It is unclear to me what the current standing on this is in general, but at AIU, gender roles are still strictly enforced.
How do you think traditional gender roles impact culture?
The community has this tradition to welcome in the harvest season and wish for a good winter. Over the years, it has become a center of cultural pride. By extension, it has become a way for many people at AIU to contribute to their local communities. The Kanto team at AIU is sending emails almost weekly, letting students know where their performances are and when they are practicing in order to mitigate disturbance to studying students.
As such, it is also a big cultural symbol outside of the festival season. There are local workshops almost every weekend, a museum, statues, posters and local culture guides that highlight the importance of Kanto to Akita Prefecture.
The Kanto poles are made to symbolize rice plants with the structure and format of the lanterns. Furthermore, Kanto poles are entirely made of bamboo, hand-constructed and painted. Akita, Japan is filled with rice fields, and agriculture is a large part of the culture here at AIU. Many students, myself and my friends included, have volunteered at local farms, helping harvest crops or meeting local farmers.
