After school every other Friday, laughter and smiles ring from room E-104. Led by Japanese teacher Dylan Lira, ‘D-Sensei,’ the White Station Japanese club meets to share their appreciation for Japanese culture. They participate in various different activities all relating to Japanese culture and language.
“One thing I really love about Japanese culture … is the politeness aspect,” club president David Anderson (12) said. “Everyone is expected to give others respect, and I really appreciate that and feel that we need to adopt that into American culture.”
Anderson’s interest in Japanese culture and language began in kindergarten, and has flourished ever since.
“[As president], I organize events, organize our presentations and every Friday during our meetings, I decide what we’ll do and what we talk about,” Anderson said.
The club is mainly student-run by a few select student leaders who plan activities, events and presentations.
Lira has sponsored the club since his first year teaching at White Station in 2019.
“There was a Japanese club when I was here as a student … and I wanted to make sure it was an option for people who didn’t take Japanese class,” Lira said. “The whole purpose of the club is to be open to people who don’t take Japanese but are interested in the culture.”

The Memphis Japan Festival at the Botanic Gardens included demonstrations of the traditional Japanese martial art known as Kendo. Kendo, translated as “way of the sword,” is a martial art fought with bamboo swords. In Japan, Kendo is seen as a way to improve the mind and body.
Another popular showcase at the Memphis Japan festival is the famous ‘Candy Man.’ Confectioner Masaji Terasawa demonstrates the unique Japanese art of amezaiku. Amezaiku is a craft that includes sculpting fresh sugar candy into intricate sculptures –- most commonly of koi fish. To prevent the candy from hardening while sculpting, the candymaker must work quickly and accurately to ensure a picture-perfect sugar creation.
The Japanese club also plans different special activities based on traditional Japanese events and holidays. Celebrated anually on the second Monday of October, Sports Day is a Japanese holiday that celebrates and promotes health and active lifestyles. Students in Japan celebrate this holiday by participating in sport events and competitions in their schools and communities.
“The sports day we had … that was really fun,” Levi Belz (9) said. “We played this game … called ‘Late for School’ … it was like a relay race.”
Along with their attendance at the festival, the Japanese club aims to continue experiencing various different events throughout the year, such as guest speakers, career-related events and language fairs. The club also plans to continue being a laid-back, student-run organization.
“The mutual respect is phenomenal across upperclassman, underclassman, new members [and] old members,” Lira said.