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Honolulu Japanese Sword Exhibition


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Aloha, all:

 

Well, we're closing in on holding our first sword exhibition since the 1960s, & here is the press release:

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

The Japanese Sword Society of Hawaii is pleased to present the first annual Exhibit of Japanese Swords at Soto Mission of Hawaii. The JSSH warmly welcomes and invites all interested parties to attend this exceptional event, the first of its kind in Hawaii in 50 years.

 

The exhibition will be comprised of an extensive range of some of the world's finest Samurai-era art and weaponry, including swords by important swordsmiths, sword furniture, full suits of armor, and various other Samurai objects, all of outstanding quality. The sword collection represents a fantastic opportunity for anyone interested in Japan or Japanese culture to experience a quintessential element of Japanese aesthetics. Along with swords approaching 800 years of age, contemporary blades are also to be included in the exhibit, reminding us that sword-making is a living art.

 

Of particular note, swords made by many well-known sword smiths will be on display. Representative work from the five styles of Japanese sword making, including examples from numerous historical periods, is a key feature of the exhibit, as well as award-winning koshirae and tosogu (sword mounts and fittings). Many of the artists included were among the most well-known of their respective eras.

 

Also on view will be a collection of The Hawaii Bonsai Association's premier trees, in addition to Ukiyo-e and Calligraphy presentations by Mr. Robyn Buntin, and Togishi demonstrations (Japanese sword polishing) by Mr. Robert Benson and Mr. Woodrow Hall. A traditional Lion Dance will be performed by the Asia Arts Association, headed by Sifu Vernon Rieta.

 

The exhibition will be held on September 29-30 at the Soto Mission's main hall, 1708 Nuuanu Avenue, Honolulu 96817, with free parking. Tickets are $10.00 at the door. Please contact Dr. Glenn Hayashi, Exhibit Chairman, at (808) 597-1624, or Albert Keliikuloa at (808) 554-6846 for more information.

 

--30--

 

So any of you who happen to be out this way or need a good excuse to come play in the sun & surf are invited to attend. Here is a link to a rather cool poster that we have been distributing: https://www.box.com/s/62co0uler2ncj2u5llaz. We conservatively estimate that our Nihonto on display will have a value well over US$1 million (Rai, Kotetsu, Kiyomaro, etc.). I look forward to meeting even more NMB members.

 

Ken

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I just got the word that our local public access TV station has agreed to do a no-charge documentary on our show, & will give the video rights to us as a non-profit. So I may be able to post at least a YouTube video for all & sundry. It strikes me that other sword exhibitions may also want to contact their public access stations to see if they can do the same.

 

Ken

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thank You Ken... :)

 

Forum Members....

Last night was my 1st attendance with the Japanese Sword Society of Hawaii Member's.

I was greated by Ken as I walked in!!!! What a gentleman and an honor to be approached by him..

I was introduced to the members that were there who were setting up the display stands/tables..

I felt so welcomed.. I felt like I knew them for years.. How's That!!!! :D

 

The tables and display stand layout looks really good..

I believe this will be one of the most awesome Katana Shows I will get a chance to see..

It is an honor to be shown the Katanas of Private Collectors...

I'd like to openly Thank them for such a rare and tremendous treat that many ( at least , me) will never get a chance to see..

 

Alton Ken :)

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Okay, our first sword exhibition since 1960 is over & done with, & a great success. Just over 1,000 attendees, 48 blades on display, bonsai, ukiyo-e & calligraphy, kendo & iaido demos, & of course Bob Benson's togishi skills (http://www.staradvertiser.com/multimedia/Island_Images_September_2012_Part_2.html. Coverage by six newspapers, two TV stations, & a private production company that wants to team with us to produce a two-hour documentary. And this is while the Blue Angels were performing at the same time across the island.

 

We had a surprise visit from the Governor of Hawaii, & were pleasantly surprised that he was actually interested in the Nihonto, rather than just shaking hands for votes. He spent nearly an hour, & had some really interesting things to say: he noted that the line to view Nihonto was moving slowly, but no one was in a hurry & each was spending time really looking at the blades, something he didn't remember seeing at other exhibitions. He offered to get us some grants to bring our exhibition to the neighbor islands (there are eight islands in Hawaii, separated from 35 to 120 miles), but we're really not willing to turn over our valuable blades to TSA to fly between the islands, so I don't know where that will go. He did get us to agree to hold our exhibition annually, with active help from his office.

 

My most memorable moment was when two elderly Japanese men came over to thank me for the exhibition - they said, with tears in their eyes, that they never expected to see anything like this again in their lifetimes. Really struck a good note with me. Our exhibition was fairly small by most standards, but evidently something that our community really wants & enjoys.

 

I'll post some photos as soon as we pull everything together over the next week. Time for sleeping right now.

 

Ken

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Thanks for having this sword show, as well as all the other members of JSSH. Was a good show, busy though, but I finally got to see blades (organized chronologically) in good condition. Too bad couldn't handle them and get a closer look, some of them I could only see the oil :( - but that was understandable as it was a public showing and safety first :). Thanks again though, hopefully there are shows like this every year!

 

Grant

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You're welcome, Grant. It's unlikely you will be able to handle our blades as neither our liability insurance nor that of Soto Mission allows anyone to do so. I'll double-check to ensure that the blades are more visible (i.e., less oil) in future exhibits.

 

Aloha!

Ken

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Still under discussion, Alex, but I hope we can hold these exhibitions annually.

 

This being our first since 1960, we had a lot of details to figure out, & of course we learned a lot of lessons. I want to send a special thank-you to Guido Schiller who gave us a lot of useful information from his vast experience while we were still puzzling through our initial stages, & probably saved us a few months, too. :bowdown:

 

Although we expected about 1,000 attendees, we really didn't understand the magnitude of having that many people coming through in two days. The parking area at Soto Mission holds only about 50 cars, which was a real bottleneck but also a blessing in disguise as it kept the line full, but not overflowing both days. I'm sure we lost some people to frustration, both with parking & the viewing line that took an average of 25 minutes to go through. We lined up the Nihonto by age, starting with Gendai & ending with Kamakura, so it only made sense to have everyone go in one direction, but there were always a couple of people who wanted to buck the flow, & then complained when they didn't understand our setup. Probably more signage next time to explain.

 

Our Governor was really astonished at how all the attendees would spend time looking, learning, & asking questions of our members - he was used to having people just wander around & peering at each item for a few seconds - so he wants us to expand our exhibition. My board & I will have to figure out how to keep him happy while protecting our valuable blades, of course. But just having him come in unexpectedly & being so pleasantly surprised was a real feather in our collective cap.

 

Ken

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