Japanese department celebrated all of the clubs in the department Friday during its Japan Day festival.

The festival took place in the basement of the Memorial Student Center, where the clubs set up tables to display different Japanese cultural items. The first table was coordinated by the Japan Club, where they were selling t-shirts and had a poster with pictures of the club’s past events.

The next table was the anime club, where they were making bookmarks with people’s names on them written in katakana. Another table displayed origami and manuals so attendees could learn how to fold paper to make origami swans.

The final table displayed traditional clothes called hakama, where people could try them on and be shown how to wear them.

“Japan Day is a really good chance for people to get to see the various clubs we have to offer here,” said Savannah Ison, Japan club president. “And to experience Japanese culture without having to leave Marshall’s campus.”

To begin the festivities, leaders of all the clubs went to the stage to introduce themselves and explain what their clubs were. Japanese professor Natsuki Anderson led the festival in singing two Japanese songs, “Country Road” and “Umi no Koe.”

Two clubs did not put together tables, but gave a demonstration instead. The Aikido and the Kendo clubs are branches of the Japanese department and some of their members came to demonstrate what they do at practice.

“For some reason, the non-competitive nature of Aikido, the spirit of aikido, which is to try to diffuse and deescalate a situation without injuring someone if at all possible, really spoke to me,” said John Van Kirk, instructor of the Aikido club.

The Aikido club showed their warm up techniques before displaying a couple of basic moves and throws that Aikido is based on.

The Kendo club then explained the gear each of their members was wearing before showing examples of strikes to the audience.

“Kendo benefits me personally, both physically and mentally,” said Herb Mowery, instructor of the Kendo club. “I don’t feel good if I don’t practice Kendo, it becomes part of who you are.”

The end of the festival came after the Kendo club taught a few students in the audience a couple of basic moves.

Monica Zalaznik can be reached at [email protected]