Business cards, flyers, invitations and more! Contact printshop.stripes.com 042-552-2510 (extension77315) 227-7315 VOLUME 13 NO. 47 NOVEMBER 14 − NOVEMBER 20, 2019 SUBMIT STORIES TO: [email protected] STRIPESOKINAWA.COM FACEBOOK.COM/STRIPESPACIFIC FREE INSIDE INFO KUDAKA SPECIAL DELIVERY ISLAND ON OKINAWA PAGE 2 Another of Okinawa’s ‘Islands of God’ Pages 4-5 WHAT IS JAPAN’S THANKSGIVING? PAGE 3 PAGE 7 LIKE US ON FACEBOOK Photo by Shoji Kudaka, Stripes Okinawa Sumo coming to Okinawa FACEBOOK.COM/STRIPESPACIFIC Page 6 Special 8-page pullout inside! Photo courtesy of Grand Sumo Tournament Okinawa Planning Committee 2 STRIPES OKINAWA A STARS AND STRIPES COMMUNITY PUBLICATION NOVEMBER 14 − NOVEMBER 20, 2019 SPECIAL DELIVERY Max D. Lederer Jr. USO Pacific showers moms with love Publisher Lt. Col. Richard E. McClintic BY MARCIE SMITH WEST, Commander USO PACIFIC AN’S THA Joshua M Lashbrook JAP NKS Chief of Staff T IS GIV hile military moms are A I Chris Verigan H NG Engagement Director used to being away W ? Marie Woods from their support sys- Publishing and Media Design Director W tem, families in Guam, Japan, Chris Carlson Publishing and Media Design Manager and South Korea face a unique Eric Lee set of challenges. In some cases, Advertising and Circulation Manager that support system may be on Scott Wheeler a completely opposite schedule. Okinawa Area Manager Modern technology allows for Kentaro Shimura calls around the globe but cannot Production Manager compensate for the time differ- Rie Miyoshi Engagement Manager ence. Special Delivery exists to help military moms Denisse Rauda Heidi Murkoff, the author of connect. At every stop in the tour, moms shared Publishing and Media Design Editor the “What to Expect when you phone numbers and answered questions for one Publishing and Media Design Writers are Expecting” series was ap- another during the question and answers sessions ChiHon Kim proached to see if she would do- with Heidi. The partnership between the USO, What Shoji Kudaka to Expect, and Target provides a unique opportunity Takahiro Takiguchi nate copies of her book for a baby Kerri Needle, Heidi and Erik Murkoff celebrate military moms for families in the Pacific. In 2019, USO Pacific Areas Layout Designers shower in the States and decided at the first Special Delivery in 2013 on Okinawa. delivered a total of eight mom showers, four dad Yukiyo Oda showers, and four reunions during the tour. Over Yuko Okazaki to deliver the books in person. Photo courtesy of USO Pacific Kayoko Shimoda “The Murkoffs had so much fun 621 moms, 88 dads, and 155 family members participated in this year’s programs. To learn more Multimedia Consultants that they wanted to make this a about programs in the Pacific, visit: pacific.uso.org Max Genao Doug Johnson regular thing and met with the Brian Jones Jason Lee Hans Simpson Chae Pang Yi DoD, who recommend they part- the same stage of life. Since then, tour headed to Guam and MCAS military dads and other co par- Gianni Youn Robert Zuckerman ner with the USO. In consulation the Special Delivery Tour has Iwakuni on mainland Japan af- ents to be.” For the first time in Graphic Designers with the Department of Defense, traveled annually throughout ter. Kenichi Ogasawara Yosuke Tsuji the program, the wives of two three locations were chosen for the USO Indo-Pacific Region en- The tour then went on to Yo- Sales Support pregnant moms attended the dad Kazumi Hasegawa Hiromi Isa the first showers: Fort Carson gaging Moms in Hawaii, Guam, kota Air Base where a new team Ichiro Katayanagi Yoko Noro Colorado, Fort Campbell Ken- Japan, Okinawa and Korea. The at the USO was ready for the shower. Yusuke Sato Chae Yon Son With the growth at Camp Saori Tamanaha Toshie Yoshimizu tucky, and Okinawa, Japan. 2019 Pacific tour was no excep- year’s third Mom Shower. Special Deivery held its inau- tion. The Murkoffs left mainland Humphreys and the opening of gural overseas shower in 2013 In September, USO Hawaii Japan just in time to miss Su- the new hospital, it only made For feedback and inquiries, on Kadena Air Base. The goal of was the first to host Heidi and per Typhoon Hagibis and return contact [email protected] sense to host the last mom show- the program has been the same the Special Delivery Tour at to where the program began in er with the team at USO Hum- To place an ad, call DSN 645-7419 since its inception seven years Schofield Barracks and Marine Okinawa. The Dad Shower has stripesokinawa.com/contact ago: to connect moms to others at Corps Base Hawaii. Then the always been promoted as “for phreys in South Korea. NOVEMBER 14 − NOVEMBER 20, 2019 A STARS AND STRIPES COMMUNITY PUBLICATION STRIPES OKINAWA 3 AT IS JAPAN’S THANKSGIVIN H In Japan, it’s not quite as fes- G WBY HASHI, ? tive, but still very much a nation- TOFUGU.COM some heated conversations with al holiday. Most businesses are your relatives during Thanks- HOW IS JAPANESE still open on Labor Thanksgiving K, obviously Japan THANKSGIVING Day, but government services giving in the US (will some- doesn’t celebrate the are closed down. There are little body tell my same Thanksgiving that THE SAME? O celebrations all over the country, uncle that the we do in America; America’s but none with the spectacle of election is Thanksgiving is a cornucopia- the celebrations in the US. over?!), it’s filled holiday with a lot of tradi- generally tions unique to the good ol’ US BEING THANKFUL Both American and Japanese a pretty of A. Thanksgiving days obviously, fo- – but in Japan, it’s a lot more spe- apolitical But even though Japan doesn’t cus on giving thanks. In America, cific. holiday. It’s have Thanksgiving the same way it’s more about giving thanks in In Japan, Labor Thanksgiving pretty hard we understand it in the US, Japan HOW IS JAPANESE an abstract sense – giving thanks Day is about being thankful for to politicize big still has a Thanksgiving holiday THANKSGIVING for the things that have happened workers who do their job and do meals and families right around the same time. It’s to you, the people in your life, etc. it well. Sometimes you literally DIFFERENT? getting together. called kinrōkanshahi, or Labor thank those people — school kids Now Labor Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Day, and it’s a na- sometimes make thank you cards tional holiday. Day isn’t an explicitly politi- and gifts for municipal workers It has the same roots as cal holiday, but it definitely has like police, firefighters, and hos- Thanksgiving here in the US – it NO TURKEY political implications. Labor or- pital workers. was once a fall harvest festival, Sorry Japanese people, but ganizations across the country but has since changed in mean- you don’t get enormous, heart- take the opportunity ing. Nowadays, Labor Thanksgiv- NATIONAL HOLIDAY attack inducing feasts to have a conversa- ing Day is a holiday celebrating In both countries, Thanksgiv- the way us Americans TOFUGU.COM tion about the accom- workers in Japan. ing Day is a national holiday. In do. On the plus side, plishments of the labor move- How can you compare Ameri- the US, the president “pardons” turkeys needn’t fear the an- ment, workers’ rights, etc. can Thanksgiving Day and Japa- a turkey, there’s a huge parade in nual genocide they face here in So whether you’re celebrat- nese Labor Thanksgiving Day? New York City, a lot of businesses the US. ing Thanksgiving Day in the US What’s the same and what’s dif- are closed, and government ser- POLITICAL HOLIDAY or Labor Thanksgiving Day in ferent? Let’s take a look: File photos vices are mostly shut down. While you might get into Japan, have a good holiday! Stripes Okinawa is A Stars and Stripes Community Publication. This newspaper is authorized locations where overseas DOD personnel are located. The appearance of advertising in for publication by the Department of Defense for members of the military services overseas. this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement of However, the contents of Stripes Okinawa are unofficial, and are not to be considered as the those products by the Department of Defense or Stars and Stripes. Products or services official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, including the Department of Defense advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use, or patronage or the U.S. Pacific Command. As a DOD newspaper, Stripes Okinawa may be distributed without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical through official channels and use appropriated funds for distribution to remote and isolated handicap, political affiliation, or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user, or patron. 4 STRIPES OKINAWA A STARS AND STRIPES COMMUNITY PUBLICATION NOVEMBER 14 − NOVEMBER 20, 2019 KUDAKA ISLAND Another of Okinawa’s ‘Islands of God’ STORY AND PHOTOS BY SHOJI KUDAKA, STRIPES OKINAWA Upuratu n Okinawa, sacred sites can be found on many of its 160 islands. Each remote island likely has its own I set of legends and mythology attached, while fur- ther stretching the concept of “Islands of Gods.” Kudaka Island, about three miles off the southeast- ern coast of the main island, is one of these places re- vered for its sacredness and untouched landscape. To be precise, it is recognized as the most sacred among all the islands. You may have noticed this small island in the dis- tance while visiting Sefa Utaki, a prominnt sacred site on the main land.