History

Melvin Inamasu and Violet Harada Courtesy: Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i Volunteers with Passion Editor’s note: This bimonthly series, “Honoring the Legacy,” is a partnership between The Hawai‘i Herald and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i. It...

From Issei Entrepreneur to Sansei Business Major, Hirano Store Has a Rich History Patsy Y. Iwasaki Special to The Hawai‘i Herald Buckets of rain had been falling in East Hawai‘i all week long and it looked like it was going to be another soggy and overcast day. But the gloomy weather couldn’t dampen the spirits....

Hamakua Jodo Mission Working to Preserve History  Jodie Chiemi Ching  The Hamakua Jodo Mission, in Pa‘auhau Mauka on Hawai‘i Island, was the first sanctioned Buddhist temple in the state of Hawai‘i. It was built in 1896 at the epicenter of the five sugar plantations on the island, and served the community of Japanese contract laborers.....

Arnold T. Hiura Reprinted from Nov. 1, 1985, Hawai‘i Herald Editor’s note: Had he not died unexpectedly in 1996 at the still-young age of 60, you can be sure that actor Danny Kamekona would have joined his huge ‘ohana at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i earlier this year to commemorate the arrival 150 years....

Creating the Maui Nisei Veterans Memorial Center Melvin Inamasu and Violet Harada Courtesy of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i Persistence and grit are essential attributes of leadership. Leonard Oka possesses both in spades. It took Oka over three decades to realize his vision of a center on Maui to honor Nisei veterans. In the....

How an Issei Okinawan Woman Broke the Glass Ceiling in the 1930s Lynette Teruya Special to The Hawai‘i Herald When 7-year-old Ushi Tamagusuku left Okinawa in 1910, who could have known that she would someday become the...

The Venerable Straw Mat Has Been Utilized for Thousands of Years  Stacy Lee Special to The Hawai‘i Herald Besides slippers, sunscreen and spam musubi, the goza mat is quintessential for a day at the beach here in the islands. Even tourists...

Advocate for Japanese Community Locally and Nationally Melvin Inamasu and Violet Harada Courtesy: Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i Editor’s Note: This bimonthly series represents a partnership between the Herald and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i. It celebrates...