Early last fall, Arm in Arm’s education committee, ever on a mission to raise awareness of various cultures, struck on a new idea: art and food. “We wanted to explore mediums beyond books and discussions to communicate our message,” said committee member Sarah Saleh. “In the fun of learning something, we can ask questions and learn not to be scared of the ‘other.’”
As the committee brainstormed, the idea of food led to sushi, and sushi to Japan, which led to origami, bonsai, and calligraphy. These various activities coalesced in the idea of a month of cultural workshops. The first would be on Japan, and that would be followed periodically with a month dedicated to another culture’s food and art.
In January Arm in Arm’s committee met with Mark Mikitarian, president of the board of Fivesparks, who was excited to collaborate on the “culture months” idea. Mikitarian said he is committed to creating engaging programming and making Fivesparks an environment for education. He said during the shutdown Fivesparks held some cooking videos on Zoom and also a bonsai demonstration. Both Arm in Arm and Fivesparks have a following, and collaborating on culture months, starting with Japan, will be a way to join the groups together and broaden the exposure of each.
There will be six workshops during Japan Month, with something for every age. The first workshop will be “Learn Sushi Making” from 4 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 2. This will be held upstairs in the Congregational Church and taught by Keiko Dion, who was born and raised in Gunma prefecture in Japan and came to the U.S. for college. Since 2013 she has lived in Devens with her husband and her daughter, who is now a student at Bromfield. Dion works for UMass Chan Medical School Digital Medicine as a project manager.
In an email, Dion wrote that growing up in Japan she had sushi only on special occasions. “Sushi is written as 寿司 in Japanese. The first letter, 寿, means celebration. I remember we celebrated special days and people with eating sushi together.” She said her family does not eat sushi daily, and they don’t make fancy sushi like what a sushi restaurant serves. Instead, they occasionally enjoy making homemade sushi with simple ingredients that are available at any local supermarket. “My daughter loves making sushi with her friends, and I often let her and her friends make their own,” said Dion.
Sushi can be a simple dish that anyone can make at home, said Dion, and it is fun to make with your family and friends. In the Japan Month class, the participants will learn to roll maki sushi, and they will receive a sushi tool kit to take with them after the class so they can enjoy making sushi at home.
Calligraphy, bonsai, and more
Dion will also offer a Shodo calligraphy class at Fivesparks Saturday afternoon, April 9, from 3 to 4 p.m. All participants will receive a kit containing a special brush called “fude,” an ink called “bokuju,” and special rice paper called “hanshi” so they can experience the art of Shodo calligraphy during the workshop.
Dion said she started going to Shodo lessons when she was about 5 years old, even before she knew how to read and write in Japanese. She continued the lessons for at least eight years because it was important to her parents that she learn Shodo. She said they believed and still believe that beautiful letters represent inner beauty.
Dion described the workshop: “The participants will learn to write 平和 (means ‘peace’) in Japanese during this calligraphy class. It’s only a two letter word, but each is constructed by many strokes. One of the Shodo rules is that you have only one chance to make each stroke. When we practice Shodo we write slowly and only move forward to the next stroke. We don’t try to ‘fix’ our previous strokes. We keep going till we finish our words and fill a page, then we get to start fresh whenever we get a new paper. We are hoping participants find their inner peace while learning to write the symbol of peace in Japanese. After the workshop, they will take home their ‘peace’ Shodo art.”
Wednesday, April 6, is a school early-release day, and there will be two felting workshops for kids with Rachel Benson, who has taught classes at Fivesparks in the past. From 1:45 to 3 p.m. the project will be a Maneki-Neko cat, and wet-felted sushi from 3:45 to 5:15 p.m.
Those attending “Bonsai Basics,” April 30 from 1 to 3 p.m., will receive all the materials to create their own bonsai plant and learn how to maintain it. The teacher is Harvard resident Miki Fitzgibbons. On the same day from 2 to 3 p.m., an instructor from Origamido Studio in Haverhill will lead the group in origami, telling part of a story with each fold of the paper.
Arm in Arm and Fivesparks look forward to future programs in the World Cultures Month series and are eager for suggestions and volunteers from the community.
Space is limited for all Japan Month workshops. Register at fivesparks.org. Click on the World Culture Months Japan logo on the home page and then on the workshops in which you are interested.
