Peninsula Branch, U.S.A. / June 2007 Contributor: Branch Master Yoshiyuki Karahashi

On May 20, 2007, the Peninsula Branch lead a public demonstration at the Hakone Gardens (www.hakone.com) in Saratoga, California. Saratoga is a town located approximately 1 hour, by car, south of San Francisco.

This was the 8th Annual "Matsuri" Festival at the Hakone Gardens, and the second year in a row that Shorinji Kempo was invited to perform at the Hakone Gardens. This year, 10 people from the Peninsula, Monterey, and San Francisco branches participated in the demonstration.

Typical for this time of the year in this region, the weather was great - a nice sunny day - not too hot and with a nice little breeze. During the day, various groups put up demonstrations, including music (traditional Tsugaru Shamisen, and an ensemble of Shamisen and Indian drum), flower arrangement (Ikebana), Japanese Dance (Nihon Buyo), Judo, along with Shorinji Kempo.

The Shorinji Kempo demonstration was approximately 20 minutes long, and included Kihon, Tan'en single forms, paired Embu, Goho Hokei, Juho Hokei, and a three-person un'yoho. The audience of over 200 people seemed impressed with the fast and dynamic techniques of Shorinji Kempo, as well as the fact that people of various ages were taking part in the demonstration.

Special thanks to the organizers of the "Matsuri Festival" for the invitation, and also to Arita-sensei (Monterey Branch), who drove a long way to support the demonstration.

 

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