Samurai: From the green to the Inner Richmond and beyond
For the past few months we’ve been working hard on a fun lil’ project and finally, the time has come. We are THRILLED to unveil it.
Are you ready? Here we go…
Though the final products have strayed from the original storyboards, the overall take away message remains and echoes a major theme of Lords of the Samurai: there’s more to samurai than you think.
The star samurai is none other than our very own “Kenji,” the museum’s school programs associate.
We hope you enjoy! If you dig them, then please help spread the word and share the love. Let us know what you think. We love comments / feedback!
A special shout out goes to Sean Dana / 7G Productions, for realizing our vision on limited resources. His wicked sense of humor was right in line with our intended hamminess, and he’s super-creative!
34 Responses to “Samurai: From the green to the Inner Richmond and beyond”
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namastenancy on June 16th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
ROFLOL! So very funny and clever. I loved the shot of him coming out of a store with a soft drink in hand. A work of absolute (well, OK maybe not absolute) genius.
bittermelon on June 16th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Thanks Namastenancy. Glad you found it funny. We (and by “we” I mean “I”) really wanted to get him with a pearl tea. There are a couple of frames where it’s obvious the people on the street are perplexed. Thanks for commenting!
sfaiguy on June 16th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
That is really cute! A great, fun, way to get people excited about the exhibition.
manroy9 on June 16th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
I think someone should ask the Ainu and the Okinawans about the samurai. It is all very nice to romanticise them but they are just another feudal warlord class, albeit very stylish.
Spudd on June 16th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
I have gained even more respect for Mr. Ikemoto.
SFMOMA on June 16th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
SA-MU-RAI!! Why couldn’t you come to SFMOMA? We have had an infestation of ninjas on our 5th floor that nobody can resolve. In any event, we are all very stoked about the show over here and can’t wait to check it out. And bravo on your awesome videos!!!! Hope you do lots more
laura on June 16th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
these are all awesome, but i LOVE the third one!
nico on June 16th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
hey SFMOMA, watch out when you ask ninjas to be your artists-in-residence. they’re so underground it’s SCARY.
seriously, great job, guys. Ken you are amazing.
xensen on June 17th, 2009 at 8:15 am
Great fun indeed. Nice work!
sharon on June 17th, 2009 at 8:22 am
What a good sport Kenji is! I am glad he found his proper home though…
bittermelon on June 17th, 2009 at 10:18 am
@sfaiguy Thanks! We hope so, that was our intent (besides just doing something fun and funny)
@manroy Appreciate your input, and we agree. Here at the museum we try not to take things at face value, and earnestly explore all sides and layers to things. Thx for your comment!
@spudd Believe me, I was with him all day and that man was such a trooper. And what a perfect face for the role!
@SFMOMA Great of you to stop by, thanks for leaving a comment! A showdown between ninjas and samurai on your fifth floor, that’s quite a visual. They could break at Blue Bottle for some Mondrian cake and coffee too. Thx for the love!
@laura Thanks for being so vocal about your enthusiasm. So glad you like.
@nico @xensen THANK YOU! It really is such a huge flattering relief that you two approve. You are some of the most critical folks around (and I mean that as compliment)
rui on June 17th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
i haven’t laughed like that in a long time. i miss you guys.
otomeki5 on June 17th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
haha! this looks great bittermelon! despite some minor wardrobe malfunctions everything went so smoothly on the day. this kind of goofiness is what makes working here such a pleasure. you know that youll have to dress up and be in front of the camera for the shanghai marketing videos right?
anthony on June 17th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
i want to see him surfing.
Ryan on June 17th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Can we expect to see him marching in the SF Pride parade in a week or two? THAT would be awesome!
Nice work
peggy on June 17th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
love him on the cable car. what an officer and a gentleman.
ryanayana on June 17th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
+1 for surfing! And maybe mini-golfing?
Funny that he leers at the ukiyo-e book.
Can’t wait to see the exhibit!
bill on June 23rd, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Looks like another reason to go up to SF!
otomeki5 on June 23rd, 2009 at 10:20 pm
that wasnt a leer at the ukiyo-e book! it was ‘bemused recognition’
bittermelon on June 24th, 2009 at 10:09 am
@rui So glad you could get a laugh out of it. we miss you too.
@otomeki I’d like to see you try and get me to get in front of the camera. Good luck!
@anthony Thx for stopping by. Me too!
@ryan Thaaaaaanks. Our samurai will definitely have a presence at Pride, just not in the parade.
@peggy A lover AND a fighter. Thx!
@ryanaryana Well now that you are a member, you can check it out all you want.
@bill What a pleasant surprise! Thanks for stopping on by. Come to SF!
Thanks everyone for your comments!
dhcases on June 30th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Wonderful show. I was in the Company of a real samurai. Yoshi personally made him some ceremonial tea. I’ve already scheduled two more visits. An Iaido accolyte.
Yes, of course, women were part of the samurai class. Women were famous archers in Japan. See e.g. women’s competition at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FXfLOEltBs
artfxca on June 30th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Absolutely delightful!
We’ve seen the show a couple of times and were so impressed with our docent’s knowledge and enthusiasm.
Thank you!
Otogoze on June 30th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
“And you thought they were just warriors …”
Brilliant! I love it!
The Samurai exhibition is fascinating. We’ve seen it three times already and taken friends with us twice. It was enjoyable, enlightening and merits additional visits. When you go be sure to check out the different samurai masks/helmets in the museum store. We noticed them for the first time on our most recent visit and they are quite imaginative and incredible. (I know what I want to go dressed up as this coming Halloween…)
xensen on June 30th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Thanks, dhcases, artfxca, Otogoze. Here’s the video dhcases referenced, embedded in this comment:
Hana on July 1st, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I like the goodnatured, subtle humor behind these videos. In that antennaed helmet, Kenji is like a Samurai Killer Bee! My favorite bits: when he can’t fit into the golf cart and gets out his sword to cut the roof open; when he compares the length of his sword to the one on display, and when he keeps trying to go after his golf ball with his sword.
I kind of wish he stopped for a thoughtful itch occasionally, a’ la John Belushi.
I’m looking forward to seeing the exhibit — probably in the next two weeks!
from,
A museum member from out of town
tonsure on July 2nd, 2009 at 8:14 am
AAM,
Bravo on the videos and exhibition. The samurai videos are cleverly executed, glad to see that you’re finally attempting to draw a younger demographic to the museum. However, the participatory events that bring this audience to the museum such as the Matcha series should be expanded, not curtailed to only three this year! Generally, there are not enough visitors to the City that are aware of the existence of the museum, nor its collections, or where it is located, so this would be a good time to send your samurai out to the corner of Powell/Market, Fisherman’s Wharf, et. al., and lure those tourist dollars in!
If your various samurai find such outings arduous, you could perhaps offer, for example, a “damiyo for a day” prize to be auctioned off at a silent auction in the contributor’s reception later this month. There must be more than a handful of members willing to plug the museum and its programs by interacting with tourists and the general public while dressed as a samurai? If anything it would make for a unique only in San Francisco moment, and rare win-win fund-raising opportunity for the museum and for the auction winner.
As to the exhibition it is simply breathtaking and stunning. I saw the Hosokawa family portraits before, and with the associated objects, the portraits take on greater resonance and meaning. The exhibition is tightly curated, with specific objects on display, which is wonderful and unlike the sprawling Edo show at the NGA in ‘99. For a regional museum, LOFS puts AAM on the map right up there with the Sackler and the Peabody museums.
Finally, I must give a shout to your programs coordinator for showing TWO underappreciated and little seen Yoji Yamada films in September, Tasogare Seibei and Kakushi ken oni no tsume, both films exemplify the simple bushido code perfectly, while balancing a complex humanity. They are faithful recreations of the life of samurai just before the Meiji restoration and completely spellbinding. Thanks!
bittermelon on July 2nd, 2009 at 11:07 am
@Hana and @Tonsure – Thanks very much for dropping by and leaving engaging comments!
@Hana: Those are some of my favorite moments in the clips too. I also like the befuddled looks he gets in the Inner Richmond. So glad that you enjoyed them. Hope you make it in soon, and thank you for being a member!
@Tonsure: Thanks for the kudos on clips and the exhibition. We’ve always attempted to attract a younger demographic, but with the help of social media maybe now it’s more apparent. With MATCHA (which started a few years ago), we changed the schedule this year to align every MATCHA event with a special exhibition, so that visitors who came on those nights wouldn’t miss a show. In addition, this schedule is better since it allows us more time in between to really do a thorough job of fleshing out the next event. In 2010, there will be five events (every other month).
And yes, we’ve always struggled with public awareness of our museum, and we’re always working hard to narrow the gap between those who know/visit, and those who don’t.
We appreciate your ideas on ways to expand on the wandering samurai, and will take them into consideration, though admittedly, the schedule of samurai outings is already quite robust!
Thank you very much for your kind words about the exhibition. We love to hear encouraging praise!
Lastly, you’re absolutely right about our film programming. I hope you can make it to the screenings!
skimmer on July 16th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Baker Beach isn’t really a surfing spot — try OB next time or give him a skimboard!
xensen on July 16th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Hmmm, I wonder why a samurai would be confused about the surfing scene in northern California …
bittermelon on July 16th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
@Skimmer, ha, yeah. Very true. If we could’ve gone out to Pacifica, believe me, we would’ve.
@Xensen Even samurai are prone to confusion about certain things. Yup.
namastenancy on July 17th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Maybe the samurai was too busy concentrating on his inner zen-ness and just let the surfing scene information just wash right by him.
otomeki5 on July 17th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
i think that the samurai was gazing far into the western skies, and felt a murmur of longing for his distant homeland. the waves carrying thoughts of his family and lord across vast oceans. but actually it was more like “dude, wouldn’t it be funny to have a samurai with a surfboard??”
MMaendl on July 18th, 2009 at 7:23 am
Sugoi!!!
I just sent this to my friends in Japan. I think the Asian Art Museum has just created a classic character….I would love to see Samurai Kenji in future ads for the muesum!
Domo arigatou gozaimasu, Asian Art Museum!!
pamie on January 21st, 2010 at 7:43 pm
LOL. This is funny