Japan & Hawaii

I have finally started to write a series of photo essays and articles about these two places to which I’m deeply rooted.

Japan and Hawaii seem to have been made for each other–A match made in Heaven. I enjoy and relish the historical and current relationship and affinity between these two “forever friends.”

In 1881, King David Kalakaua visited Japan for 19 days and was befriended by Emperor Meiji. In 1885, Japanese immigrants began to arrive in Hawaii in large numbers. By 1924, over 200,000 Japanese immigrants came. Their descendants reached the highest levels of government and business.

From the 1970s, the second invasion of Japanese came in the form of tourists. Compared to local Japanese-Americans, these authentic Japanese at first looked, well, different.

Then since the 1990s, the hula has became very popular in Japan with both elderly and young women learning how to hula.

To those of us with roots in both Japan and Hawaii, these developments have been nothing short but astounding. With this continuing series of articles and photos, I shall celebrate and honor the Japan-Hawaii connection and my own heritage.

Hokule’a in Yokohama
Hokule’a Canoe Tour

Robert Walker Irwin-Hawaiian Minister to Japan
Ikaho Hawaiian Festival

Hula in Hawaii
Cazimeros in Japan
Making Yokaichi Giant Kite
Taga Taisha Lantern Festival
Yokaichi Giant Kite Festival 2007
Rowing Lake Biwa
Kyoto Gion Matsuri Yoiyama
T. Enami

More articles and photos related to the Japan-and-Hawaii connection will come later.

Also, during Sept. and Oct. 2007, parts of our site (especially NewsZONE and iStore) were not working due to server upgrades causing incompatibility. Sorry for the inconvenience. Everything is working now.