Showa Boston Institute

Students spent the weekend volunteering with the Museum of Science for their AAPI heritage event! Activities included a soran bushi performance and trying out kendama at our table with guests.

Showa Boston had a busy April as we returned to the Japan Festival on the Boston Common. Students supported the Festival as volunteers, assisting with tasks ranging from line management to selling raffle tickets and working with children. Our soran bushi team also performed, and we also showcased the campus’s first-ever rock band, who performed on both the main stage and at the Downtown Crossing Sake Rock Festival.

The spring semester is here, which means that Showa Boston will be all over community events! This weekend, we hosted a table at the Arnold Arboretum’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival. Showa Boston students performed soran bushi and taught games and calligraphy to attendees. Thank you to the Arboretum for hosting us! 🌸

Students in our short-term programs enjoyed a night of community interaction and karuta! The Boston Nakamaro Karuta Club hosted an event on our campus, which included a karuta demonstration and basic lessons. Students were able to talk with local people, play karuta, and teach about Japanese culture.

Our food club collaborated with to celebrate Setsubun on campus! Setsubun is a Japanese festival to celebrate the beginning of spring. One ritual from Setsubun is throwing soybeans at demons or devils and enjoying a sushi roll for good luck! 👹

Showa Boston recently collaborated with the Wellesley College Aiko Club for a night of taiko performance and demonstration. Club members from Wellesley College performed for participants and then led a workshop about how to play taiko. Thank you to the Aiko Club for an incredible evening on campus!

It’s a snow day! ❄️ Showa Boston students are enjoying the weather and taking advantage of the hills around our campus to go sledding. We hope that you will stay warm and make the most of the snow! ☃️

This week, Showa Boston hosted its annual Coming of Age ceremony. In Japan, this is a celebration of becoming an adult; in Boston, our ceremony featured speeches from the Consulate General of Japan in Boston Seiichiro Takahashi, New Hampshire Circuit Court Judge Sawako Gardner, Showa Boston student Mayuko Ishii of the Department of English Communications, and Showa Boston President Dr. Bruce Stronach. Congratulations to all of our students!