Sagimai: Heron Siege Peace Procession

Kubota Gardens and Kintsugi Somatic Art Present
Sagimai – Heron Siege Peace Procession
August 30, Noon
Admission: FREE
Kubota Garden, 9817 55th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118

Inspired by the thousand year old Japanese tradition of Sagimai (heron dance), Kintsugi Somatic Art
(KSA) will present their “Heron Siege Peace Procession on Saturday, August 30 at noon. Sagimai is
a Shinto ritual for peace still performed at temples in Tokyo today. For KSA’s procession, the
“temple” will be the glorious sanctuary of Kubota Garden. KSA’s dance ritual is informed by cellular
biology, gestural movement, somatics, and improvisational play while honoring the traditional
expression. The dance will open Kubota Garden’s annual Summer of Thunder: Taiko in the Garden
event.
Since 2025, choreographer and KSA founder/director, Leah Okamoto Mann, has staged numerous
Heron Siege Peace Processions at events such as Vashon Strawberry Festival, Kizoku Ishiki Obon,
Hiroshima 2 Hope, Open Air Festival (Vashon), Tacoma Museum of History and Industry, and the
Beam Theater (Atl). The processions are contemplative action with a physicalized intention of
peace. They are a means of compassionate communal engagement amid violence and warfare here
and abroad. A siege is the name for a flock of herons. It is also defined as a persistent force toward
a goal. The heron is a symbol of perseverance and inner calm.
We invite community to join in this collective action as a “human murmuration”. A murmuration is a
flocking formation utilized by starlings and other non predatory birds to become greater than the
sum of the parts for survival.. For the procession at Kubota, the hope is to amplify the “murmur” of
peace.
Dancers include: Dana Lupton, Grace Matsuoka, Zahra Matsuoka, Andrea Braganza, Naon
Foongfuang, Sheli Potmesil, Elizabeth Mendana Shaw, and Leah Okamoto Mann. Koto no WA will
play live accompaniment. Wings and head pieces were designed by visual artist, Chantal Uto.
Audience members will have the option to walk in a guided procession on an accessible path or a
longer path with moderate inclines to get to the Terrace and pond overlook. Audience members
should assemble at the front gate at noon. In all cases appropriate walking shoes are suggested.
Funders for this project include Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, 4Culture for the Arts, Wild Woods
Foundation, Abundant Blessings Fund, and Kubota Garden Foundation.
Following the Heron Siege Peace Procession, taiko performances will begin. Audience members are
encouraged to stay for this uplifting and energizing annual community event. Find details here:
https://www.kubotagarden.org/event-details/summer-thunder-taiko-in-the-garden