MORGAN HILL
– The sounds of taiko drums resonated throughout the Buddhist
Community Center Sunday during the 44th annual Haru Matsuri
Festival as energetic drummers entertained the public with music
and movement.
By GWEN JOHNSON
Special to The Times
MORGAN HILL – The sounds of taiko drums resonated throughout the Buddhist Community Center Sunday during the 44th annual Haru Matsuri Festival as energetic drummers entertained the public with music and movement.
This festival celebrates the tradition for greeting the new rice planting season. During this time – from March to April – Buddhist priests pray for a successful harvest and perform annual purification rites.
An estimated 4,000 to 5,000 festival-goers joined in the celebration this year enjoying traditional Japanese food, cultural art displays, performing arts and arts and crafts booths.
Festival organizer Howard Watanabe said the numbers were more than last year when rain dampened the festival, but less than in some previous years. Nevertheless, he was pleased with the turnout.
“Most of the people come for the food,” said Sam Hamlin, who has been coming to this festival for the past four years along with his wife, Jeri.
In 2003, problems with refrigeration caused health department officials to shut down food service, causing the festival to lose $25,000 of its expected $30,000 revenues. This year, Watanabe said, festival organizers took precautions.
“We worked on having a better refrigeration system than last year,” said Watanabe.
A walk-in refrigeration unit, a refrigeration truck and working closely with the heath inspectors to understand the guidelines for temporary events such as this worked out well, Watanabe added.
The food booths were busy throughout the festival serving gyoza, sushi, chicken salad, udon, manju and beef teriyaki.
Among the exhibits were booths selling everything from cultural books to contemporary Japanese handcrafted art and gifts, jewelry, sushi makers and fresh flower leis.
Pam Yoshida, owner of Nikkei Traditions, a contemporary Japanese gift store, said this was her first time exhibiting in the festival and that it gives her company the opportunity to bring more cultural awareness to the South County.
Ron Iwamsa, owner of Maki Sushi Ki, a sushi maker, who has been exhibiting at the festival for the past seven years, said that he hopes that more people become aware of this festival and come out to share in the culture.
One of the exhibits inside the community hall included a display of historical facts and photographs honoring the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team and Military Intelligence Service.
Art work from the Morgan Hill Dharma School covered the walls as well as a silk handcrafted quilt that was given away as a raffle prize, the proceeds of which will benefit the Morgan Hill Tai Chi Group, members of which performed to the gentle sounds of the Japanese koto, a 13-string instrument with a sound similar to an American harp.
Throughout the day, as different taiko groups performed, children played in a jump house and the food and exhibit booths were busy sharing in this cultural celebration.
The beat lived on as San Jose Taiko, the most anticipated event, concluded the festival with the beating of drums and movements expressing the beauty and harmony of the human spirit through the voice of the taiko, something this group takes pride in.
“Overall, the festival was pretty successful,” Watanabe said. ”The people came and enjoyed themselves without worrying about the food.”
Watanabe said that now that the festival organizers have a better idea of what the health inspectors expect they intend to continue a working relationship with them because the food guidelines are always changing.
With this out of the way, Watanabe said that next year, they can spend more time promoting the festival.
