Bridging the Friendship Study Abroad Japan

After studying abroad in Japan in 2024, I created a design that I presented at the Japan America Society of Rhode Island’s Black Ships Festival. “Bridging the Friendship” is a visual representation of how I envision the bond of friendship between Japan and the United States. The bridge on the left is the Mount Hope Bridge from Bristol, RI where my university is located here in the U.S., while the bridge on the right is one of the bridges we visited in Shimoda, Japan.

I placed culturally significant items on each side to signify both American and Japanese cultures. As the two bridges come together in the middle, they forge a connection between the two cultures, much like how this study abroad experience connected students from both American and Japanese backgrounds. The beauty of a bridge is that it allows you to cross between worlds not only once, but as much as you desire, like how our friendship stays ongoing between cultures.

I also tied in cherry blossoms on both sides of the design since they were originally a gift from Japan to Washington D.C. back in 1912 which shows how deep the relationship between the U.S. and Japan goes back. To create this design, I hand drew many of the pieces I wanted to emphasize like the two bridges, the Statue of Liberty, and the Torii Gate. I then scanned my drawings into a virtual setting so I could add color and bring together all the separate pieces.