Students from four Washington, D.C. universities convened Jan. 18 at the Japanese Embassy to celebrate seijin shiki, a Japanese coming-of-age ceremony.
The celebration featured roughly 70 attendees and speakers from Georgetown University, George Washington University (GW), American University and Howard University, with students of Japanese origin, as well as those learning Japanese at the four universities, participating. The ceremony marks the changing role of a young person in their community and society, formally recognizing the added responsibility and milestone achievement of those who have recently turned 20 years old.
Yuki Sugiyama, second secretary of public affairs at the Japanese Embassy, said the celebrations allowed students to embrace Japanese culture and learn more about its traditions.
“It was a cheerful, celebratory and future-looking atmosphere,” Sugiyama wrote to The Hoya. “Everyone was celebrating with their friends and new friends. Some students were wearing Japanese traditional Kimono, and it looked really beautiful on them. It makes us happy that American young people are appreciating our traditional culture such as Kimono.”
Olivia Martin-Johnson (SFS ’26), an international politics major and Japanese minor, said celebrating the holiday at the embassy helped her to better understand some of the dynamics between the United States and Japan.
“I found the event to be an inspiring connection between American students and Japanese learning,” Martin-Johnson wrote to the Hoya. “The ceremony’s structure of speeches being delivered to students carried a theme of growth and introduction into the real world. This real world was up to interpretation, but for me it took the form of realization that we are the next generation of leaders.”
Sugiyama said seijin shiki acts as a celebration of both personal and communal joy.
“Beyond celebrating personal growth, seijin shiki embodies the collective hopes and aspirations that families and local communities hold for the younger generation,” Sugiyama wrote. “On this occasion, for the first time, the embassy gathered Japanese students and students who are learning Japanese language at four universities in D.C. to celebrate the tradition together, as well as to appreciate their interest in Japan and Japanese language.”
Manato Matsuoka (MSB ’26), another attendee from Georgetown, said the diverse audience allowed him to bond with others appreciative of Japanese culture.
“It was a wonderful experience to hear from Minister Miyake as well as professors and students from Georgetown, GW, American and Howard, reflecting on the past 20 years and what it means to be a seijin, or adult,” Matsuoka wrote to the Hoya. “I had a great time bonding with students from other universities in our passion for Japanese culture, and greatly appreciate the professors for organizing such an event.”
Until 2022, the age of adulthood in Japan was 20 years old. Although it is now 18, the traditional age was reflected in the Japanese Embassy’s celebration of seijin shiki, which mostly university sophomores and upperclassmen attended.
In the opening remarks to the event, the embassy stressed the new role young people undertake as they transition to adulthood.
“Our responsibilities are huge,” a spokesperson for the embassy said during the event. “But at the same time, we have the opportunity to shape our communities and make them better. So on the occasion of this seijin shiki, I strongly hope that you contribute to society to create a better world.”
Sugiyama said he hopes the celebration strengthened students’ bonds to Japanese culture.
“It is my sincere hope that all the students invited to the ceremony went home with a deeper appreciation for both their personal growth and the community and friends they are lucky to have been surrounded with,” Sugiyama wrote. “I would like to encourage them to study Japanese more and come to Japan one day!”