This January 10, 11 and 12, the community will be able to enjoy various activities, including the exhibition of Japanese calendars, cosplay contests, a Kamishibai show and a concert inspired by the soundtrack created by Shunsuke Kikuchi for the renowned work of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball, among others.

The summer season has arrived and, as is tradition, Japanese culture takes over the agenda of the University of La Serena, which this year will be carried out through the “Japan ULS”, activity carried out by the Directorate of Liaison with the Environment and Extension (Diveuls) - with the collaboration of the Embassy of Japan in Chile and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) -, and which consists of a series of Japanese Cultural Days during January 10, 11 and 12, 2024.

The program of activities includes the exhibition of Japanese calendars, Japanese calligraphy, origami and cosplay contests; But in addition to this, the public will be able to enjoy Japanese stories, a kamishibai show and a concert inspired by the soundtrack created by Shunsuke Kikuchi, for Akira Toriyama's renowned work, Dragon Ball, among others.

The activities will begin on Wednesday, January 10, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., with the presentation of “The country of the rising sun: A journey through different experiences,” in the Alejandro Covarrubias room of the Andrés Bello Campus, located in Raúl Bitrán No. 1305; followed by the opening of the exhibition “A look at the Japanese country through calendars”, from 12 to 13 p.m., in the Central House Hall of the same campus.

During the afternoon of Wednesday, the activities will continue in the ULS Exhibition Hall, -located at Benavente Nº950-, where an Origami Workshop will be held, from 15 to 16 p.m.; a Japanese Calligraphy Workshop, from 16:30 to 17:30 p.m.; and a Manga drawing workshop, from 18 to 19 p.m.

The Japanese Cultural Days They will continue on Thursday the 11th, with the Academic Seminar “ULS Collaborations with Japan”, from 9 a.m. to 13 p.m., in the Hexágono Room, located on the Andrés Bello Campus.

On Thursday afternoon the activities will begin with a judo demonstration in the ULS Exhibition Hall, from 15 to 15:40 p.m.; followed by a Kendo demonstration, from 16 to 16:40 p.m., in the courtyard of the Faculty of Engineering of the ULS, located on the Ignacio Domeyko Campus, Benavente Nº980. After this comes Version VI of the Cosplay Contest, from 18 to 19:20 p.m., in the Aula Magna ULS; and the Japanese AWA ODORI dance, from 20 to 20:40 p.m., in the courtyard of the Faculty of Engineering.

The activities of Friday the 12th -last day of the Japan ULS-, will begin with a talk “JICA Scholarships and Regional Scholarship Story”, in the ULS Exhibition Hall, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., where there will be virtual guidance from Cynthia Álvarez, Training Program - JICA Chile Office, who will deliver the requirements and opportunities that the Japan International Cooperation Agency JICA has to carry out improvement courses in the Japanese country. While in person there will be Félix Jacob, in charge of Housing Energy Qualification - CEV of the Technical Department of Construction and Urbanization of the SERVIU Coquimbo Region, recent scholarship recipient of a second JICA course held in Japan last September and October. Jacob will present the Action Plan on which he worked during those two months and his proposal focused on the water crisis in the Coquimbo Region, especially in rural areas. Continuing that morning, the show “Kamishibai and Japanese stories” will take place, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., in the Aula Magna ULS.

Friday afternoon will begin with the Japanese Leisure Games, from 14:30 p.m. to 15:30 p.m., at the ULS Central Library -located at Anfión Muñoz 875-; which will be followed by the tour of the Garden of the Heart Park, aimed exclusively at the local group Kokoro No Niwa (Jardín Japonés Nº350, Avenida Francisco de Aguirre).

After this, the Japanese Cultural Days They will end with the Symphonic Dragon Ball Concert, performed by the Intermediate Philharmonic Orchestra of La Antena, from 20:21 p.m. to XNUMX:XNUMX p.m., in the Aula Magna of the ULS.

Regarding this, the Institutional Coordinator of Diveuls, Nando Verelst, explained that “the University of La Serena has carried out, for several years, a series of initiatives around Japanese culture, with high relevance at the regional and national level; Therefore, it is very pleasing for us to specify this programmatic grid that incorporates talks, cultural activities and cultural dissemination, within a framework of alliance with the Embassy of Japan.”

For his part, the person in charge of the Diveuls Cultural Management Office, Fernando Tapia, stressed that “although the educational nature of the ULS generally makes us focus on activities more linked to the academy, we understand that people want to have fun during the summer season, that is why we have scheduled various workshops, conferences and some artistic shows, in order to help spread Japanese culture, among other things.”

Delving into this, Tapia highlighted that “the relevance of knowing and learning about other cultures is linked to one of the basic principles of the ULS, which is to generate instances for critical thinking, which in the case of the Japanese Cultural Days helps us to have an eastern perspective of the social development of a nation that rose after the Second World War to become a power in technological development and digital innovation.”

Anyone interested in attending these activities can obtain more information. here or sign up by writing to email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or following ULS and Diveuls on Instagram and Facebook.

By Romina Onel, Diveuls