ISU Japanese Club - ISU Honor Society and Club

The ISU Japanese Club have regular activities to celebrate the following Japanese festivals and holidays, including:

• The Japanese New Year
• Osechi Ryouri -- New Year's Cooking
• Seijin No Hi -- Coming of Age Day
• The Hina Matsuri
• Cherry Blossoms
• The Shichi Go San Matsuri

An increasingly diverse group of students are attracted to the language as a portal to many other cultural realms: Zen Buddhism, haiku poetry, martial arts, tea ceremony, and the latest creative products of the prosperous comic / animation / video game industries. Our program leads to an understanding of the more subtle, complex elements of Japanese culture and offers an alternative view of the world.

With the Japanese Minor Program, ISU Japanese Club started in Fall 2004 for members who are interested in Japanese language and culture. We are a new club, but very active with many members. We recently received an award for Student Club of the Year 2004-2005 from Associated Students of Idaho State University. Membership: Membership in the club is open to all ISU students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the community, who are interested in Japanese language, Japanese culture and fostering intercultural exchange and understanding through educational activities.

Membership fees are $10 a semester. Scholarships: Every semester Japanese Club along with private donors sponsors one or more competitive ISU scholarships for active student members. Meetings: Every 2nd and 4th Friday at 5:00 p.m. in the "Canoe Room" in the SUB. Check Activities Calendar for updates Join us!! For more information about the Japanese Club, e-mail us at fukusach@isu.edu

Idaho State University’s Japanese Club is hosting Japanese Night from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, April 19, in the ISU Pond Student Union Ballroom. This event will be the club’s fourth annual celebration of the Cherry Blossom Festival. All students, family and friends are invited to experience eight authentic Japanese dishes prepared by members of ISU’s Japanese faculty and ISU Japanese Club members and served by members of the Pocatello-Iwamizawa Sister City. Upon arrival attendees are welcome to enter the Ballroom where they can enjoy viewing items for sale and a slide show on Japan throughout the night. Dinner will be served at about 6 p.m. and entertainment will start at 7 p.m. Entertainment will begin with a mikoshi (shrine) procession celebrating the arrival of the spirit of the festival. The “arrival of the spirit” will be heralded by the Japanese Club’s Taiko drum group, who will also perform additional pieces. Following will be judo and karate demonstrations, a Japanese Dance performance and a fashion show. Tickets will be available April 14 to 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the ISU Pond Student Union lobby. Tickets purchased in advance are $10 for adults. Tickets purchased at the door will also be $10. Students presenting their Bengal Card will receive a $2 discount. Children under 5 are free if they don't need a meal, or $5 with a meal. For more information contact faculty advisor Sachiko Fukuoka at fukusach@isu.edu or 244-2926.

The “J-pop” concert featuring the singer Izumi from Tokyo, Japan, and the Pocatello band “Somewhere in the Middle” from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sept. 15 is a fundraiser for the Idaho State University Japanese Club. The ISU Taiko Drum Group will open the concert. Izumi and “Somewhere in the Middle” will perform an eclectic mix of “Japanese pop” music in English, from a song by Ozzie Osborn to a song by Cindy Lauper. The purpose of the fundraiser is for the ISU Japanese Club to raise money to help save a Japanese high school. Tickets sold in advance cost $10 and are on sale from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Pond Student Union Building Cafeteria from Sept. 10 to 14. Tickets at the door cost $15. For more information, contact Charles Burns, 251-2459, or e-mail secretary@isujapneseclub.org.

Boise - Members of the ISU Japanese Club Taiko Drum Band, also known as "Taiko of Idaho", performed in Boise as part of "Fall for Boise ", a celebration of arts & community, according to Sachiko Fukuoka, Club Faculty Advisor. Six members of the club, Brian Farris, Sachiko Fukuoka, Chelsea Kawakami, Reymer Martinez, Thomas Sheehy and Toshie Yage traveled early Saturday morning, October 29 to Boise to play along with two other bands. The performance billed as "Taiko Drummers Live" took place between 10 am and 1 pm at the Capital City Public Market on 8th Street. The performance closed out the weekly European-style open-air market that features fresh produce from local growers, baked goods, food, art, and handicrafts presented by the Boise City Arts Commission in partnership with the Capital City Development Corporation. Members of ISU Japanese Club, also known as Taiko of Idaho perform at Capital City Market on 8th Street in Boise, Saturday October 29. Members from left to right include Brian Farris, Sachiko Fukuoka, Chelsea Kawakami, Thomas Sheehy, Toshie Yage, and Reymer Martinez

On Saturday April 18, 2009 the ISU Japanese Club will present Japan Night. The event will be a celebration of Cherry Blossom season in Japan and feature a fun evening with the sounds, sights, and food of Japan. The festival will take place start at 6:00 PM at the ISU Student Union Ballroom. Everyone is invited to share our celebration. So please plan on attending This year's event features fabulous authentic food prepared and served by members of ISU's Japanese Faculty, ISU Japanese Club, Pocatello-IwamizawaSisterCity and Pocatello High Japanese club. The menu will features a variety of Japanese food. A slide show, accompanied by Japanese music during the dinner will feature the natural beauty of Japan, its people, and culture. Entertainment to follow will feature: the arrival of the spirit of the festival in a mikoshi, a Japanese bride and groom demonstration, J-pop dances, martial arts, Yosakoi sooran dance, and the Japanese Taiko drum group performance.