Things Japanese in Hawaii

"Things Japanese in Hawaii."

   On the first day that we had class time to explore the Hawaiian Collection at the library, that was one of the first titles that immediately jumped out to me. Although I was initially looking for something related to Japanese culture, the book stood out to me mostly through the fact of how straight forward and bland the title name was. Given that the title did give me an idea of all the information I would get out of the book, I couldn't help but think why they chose the title the way they did; it could have been so much better. But it also piqued my curiosity, mostly because I opened the book thinking I knew everything that was known about Japanese culture in Hawaii-- but I was proven wrong. The book was several decades old and while flipping through the book, there were several social events and activities that I've never come across or have seen happen in recent times, such as the Cherry Blossom Princess pageant. There were even some indigenous Japanese cultural activities (ex. traditional Japanese theater) that were once practiced frequently, but had soon fallen out over the passage of time.
   Having lived in Hawaii for all of my life, as well as being a fifth generation Japanese person, I've never really got the chance to learn a lot about the indigenous Japanese customs that used to have a large presence in Hawaii. Growing up, I never did ask about the origins of these customs, what they meant, or why my family practiced it. But now I find myself asking and wondering. In a way, I also feel like I'm not a "true" Japanese because I don't understand or know of the importance of these traditions. So, for the purpose of this blog, I intend to do research and share stories about my own personal knowledge of Japanese customs that I grew up with, as well as share new information about the old Hawaii-Japanese cultural traditions that have been lost to time, as well as those that still remain prevalent today.