Nick LoCastro and Andrew Hill walked onto the Reitz Union North Lawn Saturday draped from head to toe in traditional Japanese robes.
LoCastro, a microbiology junior, and Hill, a sophomore, demonstrated kendo, a Japanese martial art, to a group of about 100 at the UF Japanese Club’s fourth annual Spring Festival.
In Japan, the spring festival celebrates the blossoming of the cherry tree, the coming of a new year and a season of pleasant weather, said Anastasia Letcher, a Japanese language and literature senior and vice president of the Japanese Club.
Letcher said this year’s spring celebration incorporated more modern culture, including more pop dance performances and a performance by rock band SS Tsunami. Members of the Japanese Club wore orange-and-blue happi coats, vests Letcher brought for the event, to connect UF and Japanese tradition.
Traditional activities included origami, calligraphy, kimono and yukata fittings, a tea ceremony and a presentation about popular events and holidays in Japan.
Members of a private school of Japanese culture and language in Orlando visited the festival to perform traditional dances.
The free event ended with a series of pop dances performed by members of the Japanese Club and a performance of Soran Bushi, a traditional fishing dance. Members added their own twist to the Soran Bushi with a Gator chomp.
