This post was updated Jan. 31 at 12:15 a.m.

Crisscrossed with red-and-white lanterns, Kerckhoff Patio bustled with students taking in the atmosphere of the Matsuri festival Jan. 23.

The event, a collaboration between the Japanese Student Association and the Undergraduate Students Association Council Campus Events Commission, featured student-run booths, a fashion show and multiple student performances opening for the main event – a live concert by R&B singer-songwriter UMI.

The event was held to introduce Japanese culture to the student body while also connecting Japanese students with their roots, said Sylas Umoren, the president of JSA.

“With this event, I wanted to bring in people who didn’t directly identify with the Japanese identity but still had an interest,” said Umoren, a third-year studying global studies and Japanese.

The tables offered a multicultural range of activities, from a Japanese fortune-telling booth to a mahjong station run by the Taiwanese Student Association. refineLA – a sustainable fashion club – sold handmade trinkets, while the Japan-America Language and Culture Club sold merchandise.

“It brings everyone together,” said Carmen Ng, a second-year cognitive science student who attended the event.

Taizo Nakayama, who photographed the event for JSA, said the food vendors and exciting atmosphere resonated with him. The first-year astrophysics student added that seeing other students being introduced to an accurate representation of his culture was powerful.

“Capturing the feeling of the event and the occasion of the event, since it’s the first Japanese festival ever at UCLA, … I think that’ll be important for me to capture,” he said.

After attracting a crowd of over 500 students, the performances began.

Alina Beaman, a third-year statistics and data science student, showcased her handmade designs in a fashion show she named “Unmei” – the Japanese word for fate.

“Everything I made from the collection is made from secondhand kimono from my extended family and I dedicated each look to a member of my family,” Beaman said. “It’s a really personal line for me.”

The musical acts ranged from DJ sets by Umoren to a performance by Kyodo Taiko, a Japanese drumming ensemble. Raine Kosaka, a fourth-year linguistics and psychology student, also opened for the festival’s headliner with her four-person band.

Kosaka said her personal background gave her a meaningful connection to the festival.

“I am half-Black, half-Japanese, … and I grew up going there,” she said. “That’s my tie to Japan.”

Kosaka’s setlist consisted of her own songs, along with a cover of “Andromeda,” originally by singer-songwriter Weyes Blood. Aside from enjoying her set, she hoped her audience would look further into her songs to understand the lyrics behind them, she said.

UMI, the festival’s musical headliner, began with a group meditation before beginning her set, which featured Japanese and English lyrics throughout. After laying out blankets and chairs, students gathered around the outdoor stage and linked arms, and a few sang along.

The half-Black, half-Japanese singer-songwriter sang her song “happy im” and spoke to how it reflected her own thoughts about love.

“I wrote this song to remind myself: Love is simple and doesn’t require thoughts,” UMI said to the crowd.

Throughout the concert, the singer joked, laughed and danced with the crowd while students held up handmade signs and waved along with their phone flashlights.

Logistical complications with UCLA and unexpected delays from the Palisades fire made the event difficult to plan, said Asher Cohen, co-director of concerts for CEC.

Regulations on food vendors and acquiring approval from the UCLA fire marshal made the event more difficult to host, said Hannah Searles, who is also co-director of concerts for CEC. Contacting the event’s vendors, music agencies and other participants totaled around 60 phone calls, said Searles, a fourth-year public affairs student.

“The show is basically the culmination of six months of work and creativity,” said Cohen, a fourth-year philosophy student.

Despite the difficulties, Umoren said he hoped people would come away excited to go to more JSA events or inspired to visit Japan for themselves. The event’s atmosphere also gave him a nostalgic feeling, he added.

“I’m really excited for the general atmosphere and vibe of the event,” Umoren said. “I hope that with this event, I could bring the feeling that I had when I was a kid and I went to a Japanese festival.”