In a testament to the drawing power of four nylon strings and a koa box, an estimated 1,200 music lovers crowded Kaka'ako Waterfront Park yesterday for the Hawai'i debut of the Japanese-sponsored Ukulele Picnic.

The free all-day festival featured music from 16 'ukulele-strumming acts, including Roy Sakuma, Vaihi, Konishiki, Robi Kahakalau and Jeff Taimane, as well as several Japanese performers.

The event, which has been staged in Japan for the past 10 years, is co-sponsored by Kazuyuki Sekiguchi, bassist for the popular Japanese pop-rock group Southern All-Stars.

"I wanted to bring Japanese and Hawaiian musicians and Japanese and Hawaiian residents together in the same place to share the same excitement," Sekiguchi said via an interpreter.

Sekiguchi's musical credentials are formidable. The Southern All-Stars recently called it quits after 30 years of recording and performing, a run that included 40 top-10 hits and 47 million albums and singles sold.

About 11 years ago, Sekiguchi attended a Hawaiian slack-key guitar festival on the Big Island and was moved by the music and the positive atmosphere it engendered — so much so that he started the 'ukulele festival in Japan to re-create the feeling in his native home.

Sekiguchi said the impact of Hawaiian culture on Japan is widespread and profound.

"There are a lot of people who dance hula in Japan and there are 600,000 people in Japan who own 'ukulele," he said. "The sound of the 'ukulele heals people's hearts in Japan."

Sekiguchi's Ukulele Foundation of Hawai'i is seeking to build an 'ukulele museum on O'ahu.

Foundation president Michael Aranoff said yesterday's event marked the start of a five-year plan to make the museum a reality. Organizers are considering an 'ukulele-shaped building that would include antique instruments, interactive educational displays and a live performance area.

Yesterday's event also benefited former sumotori Konishiki's charitable work. The Konishiki Foundation raises money for local schools and provides travel grants for local students to visit Japan.

The retired sumotori was a hit with festival-goers yesterday, particularly with Japanese visitors stunned to find a bonafide sports icon autograph- ing T-shirts and CDs.

Konishiki (Saleva'a Atisanoe) said he embraces cultural exchange — be it an 'ukulele festival or a first-time trip to Japan — as a door to better opportunity.

"It's an eye-opener," he said. "It makes you aware of the importance of education to get to the next level."

Nhat Pham, 7, of Kaimuki, has been investing much of his free time learning to play the 'ukulele. Still, he wasn't expecting to perform in front of 1,000 people after just four months of lessons.

Pham was one of 50 or so students representing Jody Kami- sato's 'Ukulele Hale. Kamisato and fellow strummer Chris Salvador got things rolling with a frenetic version of "Wipe Out," then his students took the stage to a round of appreciative cheers.

"Kind of fun," Pham proclaim- ed after it was all done.