Bunkasai [文化祭] are school festivals that take place in autumn around October and November in all schools and universities in Japan. The objective is to present the school to parents, prospective students and residents of the neighborhood through various attractions that the school's own students organize.
The word Bunkasai is simple and derives from the characters [文化] which means culture followed by [祭] which comes from matsuri and means festival.
Bunkasai or School Festivals are held to showcase student learning, as a recreational diversion as well as a means of social interaction. Former students often take the opportunity to visit the schools they studied.
Food is served at stalls and some classrooms or gymnasiums are transformed into temporary restaurants or cafes. Dances, music, and theatrical performances are conducted by volunteers or by クラブ活動.
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how are the School Festivals held?
In advance, the students of each room decide what they will present during the School Festival. Music, theater, dance, literature and sports clubs also prepare to give presentations or plan something special for the event.
Even the University all students are required to participate in Bunkasai, it is an event that falls on the school grid. Those who don't do presentations or things like that, help in another way, like in the preparations for the event. It is practically the students who do all the work at school.
The most impressive thing about Japanese festivals is the dedication of students in preparation. All of this takes a great deal of effort, time, and energy. These are weeks of preparation and training for a few hours of presentations.
School festivals are so popular that they always appear in anime and manga. It's rare to watch an anime that takes place at school without coming across the annual bunkasai event where we see students and clubs getting ready and holding the event.
Different Bunkasai names
In addition to the traditional and generic name Bunkasai, some schools use other names for their festival. Depending on the class or course there are already other pre-defined names:
Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>
| School | Please provide the text you would like to have translated. | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing school | daily life exposure | Seikatsu-happyō-kai (生活 発 表 会) |
| Kindergarten | daily life exposure | Seikatsu-happyō-kai (生活発表会) |
| Primary school | Literary Arts Exhibition | Gakugei-kai (学芸会) |
| Primary school | learning view | Gakushu-happyō-kai (学習発表会) |
| College (Elementary) | Cultural festival | Bunka-sai (文化祭) |
| High School (Middle | Cultural festival | Bunka-sai (文化祭) |
| University | university festival | Daigaku-sai ( 大学祭) |
Another very popular school festival is called Undokai, a competitive festival that is not always open to the public and involves various gincanas and different sports between classes. Likewise, students are guided to prepare for this big day in advance.
My Experience on Culture Day
Many schools hold their school festival around November 3rd, a Japanese national holiday called Bunka no Hi [文化の日] Day of Culture. The festivals always take place on a Saturday or Sunday, sometimes for both days.
I'm not sure if it was a school festival of bunkasai, but on Culture Day in the city hall of Kakegawa, near the station, there was a big matsuri happening on the street and many stalls belonged to elementary school students and other classes.
It was a very fun matsuri, in the beginning there were some Cosplay Idols singing while the festival stretched out along the avenue full of food stalls, games of chance and workshops where children and parents did woodwork.
There was also a massage tent, a baby run, kids drawing with chalk on the floor, and an avenue that probably belonged to an elementary school, full of uniformed kids working and selling food to visitors.
my experience at a university bunkasai
I had the opportunity to visit the Bunkasai at Otemae University in the Kansai region and I wanted to share my experience. At first I was a bit disappointed that the festival was at a university, where there wouldn't be anyone in school uniform.
The Bunkasai of the Universities are also called daigaku-sai [大学祭] and tend to be smaller and less fun because they are not mandatory for students, unlike elementary and high school, which are part of the curriculum. Not to mention that things in Universities are more serious.
The festival itself seemed quite simple and small, with a stage outside where students sang surrounded by food stalls. In the rooms, there were more exhibitions of things related to the courses that the 大学 offered.
It's not like the anime full of themed and fun rooms, because it was a University and not high school. Luckily there was a really fun room full of cosplayers, posters, and a ton of drawings made by the room organizers, free for us to pick up and draw.
In the rooms we find exhibitions related to the courses of the University, involving architecture, manga, archaeology, international relations, psychology and others.
I was with other friends, so I didn't have the opportunity to enjoy everything at the festival. The most fun part was the Taiko show that takes place in one of the 3 Halls of the school. It was a 30-minute performance by a group of students that you can follow a little below:
Bunkasai are really fun and you can have a unique experience in each one. Not everyone will be able to appreciate Japanese customs, but if you want to blend in and delve into Japanese traditions, visit a Bunkasai.
If you're in Japan during Autumn, just google for weekend bunkasai dates and you'll end up finding an event. Hope you enjoyed the article! If you liked it share and leave your comments!
