Dialogue

DIALOGUE BY Karleen C. Chinen Are you familiar with this century-old Japanese children’s song, “Furusato?” I’d heard the melody before, but I didn’t know the lyrics or what they meant until I attended a Honolulu Fukushima Kenjin Kai event late last year at which there was group singing of this song. Fortunately for me, the....

For You, Jane ... DIALOGUE By Karleen Chinen There is a scene in the Okinawan movie, “Nada Sou Sou.” It’s near the end . . . after the hardworking Yoota dies suddenly after collapsing while checking on his hänai (adopted) sister Kaoru during a typhoon. He is burning up with fever, so Kaoru calls for....

By: Karleen C. Chinen | Commentary | The all-important general election is just 20 days away as we send this issue of the Herald to press. It is a very important election.

DIALOGUE By Karleen Chinen Commentary Most of us are familiar with the Japanese phrase, “Kodomo no tame ni,” meaning “for the sake of our/the children.” It usually refers to generational sacrifice: The Issei endured backbreaking labor in Hawai‘i’s sugar plantations and pineapple fields so they could give their American-born Nisei children a better life. The....

DIALOGUE BY Karleen Chinen Putting this issue together was quite a challenge because it combined Garden Island stories and general election ads. On Nov. 6, Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau voters will elect a new mayor to succeed outgoing Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., who has reached his term limit. Kaua‘i is at a crossroads: Its residents are....

DIALOGUE BY Karleen Chinen Commentary The seed for a story on Emperor Akihito’s abdication from the Chrysanthemum Throne was planted in my head a few years ago by contributing writer Kevin Kawamoto following the emperor’s address to the people of Japan regarding the status of his health. As the prospect of his abdication became more....

By Karleen C. Chinen For several weeks before last month’s general election, I was receiving daily emails — make that several emails a day — from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Most of them emphasized...

DIALOGUE By Karleen C. Chinen Each year, one of our goals in publishing this Hawai‘i Island edition has been to bring you stories from all over the BIG Island. Hawai‘i Island really is a big island and the Herald has been so, so fortunate to have a team of writers who have been willing to....

Karleen C. Chinen Commentary Argh! The agony of a press deadline! We are sending this issue of the Herald to press on Tuesday afternoon, general election day. The polls will be closing in less than an...

DIALOGUE BY Karleen Chinen Putting together a focused issue like this fourth annual Kaua‘i edition usually leaves me with a valuable takeaway. Maybe it’s because I spend so much time with the stories. In that process, they “speak to me” and leave me realizing something I hadn’t prior to getting to know them on my....