CULTURAL ART DOLLED UP FOR FESTIVAL; JAPANESE-AMERICAN EVENT TO MIX TRADITION WITH FUN.

Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer

Earning a living as a flower grower, Harry Sakai was spoiled by colorful and fragrant blooms. So the semiretired flower-farm operator became an accomplished artisan in sumi brush painting.

Working nearly three decades as a secretary for the Port Hueneme and Point Mugu naval bases gave Helen Inouye of Oxnard an appreciation for detail, which she translates in teaching the art of crafting kimekomi dolls.

The two Japanese-Americans are among dozens of dancers, martial artists, flower arrangers, bonsai growers and cooks who will provide the culture at a Celebrating Our Heritage festival Sunday.

``By bringing the cultural arts together in one place out in Ventura County, it's a way to share the culture with not only Japanese-American kids, but also the community,'' said Carolyn Morinishi of Thousand Oaks, who has been the annual festival's lead organizer since it began in 1991.

``They have quite a show. There's a lot to see, a lot to learn,'' said Sakai, a Saticoy resident who leads an Oxnard-area club of sumi artists who will exhibit their finest landscapes and portraits.

There will be six tables of kimekomi dolls - wood figurines adorned with plush layers of silk and brocade - created by Inouye's latest class.

``It's an old art. It goes back to the 1600s,'' said Inouye, a nisei born in the United States to immigrant Japanese parents.

Bringing generations together to preserve and celebrate their Japanese heritage was the primary goal of the Ventura County Chapter of the Japanese-American Citizens League when the group started the cultural festival.

``I'm still fascinated all the time by Japanese culture, and I want my kids to be like that, too,'' Morinishi said.

Morinishi recalled how her exposure to traditional dancing - when she was 10 and growing up in the Venice area - promoted her interest in other traditions, such as the Japanese tea ceremony, chanoyu, and flower arranging, ikebana.

As a sansei - whose grandparents were Japanese immigrants to this country - Morinishi said she is concerned that appreciation of of their heritage will be diluted in younger generations.

``The Japan-American Citizens League was really active after the war, and the younger generation hasn't quite gotten involved,'' she said. ``This is one way.''

Japanese centers in urban areas, such as Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, offer immersion in the island nation's culture. But there is less opportunity for such exposure to Japanese cultural traditions in other areas, Morinishi noted.

Hundreds of Japanese families have lived and worked in Ventura County for decades. Oxnard, with its 68-year-old Buddhist church, and the east Ventura area have been the traditional centers of Japanese-American residents in the county.

The first ``Celebrating Our Heritage'' festival drew 150 to the Poinsettia Pavilion in Ventura, where it was held through 1994. Then the festival grew beyond the pavilion's 300-person capacity and moved to the more spacious Camarillo Community Center. Organizers are projecting attendance of 500 or more this year.

Martial arts demonstrations are popular, including displays of aikido - self-defense - and iaido or sword use. There also will be festival drumming and traditional dancing in the same main hall area.

Food - such as sushi, gyoza dumplings and traditional pickles and crackers - and arts and crafts will be featured in the hall's main exhibit area.

Added this year will be more children's exhibits in the patio area. There will be storytelling, a taiko drumming demonstration and a chance to sample Japanese tea and sweets.

``We are succeeding in getting to the kids. That was one of our original goals - to get to the families and the children,'' Morinishi said. ``We're trying to make it fun and educational.''

THE FACTS

What: ``Celebrating Our Heritage,'' sponsored by the Ventura County chapter of the Japanese-American Citizens League.

When: 3-6 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Camarillo Community Center, 1605 Burnley St.

Cost: $10 family; $5 adults; $3 seniors and children.

Information: [phone].

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1--color) Figurines made of wood and silk decorate Helen Inouye's home. She also teaches traditional Japanese kimekomi doll-making.

(2--color) Helen Inouye smiles at the elegant costumes and carefully chosen accessories for Japanese dolls created in her cultural-crafts class.

(3--color) Helen Inouye deepens the grooves on the torsos of wood dolls for her class.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News