Meet the Founder and President of the Japanese Culture Club
By Giovanni Lancellotti
Momoka Nakamura is a Japanese international student and a senior, majoring in psychology. Nakamura founded and currently leads the Japanese Culture Club (JCC) at Purchase. She moved to the United States at the age of 17 from Shinjuku, a city in Japan. After arriving in the United States, her family settled in Harrison, New York, making Purchase College a convenient choice. Her original plan was to graduate in Spring 2027. However, she is completing her remaining coursework and expects to graduate this winter.
After being a member of the Asian Culture Club, the club began losing members and eventually stopped holding meetings. She wanted to start a new club, so she branched off and started the JCC.
What does your job as President of the JCC entail?
Basically, I make final decisions for our members, controlling the budget and public relations. [These] are key roles for JCC. The vice president and I must attend the PSGA [Purchase Student Government Association] meetings. I always have the final decision on what’s best for the group. I try to bring up good questions for the PSGA and report back to the JCC with results from the meetings.
What challenges have you faced being the President of JCC?
Our club is pretty new, so we didn’t have any manual on how to start a club and how to collect participants for the club, which is a very difficult thing. We didn’t even know how to book the room or access a budget. We had to choose and think about what we are going to do for free without the money, so my main difficulty so far was just starting the club.
What are meetings like at the JCC?
Basically, we always make something related to Japan. We always have a session with traditional paper origami. Also, we do movie nights of current Japanese films. Our plan for the upcoming week is a matcha night. We want to make matcha with students and provide matcha with snacks.
Are there any aspects of New York that remind you of being home in Japan?
There are many cafes with matcha in New York City. Many non-Japanese people own the cafes in New York City, so it is nice seeing the blend of culture. I always try different cafes, so when I try the matcha, it reminds me of being home in Japan.
What do you think is the biggest misconception students have about JCC?
I feel like some people think to join our club, you need some knowledge of Japanese culture or some kind of Japanese language skills. Our purpose of making this club is building a community. Students don’t need to have any Japanese knowledge. We are willing to teach students, and everyone is welcome!
What do you hope students gain from their experience in the JCC?
I want students to learn how interesting Japanese culture is. They can also compare whatever country they are from and see the differences between cultures.
If the JCC had an unlimited budget, what would be the first event you would organize?
I always think about doing a sushi party, but sushi is so expensive, and also, I think many people would only come for the food and not learn about our culture. [Deciding how much] to order would be very difficult. We would like to do a fundraising event this semester to raise money to eventually have our sushi party.
What’s your favorite memory since starting the JCC?
My favorite memory was making good luck charm bracelets. I also saw some members exchange the bracelets, and that’s when I realized I had built a community from our club, so I was so happy to see the progression of the group.
What is one thing you hope students will take away from being part of the JCC?
We have half Japanese students and half American students. I want to show the students how fun it is to learn from other cultures. Also, for the American students, [I want] to give them an opportunity to learn about different cultures.
What’s one Japanese tradition you wish more Americans knew about?
Omotenashi: this word is important for all Japanese people. It means thinking about what other people need and help before they even ask. It’s important for people working in hospitality. I want American people to know about this word.
What’s something American students do that surprised you when you first came to Purchase College?
I don’t have much experience in American schools since I only went to high school and now college in America, but I feel like both are so different. When I was in high school, I felt many high school students were very immature. Many people are very smart and very nice, but when I first came here, I didn’t realize this aspect. When I first got to Purchase campus, it surprised me how quiet it is compared to my high school.
If you could change one thing about how people see Japan and its culture, what would you want them to understand?
Many people think Japanese people are quiet, but this is because of our language skills. Sometimes we feel less confident speaking in front of our class or doing public speaking, but we are not quiet in Japan. Not all Japanese people are quiet. Many Japanese people are just shy.
Comments