Mingle with Japanese students at MULC
At MULC, located on the 2nd floor of Building 7, students can interact with Japanese students of various different languages. You will be able to use your time valuably by learning many things through acquiring Japanese while at the same time teaching a little of your own native language. You can also exhibit your country’s food or traditions at one of the cultural events hosted by MULC.
Experience the sensation of being an exchange student abroad while learning foreign languages and cultures in the unique space called "MULC." Each of the seven language areas features reproductions of buildings and street scenes that represent everyday life in those parts of the world. Everything reproduced here has been thoroughly researched and handmade with authentic materials by craftsmen from the actual locations. The MULC is a concrete representation of our deep respect for these foreign cultures.
Seven Language Areas and an International Area
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Chinese Language Area
Done in the classical style, the Humble Administrator’s Garden and the Lingering Garden of Suzhou, China, are famous World Heritage Sites. In this area of the MULC we have reproduced a garden modeled on them. It is bold yet elegant. The centerpiece is the Taihu, a uniquely-shaped decorative rock peppered with holes and hailing from the Lake Tai area in Suzhou. Rocks such as these have been valued by the Chinese since ancient times.
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Korean Language Area
This area of the MULC is modeled after the Hanok, a traditional tile-roofed bungalow built around a small central garden. In earlier times, the traditional heating system consisted of smoke from a wood stove being channeled under the floor to warm the house. This area somehow fills us with nostalgia, and we are able to imagine the lives of ordinary people who lived in houses like this.
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Indonesian Language Area
Just inside the front gate in the wall surrounding a traditional Balinese house one finds a free-standing partition. This partition is called an aling-aling, and it protects the home from evil spirits. Able to proceed only in a straight line, invading evil spirits collide with the partition and fall unconscious. This unique architectural feature is the centerpiece of this area of the MULC, and it offers a glimpse of the lifestyle of Indonesia.
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Vietnamese Langugage Area
Hoi An, a city in central Vietnam, has an old neighborhood lined with wooden homes over a hundred years old. This port city is also a registered World Heritage Site, with traces remaining of the cultures of Japan, China, and the Cham, an ethnic minority. This section of the MULC features a reproduction of part of a shop in a traditional Hoi An home.
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Thai Language Area
Walking through Bangkok one sees everywhere buildings glimmering with gold. In this area of the MULC, we have replicated a sala, an open pavilion consisting of a roof supported by masterfully crafted pillars of scarlet. Sala are rest areas to escape from the sun and rain; at times they serve as meeting halls or social spaces. A common sight in both the city and the country, the sala was chosen as a symbol of the Kingdom of Thailand.
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Spanish Language Area
In the older districts of Cordoba, a beautiful city in the Andalucía region of Spain, white walls encompass both the houses and their cool, breezy patios. With numerous flowerpots hung from the walls and no roof overhead, the patio is an airy spot where friends and family gather to relax. In this area of the MULC we have replicated the sort of patio one might find in such a home.
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Brazilian Portuguese Language Area
The beautiful white walls of buildings reminiscent of Portuguese colonial architecture are well matched by the ornamental blue tiles called azulejos. In this area of the MULC, sculptures of birds, burlap sacks of coffee, ethnic musical instruments, and the like transmit the charm of Brazilian society, where both European and African cultures have merged with the natural world of the tropics.
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International Area
This space separates the Eastern and Western areas. Kanda University of International Studies offers eight language majors and opportunities to study others as well. Without any particular national affiliation and decorated with objects from across the globe, this area is a multilingual space.