Students celebrate Japanese New Year

American writers have long been captivated by the point at which American teenagers come of… American writers have long been captivated by the point at which American teenagers come of age.

The age at which this happens differs. J.D. Salinger’s character Holden Caulfield experiences it at age 16. Pitt graduate and novelist Michael Chabon’s coming-of-age tale “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh” follows the experiences of a 20-something.

But there is no uncertainty for Japanese youngsters. In fact, they know the exact day they will become adults: the second Monday in January during the year they turn 20.

On Friday, the Office of Cross Cultural and Leadership Development partnered with the Japanese Speaking Society and the Asian Studies Center to begin the weekend by celebrating the Japanese Coming-of-Age, in addition to the Japanese New Year.

In Japan, children reach adulthood at the age of 20, when they also gain the rights to smoke and drink alcohol. On the second Monday of January, Japanese citizens in their 20th year gather to mark their passage into adulthood.

Students attending the event learned about the holiday by listening to a presentation from a student who studied abroad in Japan.

“It was great because I learned a lot from the student’s presentation,” graduate student Naomi Mimaki said. “There are a lot of rituals that I do every year without knowing the meaning of [them].”

The event also featured a cooking demonstration that featured Japanese New Years’ recipes given by Mimi Terano, the international programming coordinator and adviser for the CCLD. The idea of a cooking demonstration is nothing new. The CCLD used to sponsor a cooking-demonstration program in the Cathedral, but had to stop the program because of a change in restrictions.

“Cooking is something universal,” Terano said. “Food is almost always involved in holidays in every part of the world.”

Students attending the event appreciated this part. “I loved the mochi,” or Japanese sticky rice, freshman Matt Russak said. “I love cultural food, and any chance I have to try any, especially if it’s important in a holiday celebration or important to the culture, I’m very eager to try it.”

Russak enjoyed the program’s real-life dimension. “I thought that it was really interesting to actually see pictures and taste foods that I’ve learned about in previous classes,” Russak said.

“I had taken Japanese in high school, and so we learned all about the visits to shrines and temples and the traditional food, but I had never had a chance to see pictures or actually taste the food.” CCLD’s Holidays Around the World festivities run on Fridays from 1 to 3 p.m. Students can celebrate a holiday every week.

The celebrations are held on the sixth floor of the Union as part of the CCLD’s Holidays Around the World series. Every week the CCLD partners with other student organizations to host a holiday that is occurring either in another part of the world or globally.