As one of the largest cultural festivals in Japan with a turnout of around 200,000 people, Waseda-Sai occurred on November 2nd and 3rd of this year at the Waseda University Main and Toyama Campuses. The two days of contrasting weather conditions further proved the recognition Waseda-Sai receives for its impressive consistency and year-round dedication to embracing school spirit. The cold, rainy Saturday that kick-started the weekend was no match for the eager participants coming to support student circle–or club–performances and indulge in the food and drinks sold all around campus.
Attendees consisted of more than just family and friends. There were also high schoolers, those interested in Waseda culture, and those who simply wanted to support students outside of the classroom. Luckily, Waseda-Sai was able to reflect students’ warmth to their craft with the following beautifully sunny day. Rain or shine, multiple dance groups, comedy acts, and art performances showcased their routines on the stages set around campus. With countless booths representing Waseda circles in almost every building on and around campus, this cultural festival that is common in basically every Japanese university is a celebration of hard work and motivation for peers to introduce their circles and share their pride in creating such strong communities.
Waseda-Sai has not been a recent event for the university, for it has been an ongoing annual tradition that has remained prominent ever since the 1950s. Recently, digitized footage of the 1956 Waseda-Sai has been publicized. The narration takes the viewer through the entire process of what Waseda-Sai was like at the time with preparing, performing, and executing the community event. Although some aspects of the festival have changed throughout the years, the collaboration and buzz of student life has all but faded. Even for this year’s Waseda-Sai, circles and student staff were seen from the start of the fall semester staying late nights on campus working on posters and meeting to discuss their circle’s representative methods.
A dear friend of mine who is a member of 早稲田祭運営スタッフ (Wasedasai-unei-sutaffu), one of the Waseda-Sai student staff circles, has been hard at work ever since the previous year’s festival had ended. From late-night meetings to staying at a hotel near the campus days before opening day, she and her peers have dedicated countless hours of their time to making sure Waseda-Sai is an enjoyable and celebratory event for all attendees.
With this year’s theme being 「君物語、結集」, or “Your Story, United,” students hoped to culminate their preparations, or stories, at Waseda-Sai with clear amalgamation, such as the light blue and orange theme colors indicated a clear sky. This symbolism of freshness and clarity reflected throughout campus and even in the weather. One could even say that the theme was a perfect match for this year’s Waseda-Sai. The clear blue skies and orange sun rays that illuminated the concluding day was a symbol of reassurance for the hard-working students and staff that their dedication has been appreciated not only by the people but also by the surrounding nature.