History

Hilo Remembers the 17 Who Died and the Nine Survivors of the 1942 Torpedo Attack Wayne Yoshioka Published with Permission Editor’s note: Big Island native and recently retired Hawai‘i Public Radio reporter Wayne Yoshioka was invited to deliver the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Post 3830 Memorial Day address at the East Hawai‘i Veterans Cemetery in....

As a Young Crown Prince, Akihito Helped America to See the Human Face of Japan Kevin Y. Kawamoto Special to the Hawai‘i Herald Enthusiastic waves of aloha greeted Emperor Akihito during each of his official visits to Hawai‘i, beginning in April 1953 when he was just barely an adult and about to embark on a....

Jodie Chiemi Ching Commentary Because I am a writer for The Hawai‘i Herald and an Okinawan performing artist, people might think that I’m the type of mother who forces my two sons, 14-year-old Gavin and 12-year-old Cameron, to attend or participate in Japanese and Okinawan cultural activities. Actually, I rarely do. I try to encourage....

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko Have Redefined the Imperial Family Kevin Y. Kawamoto Special to The Hawai‘i Herald After the last of their three visits in the 1960s, Akihito and Michiko did not visit Hawai‘i again for 27 years. When they did return again, much had changed in their lives. By 1994, they had raised....

Fifty years ago, all of Hawai‘i state government’s elected big shots — from then-Gov. John Burns and his lieutenant governor, Tom Gill, to state senators and representatives — closed their ‘Iolani Palace offices and walked across what was then Hotel Street to America’s newest state capitol building. As they walked into Hawai‘i’s political and governmental....

Dance Sensei Shares Memories of Kennedy Theatre’s First Kabuki Performance Jodie Chiemi Ching The last time Hawai‘i residents were treated to an authentic kabuki performance from Japan was half a century ago, in December of 1963. So, fans of the centuries-old theatre art are probably counting down the days until March 2 when kabuki returns....

Exhibit Celebrates 150th Anniversary of the Meiji Restoration and Immigration to Hawai‘i Wayne Muromoto Commentary Special to The Hawai‘i Herald In the “I Ching,” there is a popular canard, or myth: In crisis or change, there is opportunity. This is based on a false and superficial reading of the Chinese characters, or hanji (in Japanese:....

Visitors to the Hawai‘i State Library in downtown Honolulu are now greeted by the newly installed monument honoring the late Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first woman of color — and the first Asian American woman — to serve in the United States Congress. The Maui-born lawmaker’s decades in public service won her accolades as a....

Jodie Chiemi Ching Neatly displayed in the home of Hozen “Lefty” Shimabuku are precious mementos of the 32 years (1966 to 1998) he worked as a Washington Place groundskeeper, serving four Hawai‘i governors — John A. Burns, George R. Ariyoshi, John D. Waihe‘e III and Benjamin J. Cayetano. That’s a lot of memories. But the....

Susan Nunes Published with Permission Sketches by Ryo Shinoda Editor’s note: In observance of Veterans Day, we are pleased to share with you this excerpt from writer Susan Nunes’ short story, “Biffontaine.” It is part of her collection of short stories titled “Paradise Café: A Family Memoir in Stories.” Nunes is a Hilo native who....