Haru Matsuri 2017
Demonstration Report
copyright © 2017 Douglas Tong, all rights reserved
__________________________________________________
On March 4, 2017, the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto held its annual Spring Festival which is called Haru Matsuri. This year, we once again were granted the honour to be allowed to participate in this excellent event.
For this year’s festival, they had some special attractions as listed in their write-up:
The JCCC will be opening their doors to everyone as they celebrate a fun weekend filled with activities, entertainment and exhibits all associated with the many festivals celebrated across Japan in the Spring!!
This year we are excited to be focusing some of our activities on the theme of Anime. From Astro Boy to Pokemon; from Studio Ghibli to Disney; from books to films and toys; anime has a presence across the world. It is an art form that inspires creativitiy as well as fanatical devotion and the JCCC hopes to explore some of these facets during our festival. Haru Matsuri will also include Japanese arts and crafts demonstrations such as Ikebana (flower arranging), Bunka Shishu (embroidery), Sumi-e (brush painting) and more.
The JCCC’s martial artists will demonstrate the techniques of “The Way of the Warrior” through Aikido, Karate, Jodo, Iaido, Naginata, Kyudo and Kendo. For entertainment, there will be odori (traditional Japanese dancing) by JCCC traditional dance groups Ayame-Kai, Himawari Buyo Kai and Sakura-Kai, Koto and Shamisen by the Kiri Koto Ensemble and Taiko (Japanese drumming). Japanese cuisine will also be available in the food court.
As always, the JCCC entrance will feature an elaborate display of intricate Hina Matsuri Dolls. For a small fee visitors can have the opportunity to dress in traditional costume then head on over to the display to take their own photos. Gather your family and friends and come to the JCCC, and join us as we celebrate the arrival of Spring!
This year for us was special as well. Instead of just running a demonstration class as we had been doing for the past 10 years, we changed the format. We experimented last year with inviting another group to come and demonstrate with us, the Toronto Niten Kai Kenjutsu Dojo from downtown Toronto. That turned out to be a big success. So this year, we decided to try to bring together some more koryu groups from around the GTA (the Greater Toronto Area).
In all, we had five groups participating: Yagyu Shingan Ryu Taijutsu, Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu, Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu, Takamura-ha Shindo Yoshin Ryu, and Yagyu Shinkage Ryu Heiho. Whether the audience knew it or not, they were being treated to a veritable showcase of some of the most famous koryu styles from the history of kenjutsu in Japan.
What might have seemed chaotic on paper actually turned out to be very well-organized in reality and each group put on an excellent demonstration of their art. Below is a great shot of the various koryu groups demonstrating in the Tatami Dojo during Haru Matsuri 2017, the first Koryu Friendship Demo in Toronto! 😉
In circular order (the scroll being the front of the dojo):
Front left corner: Yagyu Shingan-ryu Taijutsu (Tokumeikan)
Front right corner: Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū (Sugino-ha) (Jigan Dojo)
Back right corner: Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryū (Toronto Niten Kai Kenjutsu Dojo)
Back left corner (closest to camera): Takamura-ha Shindo Yoshin Ryu (Kangetsu Dojo)
Not yet on the floor at that time: Yagyū Shinkage-ryū (Ohtsubo Branch) (Tokumeikan)
Photo courtesy of Toronto Niten Kai Kenjutsu Dojo in Toronto.
And the reaction from some of our new friends was overwhelmingly positive.
Haru Matsuri 2017 was a great success. It was truly an historic event. And hopefully it will pave the way for more collective endeavours between our various groups in the future. Many thanks to everyone involved!
Douglas Tong
Tokumeikan
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The instructors and students of the participating groups at Haru Matsuri 2017
__________________________________________________
Finally, here is the newspaper article that documented this historic event:
__________________________________________________