Lead Stories

Remembering the Man Who Lived and Breathed Hawaii Hochi Karleen Chinen Paul Yempuku was the last samurai. At least that’s what I came to conclude over the years. The word “cannot” had no place in his vocabulary. At times, that made it hard to work with him. He could be so pa‘akikï (hardheaded), and even....

Seventy-five Years After Liberation, the French Remain Grateful Gregg K. Kakesako Special to The Hawai‘i Herald As Americans pause this Memorial Day to remember fallen military members from the nation’s current and past wars, residents of two small hamlets in northeastern France will be hard at work finalizing their plans to honor the Japanese American....

A Homesick Hawai‘i Student Find a Home Away From Home in Yokohama Jackie Kojima Special to The Hawai‘i Herald At 86 years of age, Kei Komuro may just be the busiest retiree in Yokohama. Between running his okonomiyaki shop and cooking up the savory Japanese pancake four days a week, swimming laps at a local....

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....

Dan Nakasone Special to The Hawai‘i Herald As a child, I remember seeing a photograph of a young man in what looked like a Japanese uniform next to the butsudan (Buddhist shrine) in my grandparents’ home in Wahiawä, where we lived. When we moved to our own home, the butsudan — and the photograph of....

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....

Hawai‘i’s AJA Flower Growers and Florists Have Kept the Industry Thriving Dan Nakasone Special to The Hawai‘i Herald “An ‘It’ Flower for a Feminist Movement” read the headline of a Nov. 29, 2017, article in the New York Times. The headline was referring to the newest Marc Jacobs Beauty campaign featuring activist-model Adwoa Aboah. In....

Hawai‘i’s Internment Experience Comes to Life in New JCCH Publication Kevin Y. Kawamoto Special to The Hawai‘i Herald Imagine being a young adult in school, learning about American democracy from your teacher, when you are suddenly summoned to the principal’s office and confronted by FBI agents who arrest you on the spot and take you....

Where Did the 20 Years Go? Colin Sewake Hawai‘i Herald Columnist “Okinawa is such a beautiful place, not just the ocean and scenery and culture, but the people. I’ve been treated well and taken care of by many people here in what has become ‘My Hawai‘i.’” — Colin Sewake From zero to 20! That was....

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....