LIHU‘E — The Kaua’i Japanese Cultural Society is presenting the 27th Matsuri Kaua‘i Festival this Saturday, complete with art, music and food on hand. Take part in traditional mochi pounding using a mortar, a fish pond, ikebana and bonsai demonstrations,
LIHU‘E — The Kaua’i Japanese Cultural Society is presenting the 27th Matsuri Kaua‘i Festival this Saturday, complete with art, music and food on hand. Take part in traditional mochi pounding using a mortar, a fish pond, ikebana and bonsai demonstrations, and origami demonstrations by high school students.
The festival includes a Japanese tea ceremony and will conclude with a mini bon dance.
This year’s festival will be held at Kaua’i War Memorial Convention Hall, Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Staff from the Japanese Consulate will have displays and pamphlets. Past and present government officials from Yamaguchi, and Iwaki city in Fukushima, will also be present.
Iwaki is home to the Spa Resort Hawaiians, which is where the hula movement started in Japan.
“The are now one million hula dancers throughout Japan,” said Pearl Shimizu, event organizer. “There are hundreds of halau throughout Japan today.”
Representatives will screen two documentaries. The first, “Fukushima Hula Girls”, is a movie about how victims of the tsunami and earthquake are using hula to uplift people around the country.
The second film, “Can You See Our Lights”, is the story of how residents of a town that was totally flattened by the earthquake coped in the aftermath of the disaster. A parade float was discovered and restored to continue an annual festival to uplift the morale of residents and help with the recovery.
“There are several artists coming from Moriyama, Japan,” Shimizu said.
Guest artists include ceramist Mie Komiyama; Kyoko Hagiwara, a natural dyeing artist who works with grasses, tea leaves and other natural materials; and Tomoko Sakamoto, an oshie artist who uses textured washi paper to create three dimensional artwork.
Visiting musicians include a family that performs the shakuhachi traditional flute, the stringed koto and voice.
“Two of our own taiko drumming groups are also performing, and because there is a kendama craze going on were are also having a contest,” Shimizu said.
A kimono kitsuke with photo is available for $45 per dressing. Call 338-1267, 335-5414, or 335-3219 for an appointment.
Some very special guests from Moriyama, a city near Kyoto in Shita prefecture.
Mr. Tsugio Kawashima is making his 50th visit to Kaua‘i. He started a student exchange between Kaua‘i and Japan 25 years ago.
About 60 students have gone to Japan through the program, and as many from Moriyama High School have come to Kaua‘i for a 10-month stay, said Eileen Winters, a Rotary Club board member.
Kawashima is meeting with Rotarians to discuss a re-launch of the program after a five-year hiatus. A conflict of school calendars put the program on hold, and recent changes present an opportunity start again, said Winters.
“He is such a delightful man and is so dedicated to the kids and to the Rotary,” Winters said.
“We are getting back on board with them and are ready again to send students to Japan, and to host the students that they send to us.”
Other dignitaries include Moriyama Mayor Kazuhiro Myamoto and Japanese Rotarians. They will join Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. for a tree planting ceremony at Kaua‘i High School.
Contact Shimizu at 822-5353 for more information.
