Maui Gannenmono – A Maui Descendant Celebrates Her Gannenmono Roots
Maui Became Home for Several Gannenmono Melissa Tanji Special to the Hawai‘i Herald Editor’s note: The following story is a re-edited version of Maui News reporter Melissa Tanji’s story on Maui’s Gannenmono commemoration, which was published in the newspaper’s April 29, 2018, edition. Special mahalo to Melissa and Maui News managing editor Lee Imada for....
Gannenmono Symposium – Michael Chun, PH.D.
"Two Cultures, One People" Michael Chun, Ph.D. Published with Permission Aloha mai käkou! Being a part of today’s symposium commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Gannenmono’s arrival in Hawai‘i is both a great honor and deeply humbling. Mahalo nui loa. With the arrival of the Gannenmono in Hawai‘i in 1868, a new journey was launched....
Honoring Our Legacy – Leonard Oka
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....
Politics – “The Japanese Vote”
How Significant is “The Japanese Vote?” Richard Borreca Special to The Hawai‘i Herald Asking about ethnic voting in Hawai‘i is like posing the question: “Is it raining in Hawai‘i?” Yes, somewhere in Hawai‘i almost every day, rain is falling and, yes, Hawai‘i voters take ethnicity into consideration when they go to the polls. But it....
Lead Story – Obon: The Graves at Bellows Air Force Station
Rev. Bert Sumikawa Helps Descendants Honor Ancestors at the Bellows Japanese Cemetery Gregg K. Kakesako Special to The Hawai‘i Herald This year, obon — the 500-year-old Japanese Buddhist custom honoring ancestors’ spirits — will deepen Ann Nakata’s connection with her family roots. Just two months ago, 72-year-old Nakata, a retired Kapahulu florist, discovered she had....
The Mystery of History
Dale Minami
Published with Permission
The following is the text of Dale Minami’s keynote speech at Denshö’s 20th anniversary gala in Seattle on Sept. 24. The Herald thanks Dale for allowing us to share his insightful...
Book on “Sugihara Survivors” Published in English
TÖKYÖ — A former official of the Japan National Tourism Organization has released an English-language version of his research on the wartime escape of Jews from Nazi persecution via Japan.
Akira Kitade, 70, published his...
Issei Pioneers – CHIYEKO TAKUSHI: HAWAI‘I’S FIRST WOMAN INSURANCE AGENT
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...
Art + History – Maui Mural Celebrates Nisei Soldier’s Story
Nisei Veterans Memorial Center Telling Their Story Inside and Out Melissa Tanji Special to The Hawai‘i Herald Crisp, colorless images of young American soldiers of Japanese ancestry are coming to life on a concrete canvas on the windswept oceanfront campus of the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center. At the center, situated where the towns of Kahului and Wailuku meet,....
Culture and Arts – Heritage and Aloha at Kimura Lauhala Shop
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,....