Lead Stories

Waimea Chef Edwin Goto Has Always Helped Others; Now He Needs Our Help Dan Nakasone Special to The Hawai‘i Herald A few months ago, I shared a story about three Hawai‘i Island “community spirits” in The Hawai‘i Herald’s Big Island issue (July 5, 2019). One of the people profiled in the story, Chef Edwin Goto,....

Japan High School Champs Kosei Gakuen Train in Hawai‘i Jill Kuramoto Special to The Hawai‘i Herald “East!” and “Green!” are some of the plays being called from the sidelines at a recent scrimmage at McKinley High School. But while the game of football is being played American-style on the field, the visiting team in the....

Why Family Reunions Matter Dan Nakasone Special to The Hawai‘i Herald When I meet people from Wahiawä for the first time, they usually ask me whether I’m related to so-and-so Nakasone. My answer is usually yes, because virtually all of the Nakasones in Wahiawä are related. Believe me, there’s a lot of us! Longtime Wahiawä....

The Fermented Soybean Has a Fan Club in Hawai‘i! Jackie Kojima Special to The Hawai‘i Herald Eien Hunter-Ishikawa begins each morning with a cup of hot home-roasted coffee, two pieces of homemade toast drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and a most unlikely topping: a heaping scoop of freshly made nattō — yes, those pungent....

A Year for “Safe Risk-Taking” Jodie Chiemi Ching It’s already the middle of 2019! Here at The Hawai‘i Herald, time is flying by so quickly. So much has happened in the local Japanese American community: Hawai‘i was treated to an unforgettable kabuki performance from Japan; the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i and the Hawaii United....

Jane Heit and Tsukikage Odorikai are Helping to Re-energize Big Island Bon Dances Arnold Hiura Special to The Hawai‘i Herald A persistent rain dampened the start of the bon dance at the Honomu Henjoji temple on June 15 — and no amount of prayerful looks at the darkening sky would make it go away. Led....

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....

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....