UP Tomo-Kai
The UP Philippines-Japan Friendship Club, most popularly known as UP Tomo-Kai, is an organization that aims to promote the Japanese language and culture, as well as foster mutual relations between Filipinos and Japanese. What started from 7 students brought together by their interest in Japan has become a full-fledged organization — illustrious and pushing its goal for 17 years and counting.
Organization Profile
With a growing number of students in the University of the Philippines (UP) becoming more interested in the Japanese language and culture, there was an apparent need to start an organization to promote better understanding between Filipinos and Japanese. Thus, seven students (now known as the 7 samurai: Derick, Eric, Alf, Kit, Flor, Gay, and Daniel) set out to publicize the club. They invited students to the first general assembly on July 7, 1990, auspiciously and coincidentally being the Japanese festival Tanabata. The 25 students who came that day elected the officers, and 23 students ratified the constitution. The club came to be known as the UP Philippines-Japan Friendship Club.
The name says it all: comprised of the first two syllables of the Japanese word tomodachi and the Filipino word kaibigan, which both mean “friend”, then written with a dash, which when read in Japanese becomes “tomo no kai” or “a group of friends” in English, Tomo-Kai signifies the camaraderie between the two nations and the sharing of two distinct cultures.
Early in its history, the organization forged an alliance with the South East Asian Study Club of Soka University, Japan, which actualized its goal of being a true bridge between the cultures of Japan and the Philippines. Another accomplishment was the cementing of informal yet vital ties with the [Japan Information and Cultural Center] and the [Japan Foundation, Manila].
In the following years, the club's tenets were expanded to instill social and environmental awareness among its growing membership. Further expansion resulted in a greater focus in the study of Nihongo among the members. This interest in studying the Japanese language is reinforced with bi-monthly Saturday Nihongo sessions hosted by Filipica, an organization of Japanese housewives based in Makati, who have been very much a part of Tomo-Kai’s success through their lessons about Japanese language, life and culture.
The organization has been a vital instrument in upholding our own cultural heritage and promoting awareness and appreciation for the Japanese culture and language with the help of Filipica and our other Japanese associates. Tomo-Kai’s annual exhibits of various Filipino and Japanese arts, usually held during its anniversary, have been one of the most admired presentations in the university. It also conducts seminars, which help encourage goodwill and friendship among Filipino students and our Japanese friends. Moreover, U.P. Tomo-Kai advocates camaraderie not only between Filipinos and Japanese, but also among Filipinos themselves, by means of outreach programs that are held at least once a year.
In the recent years, UP Tomo-Kai has played a major role in assisting not only formal exchange students, but also students from different Japanese universities who take short, cultural immersion trips to the Philippines. U.P. Tomo-Kai helps them discover more about and adjust to the Filipino culture. Its members also introduce them to some aspects of Filipino culture that they would not learn from books. It is through these efforts that a Tomo-Kai Japan was established by a group of Takushoku University students after their return to their home country. Members of this Tomo-Kai extension strive to promote the Filipino culture in Japan and acquaint themselves with Japanese students who have also been to the Philippines.
Supported by the Linguistic Department’s Japanese language visiting professor Mr. Yasushi Suwaki, U.P. Asian Center’s Dr. Sylvano Mahiwo, and the Filipino Department’s Dr. Pamela Constantino, U.P. Tomo-Kai continues in its mission of fostering understanding and appreciation between the two countries through its myriad activities.
Official logo
- "Venus" font for the name
- Hiragana for "Tomo"
- Alibata for "Kai"
- Vermilion red dot replace dash on "A"