Category Archives: History

‘Please remember that Okinawa’s memorial day is on June 23rd’

Posted on June 4, 2015 by loochoo77

This reminder is from Hachiro on 3 June 2015. The following text and photos are from Wikipedia: “Okinawa Memorial Day (慰霊の日 Irei no Hi?, lit. “the day to console the dead”) is a public holiday observed in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture … Continue reading →

Posted in Battle of Okinawa, History, International, World War II | Leave a comment

70th Anniversary of Battle of Okinawa: OAA June 2015

Posted on May 25, 2015 by loochoo77
Posted in Battle of Okinawa, History, International, Lecture, Memorial | 1 Comment

Taira Village Orphanage and Uncle Hoichi

Posted on May 4, 2015 by loochoo77

Below is an old photograph of Hoichi and his dad, Hoyei Inafuku, among a group of Okinawan men. Hoichi is the young man in the middle sitting on the floor. His father, Hoyei, my grandfather, is sitting on the chair … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Haneji, Hawaii, History, International, Kauai, World War II | 1 Comment

Baker and Shimabukuro: Two Views of WWII

Posted on April 30, 2015 by loochoo77

Excerpts from Eric Talmadge’s “Iwo Jima Vet, Okinawa Survivor Wrestle with WWII Legacy,” Japan Times, 21 Apr. 2015: In Norman Baker’s mind, the Japanese were fanatical, brutal animals with no respect for life. To Yoshiko Shimabukuro, Americans were long-nosed demons … Continue reading →

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The Overriding Emotion of Okinawans in WWII Was Patriotism

Posted on April 8, 2015 by loochoo77

On 1 June 2015, the contents of this article were combined with an article originally published a day earlier on 7 Apr. 2015. See the expanded article, “The Romantic View of Okinawans as Pacifists.” -JS

Posted in Battle of Okinawa, History, International, Op-ed, Review | Leave a comment

The Romantic View of Okinawans as Pacifists

Posted on April 7, 2015 by loochoo77

Expanded 6/1/151 Stephen Mansfield’s article, “Okinawa: In the Crosshairs of War” (Japan Times, 4 Apr. 2015), is troubling in the sense that it perpetuates a romantic myth about Okinawans that is repeatedly used for propaganda. For example, he claims that … Continue reading →

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‘The Okinawan Koto Tradition in Hilo, Hawaii’ 4/10/15

Posted on March 15, 2015 by loochoo77

Updated 4/7/15 Center for Okinawan Studies Monthly Lecture Series Presents: “From ‘Tachiutushi’ to ‘Old Macdonald’: The Okinawan Koto Tradition in Hilo, Hawaii” The presentation discusses Okinawan cultural continuity in the diaspora as well as the So-shin Kai Midori and efforts … Continue reading →

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US Olympian with Roots in Haneji, Okinawa

Posted on March 15, 2015 by loochoo77

Yoshinobu (Yoshi) Oyakawa represented the United States at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helinski, Finland. There, he won the gold medal in the 100 meter backstroke setting a new record in the process. Yoshi is considered the last of the great … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, History, Images, International, Sports | Leave a comment

An A’ala Street Story

Posted on February 23, 2015 by loochoo77

Gladys Sui Bun Young, my mother, was born on November 28, 1917, at home at 1071 A’ala Street bordering A’ala Park and across the river from Chinatown. Gladys was one of six girls born into the Young family. In their … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Culture, History, Images, International | 3 Comments

Marathon, Miss Okinawa, Sogo Hospital, Nakasone Endowment, AmerAsian School, Karate & China

Posted on February 13, 2015 by loochoo77

Sunday’s Okinawa Marathon is a wide open event, as more than 11,000 runners toe the Okinawa City starting line for the kick off of the 26.2-mile event…. The Okinawa Marathon begins at Awase, then carries runners through Takahara, near Koza, … Continue reading →

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OAA Hosting Screening of Chie Mikami’s ‘The Targeted Village’ 2/28/15

Posted on February 13, 2015 by loochoo77
Posted in Announcement, Culture, Film, History, International, Politics | Leave a comment

Boxing: Fatalities in Hawaii, December 7, 1941

Posted on February 13, 2015 by loochoo77

[Note: This article, “Boxing: Fatalities in Hawaii, December 7, 1941,” by Joseph R. Svinth, was first published in Journal of Combative Sport, December 2000. It is republished here with Mr. Svinth’s kind permission. -editor] Contributors: Newspaper and archival research: Patrick … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, History, International, Sports | 1 Comment

‘Continuity & Change in Shuri-Style Kumiwudui’ 2/15/15

Posted on February 13, 2015 by loochoo77

If you’re free this Sunday, you might want to see this — IT’S FREE! Center for Okinawan Studies School of Pacific and Asian Studies University of Hawai’i at Manoa 1890 East-West Road, Moore Hall 316 Honolulu, HI 96822-2318 Webpage:  http://manoa.hawaii.edu/okinawa … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcement, Culture, Dance, History, International, Lecture | Leave a comment

Karate Pioneer Kentsu Yabu, 1866-1937

Posted on February 10, 2015 by loochoo77

Updated 2/13/15 [Note: This article, “Karate Pioneer Kentsu Yabu, 1866-1937,” by Joseph R. Svinth, was first published in Journal of Combative Sport, June 2003. It is republished here with Mr. Svinth’s kind permission. -editor] By Joseph R. Svinth Acknowledgments: An … Continue reading →

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Uncle Hoso: A Hero and a Loving Father

Posted on February 6, 2015 by loochoo77

For many years when I was at my Aunty Annie’s (dad’s twin sister) apartment across from Punahou School and went to the bathroom, I used to pass some family pictures that hung on her hallway wall. I would sometimes stop … Continue reading →

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Marines Protecting Orphan – Battle of Okinawa

Posted on January 27, 2015 by loochoo77

Special thanks to Ed for sharing the link to this precious photo of two U.S. Marines, during the Battle of Okinawa, protecting an Okinawan child orphaned by the battle.

Posted in History, Images, International | 4 Comments

Haneji Community Center – Sometime After 1945

Posted on January 27, 2015 by loochoo77

Updated 1/27/15, 23:00 I was told by my cousin, Yasuo Inafuku, who lives in Taira village, Haneji, Okinawa, that the photo below is of the Haneji Community Center, which was located next to Oyakawa village. My dad, Ronald Inefuku, had … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, History, Images, International | 2 Comments

Ishigaki, Akama Athletic Park, Karate, Ssit-kkim-gut, Naminoue, Okinawa Prefectural Museum

Posted on January 4, 2015 by loochoo77

Stephen Mansfield, “Isolation Helps Preserve Ishigaki’s Unique Charm,” Japan Times, 12/27/14 – A different past was evident in the older back streets of the port town, which were like dusty medinas — crooked lanes of salt-eroded cement homes covered in … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Festival, History, International, Karate, Travel | 2 Comments

Hawaii Nisei Okinawans in Itoman for 12/6/14 Symposium on Battle of Okinawa

Posted on December 19, 2014 by loochoo77

Updated 12/26/14 Excerpts from the Ryukyu Shimpo, 12/7/14: “Former US soldiers of Okinawan descent; war destroys all.” “[Yoshinobu Oshiro, 86] who was born and raised in Hawaii, experienced the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. He was enlisted in … Continue reading →

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Battle of Okinawa, Uchinaguchi

Posted on December 17, 2014 by loochoo77

Ryukyu Shimpo, Ota Masahide, Mark Ealey and Alastair McLaughlan, “Descent into Hell: The Battle of Okinawa.”1 The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 12, Issue 47, No. 4, December 1, 2014: “Those who had not been able to take their own lives with … Continue reading →

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2015 Okinawan Festival (Honolulu) – Sep. 5 & 6

Posted on December 2, 2014 by loochoo77

Updated 8/13/15, 9/5/15 Okinawan Festival Hours Saturday, SEPTEMBER 5, 2015 Festival Festivities begin at 9:00 am Most food booths & tents close at 6:00 pm Only select food booths open until 8:00 pm Live Entertainment at Kapiolani Park Bandstand: 9:00 … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcement, Culture, Dance, Exhibit, Fair, Festival, Food, Fundraiser, History, International, Karate, Language, Media, Music, Travel | Leave a comment

Uchinanchu Dispersion in the World (2010?)

Posted on November 17, 2014 by loochoo77
Posted in Culture, History, International, Media | Leave a comment

‘The Legend of Nanga Bozu,’ ‘Ryukyu Kingdom After 1609: Social Classes and Genealogy,’ ‘A Film About the Uchinanchu People’

Posted on November 16, 2014 by loochoo77

Updated 12/3/14 ‘Map It!’ (by Louie) Sep/Oct 2014: The Legend of Nanga Bozu  (10/30/14); The Naha Tug-of-War  (9/29/14). “A Film About the Uchinanchu People” (42 min) from the Secretariat of the 5th World Uchinanchu committee (Okinawaology Blog, 11/7/12). Uploaded to … Continue reading →

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My 3rd Trip to China: The China-Okinawa Connection

Posted on October 28, 2014 by loochoo77

One day in Shanghai, we spent a few hours at the City God Temple shopping center looking around. We had finished a delicious multi-course lunch there in one of the restaurants and were waiting for our bus to come pick … Continue reading →

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Book: ‘Descent into Hell: Civilian Memories of the Battle of Okinawa’

Posted on October 23, 2014 by loochoo77

Source: “Descent into Hell: Civilian Memories of the Battle of Okinawa by New Zealand translators published in US,” Ryukyu Shimpo, 7 Oct. 2014. Descent into Hell: Civilian Memories of the Battle of Okinawa, published by Merwin Asia, is a translation … Continue reading →

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Okinawa’s Elevated Storehouses

Posted on October 12, 2014 by loochoo77

Last updated 10/13/14 One day my Dad made a sketch of Uncle Hoso’s house in Oyakawa Village in Haneji, Okinawa. (See “The Floor Plan of Houses in Old Okinawa.”) On another day he took a notepad and sketched an elevated Okinawan … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, History, International | Leave a comment

1850 British View of ‘Lewchew and the Lewchewans’

Posted on October 11, 2014 by loochoo77

Last updated 10/12/14, 11/29/18 Two and a half years before Commodore Matthew C. Perry arrived, George Smith, the Anglican bishop of Hong Kong, dropped anchor at Naha, Okinawa. The date was 3 October 1850, and Perry wouldn’t arrive until 26 May … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, History, Images, International, Language, Politics | 5 Comments

Public Lecture: ‘Contemporary Life in Okinawa: Living Among and with the Military Bases’ 10/12/14

Posted on October 9, 2014 by loochoo77

Last updated 10/11/14 From Joyce N. Chinen: (Forwarded by Rodney Inefuku) Please join us this Sunday, October 12, at 3:00 pm for the next Center for Okinawan Studies public lecture in Moore 319 at the Center for Korean Studies Auditorium … Continue reading →

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Lawrence Downes – An Uchinanchu on the NY Times Editorial Board

Posted on October 4, 2014 by loochoo77

Last updated 10/5/14 The excerpts below are from Jerry Kammer’s “Sulzberger’s Voice.”1 Kammer, a nationally recognized journalist and a senior research fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, is openly critical of Downes, but he provides essential background on Downes … Continue reading →

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Compact Between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Loo-Choo, ll July 1854

Posted on October 4, 2014 by loochoo77

The text of the compact below is from J. Willett Spalding’s The Japan Expedition: Japan and Around the World: An Account of Three Visits to the Japanese Empire, Redfield, New York, 1855: 339-341 [https://archive.org/details/japanexpedition00spalgoog]. Spalding served aboard the expedition flagship, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Images, International, Politics | 1 Comment