In the Japanese language, the number 5 is pronounced go- as many fans of the Speed Racer anime series can attest. But in English, “go” has a very different meaning?simply, it means to travel from one place to another. And if ever there was a year to travel to visit JCCS, it is this year - year go - that you will want to come to visit.

The Japanese Classic Car Show Association is proud to announce the 5th Annual Japanese Classic Car Show: a celebration of growth and strength through half a decade. Please join us on Saturday, October 3, 2009, at Hidden Valley Park in Irvine, CA, adjacent to the Verizon Theater.

In Japan, art is an unspoken language filled with deep meaning. A single image can tell an entire story. And such it is with this year’s poster!

You may remember that last year’s show was the first at the venue in Irvine; to symbolize this, our traditional hanafuda (playing cards with seasonal flowers and imagery) was joined by imagery of the koi fish. Koi, or carp, embody multiple meanings and stories that reach back into ancient Japanese lore. One of the best-known tales is about a koi swimming up a waterfall, facing all obstacles in its way, and becoming an undefeatable, immortal dragon. As a result, koi became a symbol for strength and resiliency, and in Japan, both in the time of the Samurai and today, koi ponds remain popular for this reason.

The strength of the koi propelling itself upstream, and its success in doing so, has paralleled JCCS’s own experience: from starting as an experiment in a land where the terms “Japanese” and “classic car” were rarely uttered in the same sentence, JCCS has become the largest old-school Japanese car event in America. The show was successful from the start, but popular opinion pulled in many directions. Yet, like the koi, JCCS kept moving forward, strong and determined against the tide. Each year’s show has proven a refinement of the last, both broadening the scope of the style of cars, and narrowing down the increasingly clean cars that are brought forth for the event. Each year, the event is stronger for this. And so for the fifth anniversary of JCCS, last year’s koi imagery has made way for this year’s dragon: strong and proud, lovely to behold, special in ways that must be experienced to be understood, yet just as determined as ever to prove itself.

The dragon permeates the spirit of JCCS another way: it is the symbol of one of the first popular Japanese cars in America, the Toyota Celica. JCCS management has owned a Celica Liftback for more than two decades now- it is the car that started our love for old-school Japanese cars, and it is the car that helped influence the decision to create JCCS in the first place. Lastly, we will be displaying one of the earliest Celicas imported into the US -serial number 00005, as it happens -a number that coincides with the number of our show’s anniversary. The owner of Celica Go provided the spark that would become JCCS, and we are forever grateful for his encouragement and confidence.

And so, between the symbol of the dragon, on car and poster alike, and the strength of the number 5, the coincidences (gu-zen) and meanings are too great to ignore. Because of the owners and sponsors who support us, and the thousands of spectators who come through the gates every year to see the show, we wish to express our endless appreciation and gratitude. Because of them, the JCCS can strongly exist like a Dragon.

Please join us and celebrate the JCCS 5th year anniversary, our annual reunion, and the history of Japanese automobiles. We are looking forward to seeing you again - or meeting you for the first time!