MIKE CHIEN Chet Wang, a second-year
communications and business/economics student, prepares his Taiko
drumming technique for Cultural Night.
By Siddarth Puri
Daily Bruin Contributor
A little bit of Taiko, a dash of Odori and a mélange of
Eastern and Western fables come together to present the Nikkei
Student Union’s 16th Annual Cultural Night this Sunday.
NSU was first established at UCLA in 1981 to address the issues
and concerns of the Japanese-American students.
“The cultural show aims to promote an understanding of the
Japanese-American Culture,” said Dean Adachi, first-year
Asian American Studies and Japanese student. “Over the 16
years of NSU’s cultural show, we have charmed and entertained
the audience as well as educated them and made them aware of issues
in the Japanese-American community.”
First celebrated to commemorate President Roosevelt’s
signing of Executive Order 9066, on Feb. 19, 1942, which authorized
the relocation and internment of all Japanese-Americans to isolated
camps, NSU’s cultural night wishes to educate others about
Japanese culture and history as well as to dispel stereotypes about
Asian Americans. The cultural show is a remembrance of that time in
history and wishes to address past and present issues in the
Japanese-American community.
In addition to the production of this event, NSU has also
continued to support and organize cultural events from the
“Week of Remembrance,” to going on a pilgrimage to
Manzanar (a Japanese-American concentration camp) yearly, to
volunteering at the Tofu Festival and Chibi-K Run. As a community
organization, it strives to rejuvenate the youth in the community
as well as continue with the goals established 20 years ago.
“The NSU is an on campus organization that provides a
place for those who want to learn about Japanese-American culture
and for Japanese-Americans to learn about their community.
It’s a small community in itself,” said Nate Lam, a
performer in the show and a second-year communications and
political science student.
The show consists of many different performances, all of which
are produced, directed, arranged, and written entirely by NSU
members. There’s a central performance called a
“drable,” which is a story presenting the struggles of
immigrating Japanese to America combining both Western fairy tales
and Japanese fables. All of the show’s elements focus around
the theme of this “drable.”
The other performances include the Odori, a traditional Japanese
dance that will feature performers wearing exotic kimonos. It will
feature a NSU modern dance, which provides a more contemporary
style of dancing incorporating American genres such as hip-hop as
well as the latest hits of Japanese pop. Finally, the program will
present the well-known Kyodo Taiko, a Japanese art that combines
rhythm and body movement though drumming.
“The hip-hop part of the program is one of the best parts
of the show,” Lam said. “As a Japanese-American, most
of the time performances have strict traditional aspects, but there
are so many more parts integrated into the community and hip-hop is
one of them. It’s like a little twist on
tradition.”
Through an entertaining and meaningful presentation of
performances, NSU members hope to educate the community by
providing an authentic experience for those who attend and by
giving a chance for those involved to establish and enrich their
own cultural identity.
“The vibes and energy (of the Taiko drumming) combine
together to give the audience a real taste of Japan,” Adachi
said “It’s an old, classic form of Japanese tradition
and it transports the audience to a time in ancient
Japan,”.
Through these performances, the NSU strives to promote cultural
awareness. The NSU’s mission statement is to organize social
and community service activities as well as to promote
Japanese-American cultural and political awareness among the
student body.
“The performance is totally free and it’s for the
community,” Lam said. “It will give you a taste of the
NSU: who they are and what they do as well as what it means to be
Japanese-American.”
CULTURE: The NSU Cultural performance will be
in Royce Hall on Sunday Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. Admission is free, and
tickets are available at the Central Ticket Office. For more
information call (310) 396-9304 or e-mail [email protected].