Japan Day Comes Early – a Celebration of Japanese culture (Monday 10 February to Saturday 15 February)

Celebrate all things Japan! Canterbury Japan Day (Sunday 1 March 1 2020, 9am to 4:30pm) has been run every year since 11 March 2012, it marked the 20th anniversary of the Japanese Society of Canterbury as well as the first anniversary of the 2011 East Japan earthquake and tsunami.

A celebration of Japanese culture

There are origami crafts drop in sessions at Fendalton, South, Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre, and Tūranga between Monday 10 and Saturday 15 February.

A celebration of Japanese culture at Tūranga

Come in and enjoy two days of Japanese events at Tūranga, from flower arranging and origami, to manga drawing. The following workshops and events are on offer:

Thursday 13 February

Ikebana Workshop: 10am to 11.30am (free, bookings required phone 9417923)

Auaha Hihi / Spark Place, He Hononga | Connection, Ground Floor, Tūranga

Ikebana (生け花), the art of Japanese flower arrangement, has been evolving for more than seven centuries, and has gained popularity around the world since with its beautiful, elegant forms.

Join us at Tūranga for our Ikebana Workshop, where you can learn how to make ikebana arrangements yourself from the talented Robyn, Ellen and Vickie from Christchurch Ikebana Sōgetsu. They'll be showing you how to do sōgetsu-ryū (草月流), or sōgetsu-school-style arrangements.

Interested in ikebana? Browse books our collection of ikebana books.

• Check calendar listing.
• Subscribe to the Facebook event.
• Want to book in for the workshop? Call (03) 941-7923 to reserve your spot.

Manga Drawing Workshop: 4pm to 6pm (free, drop in)

Youth Space, Hapori | Community, Level 1, Tūranga

Manga, Japanese comics, have become immensely popular all over the world, both to read and draw. If you're a fan, or just want to try something new, pop in to Hapori, Tūranga to try drawing your own manga. A self-directed manga-drawing workshop, you can drop in at any time and have a go.

You can find manga in any of our libraries in the graphic novels sections. You can also find manga titles in our collection.

• Check calendar listing.
• Subscribe to the Facebook event.

Haiku Poetry Workshop: 5.30pm to 7.30pm (free, bookings required)

Facilitation Space, Auahatanga | Creativity, Level 4, Tūranga

Haiku 俳句 is a very old style of short Japanese poetry. Join us at Tūranga to learn more about this type of poetry from the New Zealand Poetry Society's Barbara Strang, and have a go at composing your own at our Haiku Poetry Workshop! To part with a famous haiku (the syllables work in Japanese, rather than English, in this case) for inspiration:

古池や                   old pond                                                               

蛙飛び込む           frog leaps in

水の音                  water's sound

  – Matsuo Bashō (松尾 芭蕉), 1644–1694

Saturday 15 February

Takumi Drumming Group: 2pm to 2.30pm

Tautoro / TSB Space, Hapori | Community, Level 1, Tūranga

Come and get your heart pumping along with the captivating drumbeat of Takumi Japanese Drumming Group. Not a performance to be missed, the Japanese drums are amazing to hear, and spectacular to watch. 

Japanese music is varied and comes in so many different types and sounds. Check out the video below, from Access Video, where you can learn a bit more about Japanese music.

Origami Makerspace: 2.30pm to 4pm

Hapori | Community, Level 1, Tūranga

Many of us will have come across or tried origami (折り紙- literally, 'paper folding') at some point in our lives– I know I can remember trying to get my folds nice and even and pointy at primary school. To celebrate Japan Day early, we're running a special origami makerspace, where you can come in and learn how to fold paper to make beautiful and cute things.

Want to try some origami at home, or just learn more about the craft? We have lots of books on origami in our collection.

More Japanese resources

Want to learn some Japanese? Try Mango Languages, free with your library card.

Find books in Japanese  and browse our Japanese children's titles.