HomeMy WebLinkAbout8/14/2014 - City Arts Commission - 05 Staff Report Okazaki GiftABSTRACT:
Newport Beach Sister City Okazaki Japan is offering a statue as a gift to the City of Newport Beach. Council
Policy I-11 requires that all proposals for donations of art to the City shall be reviewed by the Arts
Commission for recommendation to the City Council.
RECOMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Arts Commission review the donation and recommend that City Council accept
the gift.
DISCUSSION:
The Newport Beach Sister City Association is a non-profit, volunteer organization that endeavors to
promote international communication, understanding, education, and friendship between the people of
Newport Beach and the people of foreign cities. These principles are accomplished through cultural
exchanges, business exchanges, student and teacher exchanges, student scholarships, host families, and
fund raising.
Since November 1984, the City of Newport Beach has enjoyed a Sister City relationship with the City of
Okazaki, Japan. Okazaki is located 200 miles west of Tokyo and has a population of 350,648. The city is best
known for its production of stonework, miso, fireworks, centers for automobile, chemical and textile
industries and biological research.
Okazaki is the birthplace of Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa. Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) was the founder and
first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate which maintained effective rule over Japan from 1600 until 1867.
Historians agree that Ieyasu was a superior field commander and a gifted governmental administrator. He
is considered to be the founder of the Edo Period and the first shogun to establish a peaceful Japan. He
now enjoys a historical popularity commensurate with his distinguished role in the evolution of Japan.
[source: "Tokugawa Ieyasu." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Biography in Context. Web. 6 Aug. 2014.]
The City of Okazaki is offering a sculpture entitled “Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu” (see attachment “A”) as a gift
to the City of Newport Beach. The work is made of granite quarried in Okazaki and stands 150cm tall with a
base of 55cm. One potential site for the sculpture is the Bamboo Courtyard at the Central Library. The
statue would be an aesthetically pleasing complement to the bamboo stands, which were also a gift from
the City of Okazaki. The placing of the statue at this site requires the approval of the Board of Library
Trustees, since Council Policy I-9 requires the Arts Commission to confer with other Boards and
Commissions that may be impacted by the acceptance of the gift.
NOTICING:
This agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at
which the City Arts Commission considers the item).
TO: CITY ARTS COMMISSION
FROM: Cultural Arts Division, Library Services Department
Tim Hetherton, Library Services Director
949-717-3810, thetherton@newportbeachca.gov
PREPARED BY: Tim Hetherton
TITLE: Okazaki Gift
ATTACHMENT “A”