Subaru celebrates Kansha Festival

Motor Image Pilipinas Inc., exclusive distributor of Subaru vehicles, announced the commencement of its annual and much-awaited Kansha Festival to be held this year on May 18 to 24.

Also known as the “Subaru Customer Appreciation Week,” the original Kansha Festival is a celebration adapted from the Japanese “Kinro Kansha no Hi” or Labor Thanksgiving Day.

The word “kansha” literally means “thank you” in Japanese, and Motor Image has been marking this occasion by holding this annual promotion since it was established in the local market.

The Kinro Kansha no Hi is an occasion for commemorating the labor workforce and also a rite for offering thanksgiving to one another. It also encourages advocacy on the environment, human rights and industrial harmony.

It is not unusual for students to create drawings and artwork to celebrate this holiday and give them as gifts to the local “koban” or police stations. In ancient Japan, where agriculture is the foremost livelihood, these festivals are more of a harvest ritual.

The earliest recorded festivities took place during the reign of Emperor Jimmu (660-585 BC), and a more formalized celebration evolved during the reign of Emperor Seinei (480-484 AD).

But modern-day scholars believe that it was the time of Emperor Temmu (667-686 AD) that started to dedicate the year’s harvest to the “kami” (spirits) using rice for the first time in the ceremony.

The modern version came after World War II, which marked the changes in the postwar Japan, including the institutionalization and expansion of worker rights.

Locally, May 1 also marks the annual celebration of Labor Day, and in observance of this Japanese tradition, Motor Image has been observing the seven-day Kansha Festival with a thanksgiving dedicated to its existing Subaru owners as well as new customers by giving away exclusive offers on selected Subaru vehicles, accessories, parts, aftersales service and even Subaru merchandise items only during this event.

Aside from this, Motor Image will be offering for current Subaru owners a service clinic with a free 25-point safety checkup in all of its showrooms. Its Subaru showrooms will be extending  service hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the whole duration of the festival.

Visit any of the Subaru showrooms or e-mail enquiryph@motorimage.net for more information.