Hui Okinawa Newsletter OCTOBER 2009 2010 HAARI BOAT FESTIVAL will be held on the long weekend of August 20-21, 2010 at the Wailoa State Park and River so please save the dates! We will need your help again to make President’s it even better than last year’s Festival. We hope to see a Nago City men’s team next year with lots Message more people and a longer stay in Hilo. A once-in-a-life time experience was to be invited to be part of the group to greet the Emperor and Empress of Japan on their visit to the Big Island Summer is not vacation time for Hui Okinawa on July 18th. See the article on this experience. members! You’ll see the articles of activities that have An Andagi Sale was held at the World Heritage been going on. Festival on August 21 at the Mooheau Park for the th The 8 Children’s Cultural Day Camp by Ruby Scholarship fund. Thanks to Nancy Nakaishi’s Maekawa, Director; notice all the volunteers involved hustling, we got it done so efficiently and new in keeping 41 youngsters ranging from age 8 to 12 members to help! In the next booth was the Kobudo years old busy for a full week of fun activities. We Taiko group fi lling orders of pre-sold tickets for their especially thank the Youth Assistants who were the fundraiser. best “teachers”. Many of the adult volunteers have The Japanese Community Association of been with the program for the 8 years including the Hawaii sponsored the annual Ireito Service at the Director, Ruby, and we appreciate their dedication Alae Cemetery. Hui Okinawa presented a bouquet at and perserverance. the beautiful monument on Aug. 23 to remember the Joni Urasaki Waltjen and Roy Hokama did a immigrants who came from Japan. great job putting together the Grads’ Night on June The Hawaii United Okinawa Association 27th. You’ve been reading about the graduates we Festival was held on Sept. 5 & 6 at the Kapiolani Park honored that night. in Honolulu where Kobudo Taiko group performed on On July 21, the Blood Bank of Hawaii Mobile Sunday afternoon as well as Tahiri Ajimine. Several of Blood Drive was hosted by Hui Okinawa and it was continued next page GREAT!!! Read all about how well it went in this Newsletter. Thank you, Diane Kosaki, Toni Sakai- Kawada and Jill Yamamoto for coordinating the What’s Inside Canteen. Regular blood donors KNOW we are hard President’s Message ................................................1 to beat! Hawaii-Okinawa Student Exchange .......................2 Team Chibariyo, our Hui Okinawa Haari Boat Kobuko Taiko Update .............................................3 Team went to Okinawa for the Nago City Mayor’s Team Chibariyo ................................................4 & 5 Cup Haari Boat Race and had a wonderful time. A Blood Bank Project ..........................................6 & 7 full entourage of people including Team Chibariyo, Up Close: Emperor and Empress ............................7 entertainers, the Hookanipila Ukulele group led by Fundraising for Scholarship ....................................8 Japanese Culture Day .......................................8 & 9 B.J. Soriano, the Taira & Tokuuke clans and many Who Are They?? ...................................................10 other Hui Okinawa members and friends were treated Outstanding Graduate ...........................................11 royally by Nago City’s Mayor Shimabukuro who Membership News ................................................11 brought the very cheery all-girl team last year to our Calendar of Events ................................................12 Haari Boat Festival. OCTOBER 2009 HUI OKINAWA NEWSLETTER Page 2 President’s Message HAWAII-OKINAWA Continued from page 1 STUDENT EXCHANGE our members helped at the Craft Tent. We are indeed PROGRAM fortunate to have members willing to share their talents and time to support this big HUOA event as we are Melanie Matsuda, a Senior from Kohala High benefactors as part of the umbrella organization. School was selected to participate in the Hawaii- Okinawa Student Exchange Program which was es- Grandparents’ Day Picnic on Sept. 13 at the tablished by the State Legislature and the Department Wailoa State Park was fi lled with lots of activity for of Education (DOE) in 1990. This program gives young and older and lots and lots of great food! students opportunity to learn fi rst hand about other Hui Okinawa golfers won the Japanese cultures and to sustain good relationships between Community Association’s Kenjinkai Golf Tournament foreign countries and the State of HI. on Sept. 16 at Hilo Muni. Great playing by Tom Higa and Bob Fujimori helped the others, Yasu Melanie stayed with a host family from June 12 th Kuwaye,Russell Kuwaye, Iris Kuwaye-Tamanaha, – 27 and attended Naha Nishi High School. Hawaii Stan Toyama and Edgar Torigoe to be the winning students had 3 mandatory sessions to prepare them for team. this trip. Melanie enjoyed the experience of attending a school from a different culture, trying new foods, Bonenkai on Oct. 18 at Aunty Sally’s Luau learning the history of Okinawa, and meeting new Hale promises to be a full event with lots of good food again as well as a full program including the friends. The hospitality of the Okinawan people was announcing of award winners, election of the Board the same as in Hawaii. This was a one in a lifetime of Directors and entertainment. Nancy Nagamine is opportunity and she made the best of it. Melanie plans chairing the event. on going again in 2011 for the big Okinawa Festival. “I would suggest anyone who is interested in going to This is a plea for “new faces” for planning and a foreign country to go through this program because implementing our numerous events. The Nominating the people you meet are so nice and it opens your eyes Committee has been busy trying to get new people to up to new opportunities”. Melanie is the daughter of serve as Directors. We have been very fortunate to have hard working people who are willing to put the Ted and Kathy Matsuda. time and energy for all that Hui Okinawa does. If it were not for them, we would not be able to do as much as we do. We are grateful for all the “new” people who are being involved. If you have any suggestions for how we might involve you and be a better organization involving even more members, please call me. Your input is needed! Thank you all for making Hui Okinawa a vibrant, active club! Margaret Torigoe – phone 895-0994 or email at [email protected] Melanie (2nd from right) with her new friends from Okinawa. OCTOBER 2009 HUI OKINAWA NEWSLETTER Page 3 KOBUDO TAIKO UPDATE by Patsy Y. Iwasaki Hui Okinawa Kobudo Taiko has been cookies and souvenirs from Okinawa to those who extremely busy promoting and performing the art of answered correctly. Okinawan taiko at a number of community events and 27th Annual Okinawan Festival- celebrations: The group was invited by HUOA to perform at the 50th Statehood Celebration Okinawan Festival once again at Kapiolani Park in The group was invited to perform at the Hawaii Honolulu on September 6, 2009. Ryukyu Kobudo County's 50 Years of Statehood Celebration at the Taiko-Hawaii Shibu joined us to perform five Civic Auditorium on August 14, 2009. The taiko group numbers- Korekara, Ashibinaa, Nami, Yatai and accompanied "Tadashi" at the opening of the event in Yakudo. Many hours of practice, sweat and hard two short numbers. Hui Okinawa Kobudo Taiko then work went into this performance, which was came on later in the evening to perform three numbers- rewarded by many compliments and appreciation Nami, Korekara/Yatai and Yakudo. Members received from the audience. Sensei Calvin Nakama was also many compliments from the audience, including pleased with our performance. Many thanks go out Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi. to Ryukyu Kobudo Taiko for all of their assistance when Hui Okinawa Kobudo Taiko was on Oahu Okinawan Soba Fundraiser- and also to Aloha Air Cargo for shipping the drums. Preparation for the Okinawan Soba Fundraiser began The group wouldn't have been able to pull off at Hilo Lanes Diner on the Friday night before the the performance at Kapiolani Park without them. festival with permission by the Kawamoto family. The fundraiser took place at Mooheau Park at the World Heritage Festival on Saturday, August 15, 2009. Approximately 365 tickets were pre sold for pick and the delicious soba was sold out before 3 p.m. Many thanks go out to all of the members, parents, family members, friends and everyone who helped make the soba fundraiser a success. Taiko Demonstration at the World Heritage Festival- Preston Chibana, Kristen Murota, Kodie Ishikawa and Troy Sakihara presented a 45-minute taiko presentation/demonstration at the World Heritage Festival at Mooheau Park on August 15, 2009 at the same time the soba fundraiser was going on. Troy gave a brief talk on the history of taiko and some background on the group and our style of taiko. He also explained the drums and instruments that were used as well as the types of clothing/uniforms worn. A short performance on Nami, Yatai and Yakudo, performed by the four members, followed the demonstration. Then several eager and enthusiastic audience members were encouraged to participate by playing the drums on stage. Troy ended the presentation by giving a pop quiz on Okinawan taiko and passed out candies, OCTOBER 2009 HUI OKINAWA NEWSLETTER Page 4 TEAM CHIBARIYO UPDATE by Patti Taira-Tokuuke Well over a year ago, the idea came up to take boats in 1990. He told us he had never been on an a team of young Hui Okinawa members to Okinawa airplane prior to his trip to Hilo. Mr. Oshiro takes care to paddle in Nago City and now the team has gone of training haari steersman for the Nago City races.