On September 27, 2026, junior high school students from Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto Prefecture—who had previously participated in a study-abroad program—interacted with artists from Sweden and others at the Fukuchiyama Citizen Exchange Plaza (located in front of Fukuchiyama Station). Seventeen students introduced Japanese culture in English through activities such as *ayatori* (string figure games) and origami.
The Fukuchiyama City Board of Education organizes an annual short-term study-abroad program for 15 junior high school students. This specific event was planned for the first time to encourage students to reflect on their overseas experiences and deepen their understanding of different cultures. The event featured Mr. Telius (34 years old), a Swedish artist visiting Japan to study lacquer art in Fukuchiyama’s Kawaguchi district, and Shuko Yazawa (27 years old), a contemporary artist from Ishikawa Prefecture who also has study-abroad experience.
The students taught calligraphy to Mr. Telius, showing him English notes and using their fingers to demonstrate the correct stroke order. With Shuko Yazawa acting as an interpreter, they shared tips on *kendama*—explaining that spinning the ball makes success more likely—and created shapes like brooms and stars together using string figures, cheering whenever a shape was successfully formed.
Hinata Makino (14 years old), a third-year student at Kawaguchi Junior High School who studied abroad last summer, said, "I understood what the other person was saying by piecing together the words I knew. Even though my grammar wasn't perfect, I was happy that the feelings I wanted to convey got across through my facial expressions and gestures."
