Comments on: Samurai: From the green to the Inner Richmond and beyond

By: pamie

pamie — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:43:02 +0000

LOL. This is funny

By: MMaendl

MMaendl — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:23:29 +0000

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!!

By: otomeki5

otomeki5 — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:22:47 +0000

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??”

By: namastenancy

namastenancy — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:48:34 +0000

Maybe the samurai was too busy concentrating on his inner zen-ness and just let the surfing scene information just wash right by him.

By: bittermelon

bittermelon — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:39:39 +0000

@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.

By: xensen

xensen — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:20:57 +0000

Hmmm, I wonder why a samurai would be confused about the surfing scene in northern California …

By: skimmer

skimmer — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:33:03 +0000

Baker Beach isn’t really a surfing spot — try OB next time or give him a skimboard!

By: bittermelon

bittermelon — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:07:50 +0000

@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!

By: tonsure

tonsure — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:14:56 +0000

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!

By: Hana

Hana — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:45:25 +0000

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