Okinawa

By Gwen Battad Ishikawa Chef Grant Sato’s passion for Okinawan cuisine is evident in the way he talks about it, cooks it and presents it. His reverence and respect for Okinawan cuisine is reflected in...

There’ll be no shortage of delicious food at the Okinawan Festival, including many dishes that are served in Okinawan home kitchens. Spend a day — or both days — at the Festival and make sure you try everything, all of it prepared and served by HUOA volunteers. Andagi: Okinawan deep fried doughnut — a local....

The Okinawan Songbird’s Performance Set for Sunday, Sept. 3 Jodie Chiemi Ching Special to The Hawai‘i Herald The Japanese characters for Rimi Natsukawa’s family name mean “summer river.” How else could you describe the pure and magical flow of Natsukawa’s voice? The songbird whose recording of “Nada Sousou,” the signature tune from the heartbreaking 2006....

ALL-TIME FAVORITES! Pig’s Feet Soup: It’s called ashitibichi in Uchinaaguchi (Okinawan language). Pieces of pig’s feet are cooked in a soup stock and garnished with konbu (seaweed), daikon (turnip), togan (squash) and mustard cabbage and...

Lee A. Tonouchi Special to The Hawai‘i Herald Editor’s note: Next Tuesday, June 23, Okinawa Prefecture will commemorate Irei no Hi — Okinawa Memorial Day. The day is observed in Okinawa only to remember the date...

Okinawan Festival Returning to Kapi‘olani Park Labor Day Weekend After cancelling last year’s Okinawan Festival just days before the signature summer event was set to open, citing safety concerns over an approaching hurricane, the Hawaii United Okinawa Association’s 2,000-plus volunteers will be out in force “Sharing Uchinanchu Aloha” during Labor Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday,....

Okinawan Culture Reflected in Its Food Lynette Lo Tom Special to The Hawai‘i Herald “If you aren’t going to enjoy the fat, then don’t eat rafute,” Grant Murata declares passionately. Rafute is the unctuous braised pork belly that is a signature dish of Okinawa. Not to be confused with the more common and usually leaner....

Saturday's Program | Sunday's Program Cultural Tent | Festival Favorites 9 a.m. KILAUEA OKINAWA DANCE CLUB Toshiko Neumann, Leader 9:15 a.m. NUUANU OKINAWA SHORIN-RYU / SHINDEN-RYU KARATE ASSOCIATION Mitchel Shimamura, Sensei 9:40 a.m. HAWAII OKINAWA CREATIVE ARTS Jon Itomura, President, and Eric Nitta, Vice President 10:10 a.m. HUOA...

This year marks 70 years since seven Okinawan men from Hawai‘i accompanied a shipload of pigs to Okinawa to help provide relief for their war-torn island home following the 1945 Battle of Okinawa. The men transported the 536 Chester Whites that had been purchased in Nebraska to Okinawa in August 1948. In a ceremony in....

The 85th anniversary of Kin Ryosho Sensei’s teaching of the art of Kumiwudui, also known as Kumi Odori, in Hawai‘i — and the 41st anniversary of his teaching dance and Kumiwudui at the University of Hawai‘i will be commemorated with the presentation of a lecture demonstration by two of Kin-Sensei’s former students. The program is....