Day of Japanese culture will be held on July 22 in Gabrovo and will offer lovers of eastern cultures the opportunity to immerse themselves in the magic of Japanese traditions, arts and customs.
The host is the Youth Center - Gabrovo, and the event is part of the youth exchange between Gabrovo high schools and Seijo High School in the Japanese city of Toyoake, which will take place from July 19 to August 1. The exchange has been taking place since 2017. So far, Bulgarian students have visited Japan three times - 30 young people from Gabrovo have gone through the exchange, and for the Japanese students this will be their second visit to Bulgaria.
The Day of Japanese Culture will take place at the "Hristo Tsokev" Art Gallery from 5:00 p.m.
Special guests at the event will be Mr. Takayuki Shinozawa - Counselor and Mr. Kento Muraki - Secretary for Cultural Affairs at the Embassy of Japan in Bulgaria, as well as the Mayor of Toyoake - Masafumi Kouki.
Various workshops and demonstrations are included in the program.
Japanese youngsters will show us how to make origami, and participants will have the opportunity to write their name with kanji, hiragana and katakana, and can understand why the Japanese use so many alphabets. The Bulgarian youth will present their achievements in Kendo.
There is also going to be an ikebana workshop led by Miroslava Ivanova, a licensed ikebana teacher at the Sogetsu School of Ikebana Tokyo. The workshop is free, and young people who want to register for participation in it can do so at the following link;
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdINo48BHyn4FNx5rRp-edTQjgNA1Trwr7M73ghDqSws-MjWg/viewform?usp=sf_link or through the Youth Center's social networks. Participants will be able to pick up their works, but we remind you once again that pre-registration is desirable, as places are limited.
The youths will have the opportunity to participate in a calligraphy workshop led by Venelina Petkova, who has a special Shodo rank from the Japanese
ShoJinKai school. She will also give a special gift to the mayors of Gabrovo and Toyoake - a calligraphic message about the friendship between the two cities.
There will also be a corner library with manga comics and Japanese literature that visitors can browse on site.
The program of the young people from Gabrovo and Toyoake also includes a visit to the Uzana Polyana Fest, Etara, part of the high schools and museums in the city, the cave "Bacho Kiro" and Tsarevets, creative workshops related to Bulgarian crafts, photography with folk costumes, kayaking at Sinkevica Dam and etc.
