During the 2025 Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival, which will be held from July 1st (Tue) to July 15th (Tue), 2025, students will be utilizing their expertise to take on a wide range of initiatives as part of their community contribution activities to help preserve the traditional festival and revitalize the local area.
When explaining about the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival to foreign visitors to the Azuma school's hut, the university's international students and Japanese students, along with guides from the Azuma school, provide interpretation in English, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and other languages to convey the festival's appeal to visitors. Mr. Hai Wu-Tak, Chinese interpreter (Faculty of Commerce, 3rd year Commerce student from China) said, "I decided to participate because I am interested in traditional Japanese culture and wanted to build a bridge between tourists and local people through interpreting activities. I would like to participate in activities that will bring good memories for both parties," she said, expressing her desire to engage in international exchange activities.
Additionally, Tsuba Ryoya (Mikura Technical High School), a third-year student Department of Social Design Faculty of Art and Design was in charge of the visual design of the pamphlet stands to be set up at the venue. Tsuba, who created a cartoon-style design to catch the eye of foreign tourists, said, "I'm from outside the prefecture, so when I was creating the design, I used documents and videos as reference and researched the festival itself, the tools, and the history of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa. I also used hand towels, which have different colors depending on the Yamakasa's role, as icons. I hope this design will spark conversation."
In addition, photos of the decorated floats that will be posted on the official website of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa Promotion Association were taken by Kanta Ishigami (Kokubu High School) and Mio Inoue (Kaho High School), third-year students in Faculty of Art and Design Department of Photography and Imaging Arts. With their unique student sensibilities, they will capture the splendor and power of the festival and widely communicate its appeal on the web.
As part of our 60th anniversary celebrations, in 2018, we launched the "Hakata Gion Yamakasa Project" to support the local community through the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival. Since then, we have been contributing to the preservation of Hakata's traditional culture and the revitalization of the local community through a wide range of activities that utilize the expertise of our students.
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[Industry-Academia Co-innovation and Research Promotion Headquarters]
