LIHU‘E — Jerry Hirata, of the Kaua‘i Soto Zen Temple in Hanapepe, was engrossed in conversation about bonsai with Stephen Fuji, of the Kaua‘i Bonsai Club, at the Matsuri Kaua‘i Festival held at Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall on Saturday.
“I’m their teacher,” said Amil Valpoon, the leader of the Kaua‘i Bonsai Club during the Senior Craft Fair that attracted scores of shoppers anxious to get their hands on handicraft created by kupuna from Kaua‘i Senior Centers from Kilauea to Kekaha. “These items are all produced by bonsai students. I have to be here.”
Christy Castillo, of the Agency on Elderly Affairs, was volunteering at the Kaua‘i Economic Opportunity community health fair where the biggest thing was the Ho‘ola Lahui Hawai‘i mobile clinic parked outside the Kaua‘i Philippine Cultural Center.
“I got a bonsai,” Castillo said. “I always wanted one of my own. I went to the senior craft fair and found one before coming to the health fair. I have a bonsai, now.”
Presented by the Kaua‘i Japanese Cultural Society, the bonsai club demonstrations and exhibit was just one part of Matsuri Kaua‘i Festival, which featured demonstrations, Japanese dance and singing performances, and craft vendors that offered products of Asian influence.
The Japanese delegation led by Mayor Kyotaka Fujimoto of Suo Oshima, which celebrated its 60th anniversary of sister island relationships, was one of the featured participating groups.
Fujimoto’s staff interacted with visitors in creating origami amid a sea of demonstration stations. That included traditional Japanese makeup with visiting artist Ayumi Amo, rubber stamping with the Japanese Cultural Society of Hawai‘i, based on O‘ahu, the Chado ceremony, calligraphy with Rev. Kohtoku Hirao, kado, or flower arranging, and the third generation of the Miyazaki family from Kalaheo doing mochitsuki, or mochi pounding with samples for guests to try.
Many of the volunteers at the Senior Craft Fair have ancestral ties to Japan, and would’ve loved to have participated in Matsuri Kaua‘i Festival. The festival attracted scores of people to the showcase of Japanese culture, including anime, Celeste-Mochi and other facets of Comic Con with Aaron Yamasato, credited as the individual who brought Comic Con to Kaua‘i.
But their commitment to helping at the Senior Craft Fair, where the student-produced bonsai was one of the day’s popular items, kept them firmly anchored to their positions at Lihu‘e Neighborhood Center.
“We can all go, next year,” the kupuna said.
