Personal Services Center brings Japanese Culture on base

Lance Cpl. Daniel R. Todd
OKINAWA MARINE STAFF

Staff of the Camp Kinser Personal Services Center hosted the Japanese Culture Experience on Camp Kinser March 28, offering on-base residents a small taste of local arts and crafts inside the gates.

Attendees participated in activities such as kimono dressing, ikebana – the Japanese art of flower arranging, origami, Japanese gift wrapping and calligraphy.

“My wife and I are new to the island, and this event provided a great opportunity for us to begin getting ourselves immersed in the culture,” said Sgt. Kenneth Honeycutt, a supply administration and operations clerk with Headquarters and Service Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Butler.

The Personal Services Center held the event to offer a better understanding of local culture while making it easily accessible, said Alicia Hall, an operational readiness support program technician with the Camp Kinser Personal Services Center.

The event was divided into several stations where Japanese instructors presented their arts and answered questions. The structure allowed for intimate, hands-on learning at each station, and attendees took home everything they made.

Japanese dancers also performed traditional local dances such as a shisa dance, and after the show, attendees were offered the chance to put on the shisa costume and learn some of the movements used during the dance.