Since 2017, Parkland’s Japanese Culture Club has served as a culturally enriching bridge between Japanese culture and the Parkland community’s students.
To gain more insight into the club and how it has broadened the experience for its members and staff, we attended one of the Japanese Culture Club’s meetings and spoke to its faculty advisor, Travis Sola, and vice president, Clayton Nelson.
Origins of the club
According to Sola, the club was founded in 2017 by the students of former Parkland Japanese language instructor Mr. Kenoshida. Later, when Kenoshida retired in 2019, Sola, who had been working alongside Kenoshida, took over as faculty advisor. For Sola, Kenoshida’s mentorship of how to run the club and bring forth student involvement, all the while being able to share his interest in Japanese culture, are what brought him to this position today.
The student experience
When Nelson was asked what brought him to join the Japanese club, a big motivator for him was his interest in exploring a culture which he found “very uniquely different from what [he was] used to.” Since joining, Nelson’s “worldview and how [he looks] at different cultures has shifted and changed,” especially regarding his perception of “mannerisms [and] etiquette.”
Outside the club, these takeaways have allowed Nelson to communicate more effectively and efficiently with Japanese people, using what he has learned to avoid awkward first interactions and make quicker connections, which he deems exceptionally valuable.
Coming into my first meeting with the Japanese Culture Club, their careful acknowledgment of cultural context, social cues, and nuances were among the first things that stood out to me. That particular day, the club was reviewing basic Japanese phrases, but even more so, the cultural connotations and contexts behind when to use each phrase.
While memorizing specific phrases is one thing, the instructions on when and why to say certain things were incredibly thoughtful regarding respecting and using the Japanese language.
Although much of the information I learned from this meeting was brand new to me, it was incredibly accessible, and the students were very friendly and willing to help further educate not only me, but some of the newer members as well. .
Joining any kind of club can be a bit nerve-racking, especially when you do not know how you will fit in amongst your peers; however, the Japanese Culture Club, regardless of one’s knowledge of the culture or skill level with the language, is an incredibly welcoming club that seems to prioritize a deep appreciation and respect for the culture.
Activities at the Japanese culture club
Beyond language learning, the Japanese culture club offers various activities throughout the year, such as food making, calligraphy, practicing chopstick etiquette, and other specialized workshops. Sola says, “Basically anything that the students are interested in, we try to make some kind of activity.”
The club also incorporates local trips throughout Illinois, including tea ceremonies at the Japan House in Urbana, visiting The Art Institute of Chicago and shopping at Mitsuwa Marketplace.
Trips and activities like these serve as great reminders that immersing oneself in celebrating or appreciating other cultures can be done locally, from trying new foods to engaging with architecture and artwork.
Why join?
Over the years, East Asian culture has become such a major point of fascination for the West. For many, much of this interest and curiosity is derived from the feeling that East Asian culture is an entirely different world from that of the West. Due to this intrigue and the fact that Japanese customs and media are highly accessible in forms like anime and karate, many have a baseline introduction into Japanese Culture.
That being said, customs and media are not stand-alone representations of Japan. By joining Parkland’s Japanese Culture Club, you can expand on your cultural understanding more profoundly alongside like-minded people who want to do the same thing.
Learning a new culture gives you a deeper appreciation of the world outside your own. So, whether you want to experience something new or even come to celebrate your own Japanese heritage, Parkland’s Japanese Club is a fantastic place to start!
If you are interested, feel free to attend any of their meetings in room D-105 on Thursdays at noon, and if you have any questions, you can email Travis Sola at @tsola.parkland.edu.
