A Celebration of JETAA in 2024

This year has been another busy year for JETAA Chapters, with celebrations of Japanese culture and the JET experience in abundance up and down the UK. From exhibition visits in London to Hanami in Scotland, the JETAA community came together both to reminisce about their time on JET and make new memories of Japanese traditions and culture.

London Explores Food Replicas
This year, the JETAA London Chapter enjoyed two theatre trips, including the spectacular stage production of Spirited Away, and Chiten Theatre Company's interpretation of Osamu Dazai's final, unfinished work, Goodbye. JETAA London also joined two guided tours by Japan House London. First, its Ainu Stories exhibition exploring indigenous Ainu culture in northern Japan, and, more recently, its Looks Delicious! exhibition about Japan's food replica culture. Shak Mawani, JETAA's London Chair, says: "From the story of how and why replicas became a part of Japanese culture, to the science of production, Looks Delicious! provides a fascinating insight into food replicas."

Looks Delicious! is on until 16 February 2025. Reserve your free tickets here.

North West's Enlightening Lectures
JETAA North West has had another busy year of events, sometimes in collaboration with Japan Society North West. Some highlights include a fascinating lecture by Andrew Claire, about his experience returning a Second World War Japanese flag to the village where the soldier who carried it was originally from. In June, JETAANW also facilitated an excellent talk by Lesley Downer, author of Edo Castle: The Glittering World of the Shogun's Court.

In August, they held their annual Matsuri, which was moved to Calderstones Park in Liverpool to make it more accessible to the public. The event was a huge success, featuring Tengu Taiko drummers, a Japanese koto player, and demonstrations showcasing ikebana, kimono, and martial arts. There were also beautiful bonsai exhibits by the Japanese Garden Society.

Celebrating the Bath-Beppu Friendship in the South
A key focus for the South Chapter in 2024 has been on creating and maintaining connections with local organisations, including the Bath Beppu Friendship Association (BBFA), the Europe Japan Research Centre, and the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies.

Ella Donaldson, JETAA's South Chair, says: "In the last year, the BBFA has hosted a visit from the mayor of Beppu, arranged for the mayor of Bath and a small delegation of members to visit Beppu for the 30th anniversary of the sister city agreement, held monthly language exchange evenings, hosted Japanese film screenings, and more!"

Looking to the year ahead, she continues: "The BBFA are currently engaged in planning Beppu Tour 2025, a collaborative event in which 33 youth rugby players from Bath will travel out to Beppu next February to mark the 30th anniversary of the sister city relationship with a wonderful example of cultural exchange through sport." Find out how to help them with fundraising here.

Scotland's Hanami Events Continue to Bloom
JETAA Scotland enjoyed a third consecutive year of beautiful Hanami celebrations in Lauriston Castle's Japanese Gardens in Edinburgh. Later in the year, the Scotland chapter also welcomed departing JETs to a Nijikai, allowing them to make some initial connections before heading to Japan for their JET placements. In the summer, JETAA Scotland hosted a two-day Japanese Summer Festival at Shambellie House, supported by the Consulate General of Japan in Edinburgh and the Japan Society of Scotland. At the Summer Festival, visitors tried on yukata, dressed in their best cosplay looks, and watched traditional Japanese folk dance.

Nihongo Lessons in the North East
While the North East Chapter mainly holds online events, they were delighted to welcome outgoing JETs to Newcastle for a fun beginners' Japanese lesson and the opportunity to meet with some JETerans. They also held a returners dinner to ease some local returnees into life back home!

In addition to their monthly online Japanese conversation classes, JETAA North-East also hosted some online cultural information sessions. These sessions included a talk on Japanese architecture, which shed some light on the rules that must be followed when designing a Japanese house. For example, some architectural elements are lucky, while others are unlucky. JETAA North-East hope to offer similar sessions in future and delve further into the intricacies of Japanese architecture.

Most recently, JETAA North-East also held an online session focused on Kanji structure. In this session, Ayae Sensei, who also runs the monthly online Japanese conversation classes, offered some great insights into which parts of Kanji characters we should look at for the sound, and which part gives the meaning. This was another well-received session, which will hopefully have a part two focused on frequently used structures and radicals. Hope to see you there!

To find out about upcoming events in 2025, make sure you're signed up to the JETAAUK newsletter, as well as communications from your local JETAA Chapter.