「The Oceania Centre’s Japanese Class started in February 1999 as one of its core social/cultural activities to contribute to the local community with the hope to provide the local people with an opportunity to casually learn Japanese so that they can know a little about the Centre and feel the atmosphere based on the teachings of Tenrikyo.

At present, about 20 people from primary school students to adults learn Japanese at 10 classes including “Introductory”, “Intermediate”, “Advanced” and “Conversation” from Monday through Saturday except the long school holidays.

In addition, at the end of January after the long summer vacation, the Centre regularly holds “Japanese Class New Year Party” every year where the participants enjoy experiencing the Japanese traditional New Year’s Day events including Kakizome, Katuta-tori, Koma-mawashi, etc.

The Oceania Centre’s “Sado Workshop” commenced in January 2003 aiming to have people take an interest in Sado, tea ceremony, one of the Japanese traditional cultures, along with Ikebana, Japanese flower arrangement. Since then, this has been held after the post-service lunch of the Centre’s monthly service on a regular basis.

In April 2007, the Japanese garden construction started right outside the room where the Sado Workshop is regularly held, with a hope to deepen the Japanese atmosphere of the tea ceremony. At the end of September in the same year, the Shinbashira and Mrs. Harue Nakayama enjoyed a tea ceremony while viewing the Japanese garden when they visited the Centre for its 10th Anniversary.

“TOC Summer Festival” was held at the Oceania Centre for the first time in January 2000 as part of its activities to introduce Japanese culture to the local community. Since then, this event is regularly held on a Friday night in the middle of January every year.

The Summer Festival this year (2008) that marked the 9th drew over 235 people; children who had participated in “Children’s Sleepover”, their families, Japanese class students, neighbours and Tenrikyo followers including those from distant places such as Sydney, and the participants spent a pleasant time in a summer night.

The venue was filled with food stalls such as “Octopus ball dumpling”, “Yakiroti grilled chicken”, “Rolled Sushi”, “Japanese fried noodle”, “Shaved ice”, etc. while the game area provided children with “Quoits”, “Yo-yo fishing”, “Strike-out” and a well-received game called “Splash Tom!”

The program included a wonderful performance with song and dance by “TOC Fife & Drum Band”, various songs and dances and the “Bon Dance” around the Yagura scaffolding tower with red and white lanterns. All of the participants fully enjoyed the Japanese-style Festival on a summer night.

The Oceania Centre has held the concerts of “Gagaku”, the Japanese ancient court music, as part of its activities to introduce Japanese culture to the local communities.

From the end of August through to early September 2005, the “Tono Gagaku Club” of Tenrikyo Tono Grand Church was invited to visit Australia for the first time to perform a Gagaku concert that was held at the Powerhouse Theatre as the highlight event of the Brisbane Japan Week that year. The Club conducted a lecture concert at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music at Griffith University as well as a concert at North Bridge Primary School in Sydney.

In the middle of July 2006, Tenri University Gagaku Music Society came to Australia for the first time. The Society visited Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Melbourne to conduct a Gagaku concert at six venues including the Oceania Centre, a local high school, a community centre, Monash University and the Melbourne Shinyu Church, with a total gathering of over 1,300 people. The Society’s visit to Australia became a great opportunity to sprinkle the fragrance of the teachings.

Furthermore, at the end of September in the same year, “Kyokusui-kai” Gagaku Ensemble of Tenrikyo Asahi Grand Church visited Australia to hold a Gagaku concert at the University of New England, having been invited by the Musicological Society of Australia. The Ensemble conducted its first performance at the Oceania Centre, and a concert at the University of Queensland on the following day. Then, the Ensemble moved to Armidale and presented a brilliant Gagaku performance at the concert at the University of New England where the conference of the Musicological Society of Australia was held.

In this way, through the Gagaku performance by these three Tenrikyo Gagaku groups, we could please related parties, local people and students in each venue, which enabled us to contribute to the Australian society and spread the name of “Tenri” among the communities.

The Oceania Centre’s “Ikebana” or Japanese Flower Arrangement Class started in June 2002 as part of the Centre’s cultural activities, aiming to provide the local community with an opportunity to learn Japanese culture other than the Japanese class. Over 10 people participated in and enjoyed the classes which were held twice a month. The class is closed at present.。