The Otago University Japanese Student Association has organised a Dunedin Seijinshiki ceremony which celebrates young people becoming adults when they turn 20 to be held at Knox Church on Saturday.
Organiser Shion Hashimoto said the ceremony was massive in Japan and was a national holiday.
The ceremony includes formal speeches. Attendees wear traditional attire such as furisode kimonos for women and suits or hakama for men.
Twenty is a special age for Japanese people as it is the legal drinking age. It was also the voting age before it was lowered to 18 in 2022.
Mr Hashimoto said normally Japanese exchange students missed out on the tradition because they were away from home, so it meant a lot to be able to host the ceremony, which he was looking forward to, in Dunedin.
The ceremony at Knox Church will feature a speech from Dunedin Mayor Sophie Barker and a koto (traditional Japanese instrument) performance.
