Saratoga News
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Photograph by Mark Tantrum
Tea ceremony instructor Meiko Tsukamoto (left) hands a cup of green tea to 7-year-old Keila Ilusorio from South San Jose.
Spring has sprung at Hakone, and so has its annual matsuri
By Shannon Burkey
Spring is a special time at Hakone Gardens. It's a time when cherry blossoms and wisteria are in full bloom and peonies are popping up all over the gardens. But springtime at Hakone is also time for something else--matsuri.
More than 2,000 people came out to celebrate the gardens at the eighth annual spring Hakone Matsuri, or festival, on May 20.
"The purpose of the event is to showcase Hakone through our spring signature cultural event as a venue for both Asian and Japanese cultures and to celebrate the beauty of Hakone," said Lon Saavedra, executive director of the Hakone Foundation.
The Hakone Gardens Supporting Committee, which was formed by Japanese business people and residents to preserve and maintain the gardens, puts on the festival each year to bring awareness to the one-of-a-kind garden.
"The basic concept is to raise money for Hakone through a cultural show with high- quality Japanese performers," said Dr. Masato Matsuo, chairman of the Hakone Gardens Supporting Committee.
Performers from various Japanese arts entertained the crowd throughout the day.
Baisho Matsumoto, a Japanese master tsugaru shamisen player, came from Japan to dazzle the crowds with his three-string shamisen instrument.
Matsumoto has played the festival for several years and is always a crowd pleaser, said Matsuo.
"Seeing him play is my favorite part of the festival," he said.
The festivities began with the Japanese Kagamiwari tradition in which the circular lid of a sake cask is broken with a wooden mallet.
"This is always done to celebrate the beginning of a happy event," Matsuo said.
Saratoga Mayor Aileen Kao joined Saavedra, Matsuo and two representatives of the Japanese consul in this time-honored tradition.
"The Kagamiwari is a very big deal for the Japanese. It's very honorific, like breaking a champagne bottle on a ship," Saavedra said.
In an effort to attract a larger audience, the program this year was slightly different.
"The unique thing about this year is that it was Japanese-Asian fusion. We're also looking to appeal to both the Asian and non-Asian communities," Saavedra said. "We had a richer program of offerings this year and were able to use the entire 18-acre site more effectively. It was a phenomenal success."
Saavedra said this year's event brought out 30 percent more people than last year and raised double the amount of money.
Because the Hakone Foundation receives no public funding to help in its operation, the committee and the foundation work hard each year to raise the estimated $250,000 it costs to maintain the facility.
This year's matsuri raised close to $22,000 that will go into the garden's general fund. And though it is only about 10 percent of what is needed, Matsuo said none of it could be done without help from the community.
"We're very thankful for the people who come to Hakone every year and to the community of Saratoga for embracing us," he said.
