Koaloha soprano koa with solid sprucetop look see and sound sample

MGM · Mar 3, 2012

Heres a Koaloha model not generally seen in USA and you will probably never see one at your local music store. Its the Gambalele line and yes i know it has the Japanese War Flag on it. I explain Alvins reasoning on how this model came about in the video..anyway if you're a Koaloha nut like me....its another for the collection...sounds great too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt9dcf6bvsY

Paul December · Mar 3, 2012

Yikes, it appears that some designer at Koaloha doesn't know his history.

I'm sure it wasn't meant to be offensive, but it strikes me as a big blunder.

I'm sure others will chime-in...
...I'd be interested to hear how Chinese & Korean members here perceive it.

coolkayaker1 · Mar 3, 2012

MGM is it for sale?

foxfair · Mar 3, 2012

No issue with the flag. Actually the whole Asia region was invaded by Japan in WWII. (turn boring history and political topics off)

From the wikipedia link:
When Japan was defeated in August 1945 and the Imperial Army and Navy were dissolved, the flag fell into disuse. However with the re-establishment of a Self-Defense Force the flag was re-adopted in 1954. The flag with 16 rays is today the ensign of the Maritime Self-Defense Force while the Ground Self-Defense Force uses an 8-ray version.[1]

Hippie Dribble · Mar 3, 2012

Thanks Mike, nice sounding uke. I must agree with Paul though. The war flag soundhole is a mighty mistake and will be offensive to many, despite the good intentions behind it. Fear of the Japanese people in the aftermath of WWII extends as far south as Australia and exists to this day, particularly among our older citizens, my mother included, who was directly impacted by atrocities. That aside, the uke has that very sweet KoAloha sound and no doubt will be a collector's piece.

Hippie Dribble · Mar 3, 2012

foxfair said:
No issue with the flag. Actually the whole Asia region was invaded by Japan in WWII. (turn boring history and political topics off)

From the wikipedia link:
When Japan was defeated in August 1945 and the Imperial Army and Navy were dissolved, the flag fell into disuse. However with the re-establishment of a Self-Defense Force the flag was re-adopted in 1954. The flag with 16 rays is today the ensign of the Maritime Self-Defense Force while the Ground Self-Defense Force uses an 8-ray version.[1]

what you find boring political history destroyed the lives of many, irredeemably and beyond repair. Sorry to bring reality into it. Life isn't always pretty and airbrushed unfortunately. To not mention this would be ignorant and a glaring oversight.

Paul December · Mar 3, 2012

Ironicly, since Koaloha uses an odd-shaped sound hole, changing to a simple round one would have been like the contemporary Japanese flag

Hippie Dribble · Mar 3, 2012

Paul December said:
Ironicly, since Koaloha uses an odd-shaped sound hole, changing to a simple round one would have been like the contemporary Japanese flag

that's it, if they wanted to stir up patriotism why didn't they just go for the current day Japanese flag? Would have looked nicer too, I reckon

Paul December · Mar 3, 2012

eugene ukulele said:
that's it, if they wanted to stir up patriotism why didn't they just go for the current day Japanese flag? Would have looked nicer too, I reckon

They could have used a red circle label inside to accentuate the flag reference.

uke552 · Mar 3, 2012

eugene ukulele said:
what you find boring political history destroyed the lives of many, irredeemably and beyond repair. Sorry to bring reality into it. Life isn't always pretty and airbrushed unfortunately. To not mention this would be ignorant and a glaring oversight.

agreed and said so well my friend.

MGM · Mar 3, 2012

As I suspected this will turn into a political thread and not a ukulele one...oh well. In my old and dying days I can do what many others won,t. If it offends you sorry....its about a uke..not politics...if you want to see it go to the video...if this turns into a political thread rather than a uke one moderators please delete it....now back to more important things like dinner and my date.....lol

Paul December · Mar 3, 2012

MGM said:
As I suspected this will turn into a political thread and not a ukulele one...oh well. In my old and dying days I can do what many others won,t. If it offends you sorry....its about a uke..not politics...if you want to see it go to the video...if this turns into a political thread rather than a uke one moderators please delete it....now back to more important things like dinner and my date.....lol

Sorry Mike, I cannot agree with you.
I am sure Koaloha intended it to simply be a uke...
...but (I'm giving them the benefit-of-doubt here) they unintentionally made it something else. Those who are offended or find it distasteful are not making it political. History makes it political.
IMO it might be good for Koaloha to see this thread, if they aren't already aware of the symbol's connotation. I think every "Introduction to International Business" class has case examples similar mistakes.

Tigeralum2001 · Mar 3, 2012

MGM said:
As I suspected this will turn into a political thread and not a ukulele one...oh well. In my old and dying days I can do what many others won,t. If it offends you sorry....its about a uke..not politics...if you want to see it go to the video...if this turns into a political thread rather than a uke one moderators please delete it....now back to more important things like dinner and my date.....lol

Bringing this back to the ukulele topic, I'm just happy to see that it is more like a ukulele than the jukeulele. Don't get me wrong, I'd love a jukeulele, but not at $4,000! I appreciate the artistry, but 4K puts it in the class of many "holy grail" ukes. I'd rather have a Moore Bettah or vintage Martin 3K or several modern ukes for that price.

Paul December said:
Sorry Mike, I cannot agree with you.
I am sure Koaloha intended it to simply be a uke...
...but (I'm giving them the benefit-of-doubt here) they unintentionally made it something else. Those who are offended or find it distasteful are not making it political. History makes it political.
IMO it might be good for Koaloha to see this thread, if they aren't already aware of the symbol's connotation. I think every "Introduction to International Business" class has case examples similar to this one.

The Okami's are of Japanese heritage, so I'm sure they are very well versed in the meaning of the flag. Also, living in Hawaii, I'm sure they are aware of what that flag means to some people. That said, if someone produced a confederate flag ukulele I'm sure we would see even more of this outrage.

Personally, I favor art over political correctness. It was a mighty fine sounding uke! I've been considering a Spruce top for a while because, as much as I love Koa, Spruce has a great sound to it.

Hippie Dribble · Mar 3, 2012

MGM said:
As I suspected this will turn into a political thread and not a ukulele one...oh well. In my old and dying days I can do what many others won,t. If it offends you sorry....its about a uke..not politics...if you want to see it go to the video...if this turns into a political thread rather than a uke one moderators please delete it....now back to more important things like dinner and my date.....lol

Mike, seriously, what other way could it have gone? it's one of the most brutal and inflamatory symbols of warfare in existence mate.

edit: Mike, you say that the thread is "about a uke...not politics". This is just not a credible position to take because the politics is, in it's very conception and construction, emblazoned on the face of the ukulele for all to see. In that context you can't just draw a line between the two and dismiss it like that in such a perfunctory way. Don't want to make a scene here but these things just have to be said, I'm sorry.

Hippie Dribble · Mar 3, 2012

Tigeralum2001 said:
Personally, I favor art over political correctness.

you gotta be kidding me. political correctness has nothing to do with it. I think we can all agree it's a great sounding uke. But it's an ill-conceived design.

MGM · Mar 3, 2012

I could give hundreds of examples of symbols of atrocities but what's the point......it's a ukulele....like it or don't...I am not defending it nor bashing it. Just was showing something many of you will never see or touch....excuse me for loving the ukulele. I,m done and I guess I will never show a video of a vintage 5k Martin CONCERT since it may be controversial.....lol

Tigeralum2001 · Mar 3, 2012

eugene ukulele said:
you gotta be kidding me. political correctness has nothing to do with it. I think we can all agree it's a great sounding uke. But it's an ill-conceived design.

One could make the same argument against ANY flag. All countries are guilty of some atrocity. I'm sure the Australian flag would offend many Aborigines, as evidenced by the occasional protests making international news. Are you saying avoid all political references because it might offend someone? Art over politics.

Tigeralum2001 · Mar 3, 2012

MGM said:
I,m done and I guess I will never show a video of a 5k Martin since it may be controversial.....lol

Well, how WAS that Koa harvested? I find those practices, especially in the 1920s, despicable!

Hippie Dribble · Mar 3, 2012

Tigeralum2001 said:
One could make the same argument against ANY flag. All countries are guilty of some atrocity. I'm sure the Australian flag would offend many Aborigines, as evidenced by the occasional protests making international news. Are you saying avoid all political references because it might offend someone? Art over politics.

I totally agree with you re the flag thing in general. And certainly Australia has a heavy and ongoing burden to bear in it's treatment of its Native people. I find Nationalism a dangerous pursuit when taken to it's extreme, as Patriotism can be when it involves - as it inevitably does - the subjugation of minorities. Again though, I make the point, why display that flag that is so irrevocably linked to the atrocities of warfare when the current Japanese national flag could have been used.

Art over politics? Heck yeah. I think we are on the same page here. That is precisely why I object to the use of this symbol.

Hippie Dribble · Mar 3, 2012

MGM said:
I could give hundreds of examples of symbols of atrocities but what's the point......it's a ukulele....like it or don't...I am not defending it nor bashing it. Just was showing something many of you will never see or touch....excuse me for loving the ukulele. I,m done and I guess I will never show a video of a vintage 5k Martin CONCERT since it may be controversial.....lol

Why is everyone always so bloody scared of a bit of controversy...that's what happens when people express opinions that differ. It's just life bro, big deal. Surely we're adult enough to be able to discuss and disagree sometimes???? I don't get this at all...Mike, we know your passion for your ukes, and that your intentions and motivations in sharing them are pure and are a blessing to us. We understand you were neither defending nor bashing it, you were showing it, and we're thankful for that. Because a couple of people raise an obvious issue does not mean you're under personal attack brother. YES, we are all interested, that's why we're talking about it mate

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