History

The Kona Shop Has Been Keeping a Hawaiian Tradition Alive for 105 Years Jodie Chiemi Ching “Put your hands into the soil, it’s good for your soul; you get back to where life begins,” said Renee Kimura, the fourth-generation owner and manager of Kimura Lauhala Shop in Kona. Here, the natural scent of the lauhala,....

Recalling the Early Days of Hawaii's Japanese Cowboys Dan Nakasone Special to The Hawai‘i Herald In 1793, British Captain George Vancouver sailed to the island of Hawai‘i, where he presented King Kamehameha I with a gift of six cows. A year later, five more cows arrived at Kealakekua, courtesy of Vancouver. At that point, Kamehameha....

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....