KARACHI: “The Japan Fest 2017 is open for you to experience a taste of Japan by sampling our food which you have not tasted in any restaurant here, witness our tea ceremony, and appreciate our literature and the arts of origami, ikebana and bonsai,” said Mr Toshikazu Isomura, the Consul General of Japan in Karachi at the start of the fest at a local hotel here on Thursday.

The programme, organised by the Consulate General of Japan, had students and leading political, business, cultural and diplomatic figures in attendance.

The students also took part in presentations to share several cultural and social images of Japan when they visited there earlier this year as part of a cultural exchange programme known as Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (Jenesys).

“The first view of Rainbow Bridge left me breathless,” said Zobia, who visited Tokyo in January this year.

Other students spoke of the resilience of the Japanese people which helps them bounce back every time.

Sadiq, another student, who had the opportunity of visiting Nagasaki, said Japan was an empire brought down to its knees. “But the Japanese learnt to stand up again,” he said.

The students, especially, enjoyed their stay with different Japanese families for two days during their visit.

They said that despite the language barrier they were able to communicate very well, going shopping and enjoying peanut ice cream, etc.

The people who had set up stalls around the hall also came up to speak one by one.

Khurram Sohail of Pakistan Japan Literature Forum (PJLF) spoke about how the Japanese are committed to introduce their people to the rich literature of other countries.

“The Diwan-i-Ghalib, collections of Mir and Manto have been translated into Japanese,” he informed.

He praised the Japanese for their rich culture and traditions where elders were respected, for their traditional attire and practices.

Tradition & technology

“But that’s not all. With so much tradition on one side, there is also technology on the other side. Japan is where tradition and technology meet,” he said.

Usman Riaz of Mano Animation Studios spoke about Japanese animation and how his love for it made him found the studios and his forthcoming directorial venture, Pakistan’s first animated feature film Sheesha Ghar. A four-minute preview of the film was also screened at the fest.

A Rakugo performance, where one person tells a story with the help of just two props — a Japanese fan and a handkerchief — had Fahad Zaki tell the story ‘Zoo’.

A cosplay had many students dress up as famous characters, the best of which were also awarded.

The food offered by Japanese ladies dressed in pretty traditional attire had many guests out of their seats to sample the delicacies.

Others found themselves at the various activity booths. There were opportunities to learn origami, to appreciate the stamps collections, the little bonsai trees and the ikebana arrangements.

Later, during the evening event of the fest there were also the koto and shamisen performance by a Japanese artist Ms Sumie Kaneko.

Koto is a traditional Japanese instrument with 13 strings strung across 13 movable bridges along the length of the instrument. Shamisen is a three-stringed instrument from ancient China.

Ms Kaneko is an accomplished koto and shamisen player, jazz singer and songwriter who has received her training at the prestigious Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and Berklee College of Music. She has the honour of performing at the Washington DC Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Centre and Blue Note, New York.

Finally, the consul general of Japan in Karachi appreciated the 65-year Japan-Pakistan friendship and expressed his wishes to further strengthen the existing cultural, economic and business ties between the two countries.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2017