Friday, August 10, 2012 – The annual Tanabata Festival, which traditionally marks the start of summer, took place for the 23rd time at SFC on Saturday, July 7, 2012.

Grey skies above didn’t deter visitors from looking up with admiration to the “From SFC to London” support banner, proudly sporting the names of SFC students (current and alumni) chosen to represent Japan at the London Olympics, as they walked through the Tanabata Festival welcome arch.

The Tanabata Festival is an independently managed event, mainly run by the student-operated implementation committee. Working together with the local community, a wide range of activities are held each year at the uniquely SFC festival.

This year’s Tanabata Festival got off to a toe-tapping start with an on-stage performance by the faculty member band known as “Jiro Potter and Junbledore” (the band name is a spoof of “Harry Potter and Dumbledore”, playing on band members Dean Jiro Kokuryo and Dean Jun Murai’s first names).

Minister for National Policy, Mr. Motohisa Furukawa visited SFC for the event, participating in a panel discussion with students on the government’s aim to introduce “The Social Security and Tax Number System”.

Outside, the event was bustling, with many visitors and students dressed in yukata or jinbei (Japanese traditional summer dress) enjoying festival booths set up by clubs and seminar groups and on-stage performances, and children delighting in various old-time festival favorite games such as “fishing for yo-yos” and the ring toss.

Even an early evening downpour followed by intermittent rain did nothing to dampen the spirits of visitors and students alike, as the fireworks finale adorned the evening sky, an hour earlier than planned, wrapping up another successful SFC Tanabata Festival.

(Photographs: Ken Shimizu)