The Japanese Student Association hosted its Shabushaboon event Sunday at Tokyo P.O.T., a shabu-shabu restaurant at 10th and Main Street.
Shabu-shabu, a boiled meat dish, is a Japanese onomatopoeia meaning “swish-swish,” referring to the swishing action used to cook a thin slice of beef in hot water.
Besides Japanese cuisine, four booths showcased a separate aspect of Japanese culture.
Guests could try on a kimono — which is traditional Japanese dress — witness a tea ceremony and play Cho-Han, a Japanese gambling game using dice.
Guests also could watch the drawing of Kanji characters, which is similar to calligraphy.
Takahiro Nago, a chemistry junior, manned the calligraphy booth.
He studied in a calligraphy school in Japan.
“I did this to promote the art and because I really like it,” Nago said.
“Kanji is not just way of writing but a form of art to me.”
Nago learned his art at the home of a professional writer in Japan.
The event, which sought to deliver an experience of Japanese culture, ran from 2 to 9:30 p.m.
Members of the JSA committee divided the afternoon into four sections to help organize crowd traffic, and they managed the various activity booths.
“We hosted this event to promote Japanese culture,” said Emi Nakatani, JSA president and a computer science sophomore.
It was her first event as president.
The event sold as many tickets as were hoped for, Nakatani said.
“We sold about 200 tickets, which is 50 for each of the four sections,” she said.
“I just hope everyone has a good time and learns a little more about us.”
Allison Irwin, a studio art senior, said this wasn’t the first Japanese student event she had attended.
“I participated in Japanese Night, so the JSA invited me to come,” Allison Irwin said. “The food is really good.”
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