Connecting through culture
by Michelle Orian-Lau | June 16, 2021
Control Center Superintendent Robert Kaneshiro has been involved in Okinawan cultural events since he was a kid. Back then, his parents didn’t give him a choice about participating in activities. These days, Robert is volunteering his time as a leader in Hilo’s Okinawan community and has been working to preserve the culture for future generations.
“It goes back to Okinawan culture,” said Robert. “There is always a connection to your ancestors. Everything that you are is thanks to their sacrifices, and we are a reflection of them. I want to share that connection with my daughter.”
As president of Hui Okinawa, an Okinawan cultural group in Hilo whose purpose is to promote, preserve and perpetuate the Okinawan culture, Robert represented the organization at Hawaii Island Mayor Mitch Roth’s sister city reaffirmation between Hilo and Nago City, Okinawa at a ceremony on May 10.
The relationship between the two cities started 35 years ago, when Nago City Mayor Yutoku Toguchi reached out to James Arakaki, local businessman and president of Hui Okinawa. With the help of Councilmember Stephen Yamashiro and the support of then- Mayor Dante Carpenter, the sister city union was formed in 1986.
On the surface, Nago City and Hilo have a lot in common. They both have tropical climates and sandy beaches. Hawaii has menehune. Okinawa has kijimuna (wood spirits). Robert said they both have a laid-back style — unlike large cities like Tokyo or Los Angeles. But he has learned that the similarities go even deeper.
“I think it’s been a really good cultural exchange,” he said. “We’re not alone. Other people have similar struggles. And it’s nice to see people ban together to solve issues. Learn from one another. The Okinawan language is slowly dying out. With the Hawaiian language making a reemergence, Okinawans are very interested in that and how to get the language renormalized.”
As part of the partnership, Hilo has been hosting students through the Nago City Junior High School Study Abroad Program. Robert’s involvement with the exchange program started in 2012 when he hosted two students who stayed with his family for three weekends during the summer. The students spend the rest of their week staying at a hotel and attending classes taught by local volunteer teachers.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Robert. “The first year, the students were the same age as my daughter at the time. When I took my daughter to Okinawa in 2016, she forgot to reach out before leaving Hilo but one of the girls saw my daughter was in Okinawa and made a point to meet up with her. Several students still reach out and send us letters — and keep in contact with my daughter through social media.”
Back in 1990, Nago City gifted Hilo three sabani boats (traditional wooden fishing boats)by master boat builder Renichi Oshiro. That August, Hilo held the state’s first Haari Festival at Wailoa River State Park. The Haari (or Harii) festival was traditionally held in Okinawa to thank the sea gods for the continued safety of the fishermen and for bountiful harvests. Today, thanks to Nago City’s gift, our local community can also enjoy the Haari festivities.
The races include teams from the many Okinawan clubs statewide, and even from Okinawa, in addition to many local organizations. Robert said that local political candidates usually enter teams, including the mayoral candidates. “We’d joke that the race would predict the election results.” Held every other year, the Haari Festival was canceled in 2018 since Wailoa River State Park had been closed for renovations. But Robert said Hui Okinawa is working to restart races in 2022.
He started his term as Hui Okinawa president last year but continued another year because of the pandemic. His involvement in the group ramped up in 2014. Since then he started playing the sanshin, an Okinawan three-stringed instrument.
“It really connects me back to my ancestors. I have my grandfather’s sanshin. Sadly, I think I sound the same as when I first started. But it’s given me greater appreciation,” said Robert, who grew up listening to his mom’s records of Okinawan music. His daughter, Akemi, now 22 years old, also plays the sanshin and even serves on the Hui Okinawa board.
Okinawa and Hawaii also share similarities in their commitments to renewable energy. On May 24, Robert was one of several Hawaiian Electric representatives who viewed the virtual signing of the state’s extension of its Clean Energy Memorandum of Cooperation with Okinawa. The memorandum notes the commitment of each place to pursuing mutually beneficial research and development cooperation on clean energy technologies to promote energy security and climate change solutions.
Robert has been to Okinawa eight times and plans to return next year for the Uchinanchu Taikai, a festival that welcomes back Okinawans from around the globe. “In Okinawa, when you say you are from Hawaii, they are already drawn to you. You don’t know the person, but you immediately form a connection. There is a phrase, ‘ichariba chode,’ which means, ‘though we meet but once, even by chance, we’re friends for life.’ It’s a nice place. Hawaii is a nice place. To have that connection is really incredible.”
Michelle Orian-Lau is a senior communications consultant at Hawaiian Electric Company.
