The is an annual event held by most schools in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, from Nursery schools to universities at which their student

Student

A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...

s display their everyday achievements. People who want to enter the school themselves or who are interested in the school may come to see what the schoolwork and atmosphere are like. Parents may also want to see what kind of work their children have been doing.

Definition

According to Curriculum guideline

Curriculum guideline

is a standard issued by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology that specifies materials taught at all of elementary, middle and high schools in Japan, either public or private. The authority of the ministry to issue the standard is due to . The ministry also publishes...

s by the Ministry of Education, cultural festivals are part of special activities and are defined as 'events which aim to use the results of everyday learning to heighten motivation'.

The Cultural Festivals are parts of regular lessons in elementary schools, junior high schools and high schools, so the students are obligated to attend for graduation. In universities, the cultural festivals are placed as extracurricular activity, so attendance is not required.

Traditionally, most schools hold Bunkasai on or around Culture Day

Culture Day

is a national holiday held annually in Japan on November 3 for the purpose of promoting culture, the arts, and academic endeavour. Festivities typically include art exhibitions, parades, and award ceremonies for distinguished artists and scholars.-History:...

 (November 3), a national holiday. Normally it is held on a Saturday or Sunday sometimes even both.

Name

"The Cultural Festival"(Bunkasai) and "The University Festival"(Daigaku-sai) are common nouns in Japanese, so the names of cultural festivals depend on each school in reality. For example, the festival at the University of Tokyo Komaba Campus is named Komaba-sai.

Names

School	English name	Japanese name
Nursery school	Daily life exhibition	Seikatsu-Happyou-kai(生活発表会)
Kindergarten	Daily life exhibition	Seikatsu-Happyou-kai(生活発表会)
Elementary School	Literary arts exhibition Learning exhibition	Gakugei-kai(学芸会) Gakushū-Happyou-kai(学習発表会)
Junior High School	Cultural festival	Bunka-sai(文化祭)
High School	Cultural festival	Bunka-sai(文化祭)
University	University festival	Daigaku-sai(大学祭)

Variations

The Cultural Festivals of junior high schools and high schools are sometimes named differently:

English name	Japanese name
School festival	Gakuensai(学園祭)
School festival	Gakuinsai(学院祭)
School festival	Gakkōsai(学校祭)

Reality

Festivals are held to display the students' learning, but many visit the festivals just for fun. Food

Food

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...

 is served, and often classroom

Classroom

A classroom is a room in which teaching or learning activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations...

s or gym

Gym

The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...

nasiums are transformed into temporary restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

s or café

Café

A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...

s. Dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

s, concert

Concert

A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...

s and plays

Play (theatre)

A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...

 may be performed by individual volunteers or by various school "clubs" such as the dance club, the orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

 club, the band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 club and the drama

Drama

Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

 club.

The Cultural Festivals are intended to be a fun event, but it is also the only opportunity each year for students to see what life is like in other schools. It is also intended to enrich people's lives by increasing social interaction.

Cultural festivals are frequently depicted in anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 and manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

.