HAWAII JAPANESE CENTER
440 NANIAKEA ST, HILO, HI 96720 hawaiijapanesecenter.com

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Organizations Filed Purposes: THE CENTER'S MISSION IS TO HONOR THE LEGACY OF JAPANESE IMMIGRANTS TO HAWAI'I BY:-PRESERVING RECORDS AND ARTIFACTS RELATING TO THE HISTORY OF THE JAPANESE IN HAWAI'I.-EDUCATING CURRENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS ABOUT THE STRUGGLES, SACRIFICES AND SUCCESSES OF THEIR IMMIGRANT FOREBEARS.-SERVING AS A BRIDGE TO FOSTER UNDERSTANDING AND COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH BETWEEN HAWAI'I AND JAPAN.-SHARING THE JAPANESE CULTURE THROUGH THE CENTER'S EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES.THE CENTER BELIEVES THAT BY PRESERVING THE PAST, IT CAN SERVE AS A RESOURCE FOR PEOPLE OF ALL BACKGROUNDS TO LEARN ABOUT AND APPRECIATE THE HISTORY OF THE JAPANESE IN HAWAI'I AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT THE IMMIGRANTS MADE TO SOCIETY.

THE HAWAI'I JAPANESE CENTER SERVES AS A BRIDGE FOR DIVERSE GENERATIONS OF THE FUTURE TO UNDERSTAND THE TRIUMPHS AND STRUGGLES OF JAPANESE IMMIGRANTS TO THE ISLAND OF HAWAI'I THROUGH ITS EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES AND ACCESS TO ITS COLLECTIONS OF RESOURCES.

THE HAWAII JAPANESE CENTER (HJC) HOUSES AN EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF ARTIFACTS AND PRINTED MATERIALS RELATING TO THE IMMIGRATION OF JAPANESE TO HAWAII. THE COLLECTION WAS STARTED IN THE 1930S BY KIYOKO OKUBO UNDER THE BANNER OF THE HAWAII SHIMA JAPANESE IMMIGRATION MUSEUM. FOLLOWING HIS PASSING IN 2001, THE NON-PROFIT HJC WAS FORMALLY ESTABLISHED IN 2002 BY SUPPORTERS WHO SOUGHT TO PRESERVE OKUBO'S COLLECTION AND BUILD ON HIS LEGACY. THE CENTER IS LOCATED AT 751 KANOELEHUA AVENUE AND IT INCLUDES AN OFFICE, GIFT SHOP, LIBRARY, CONFERENCE ROOM, GALLERY, STOREHOUSE, ORAL HISTORY STUDIO, EXHIBITION SPACES TOTALING APPROXIMATELY 10,000 SQUARE FEET.THE FACILITY IS USED FOR CULTURAL EVENTS, EDUCATIONAL DISPLAYS, AND PRESERVES THE HISTORICAL MATERIALS IN STORAGE. HJC'S COLLECTIONS PROVIDE THE INSPIRATION FOR THE CENTER'S NEW EXHIBITION, "SEEDS OF LOCAL: JAPANESE AMERICANS IN MULTICULTURAL HAWAII," WHICH IS NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION. THIS EXHIBIT WILL PRESENT THE STORY OF HOW IMMIGRANTS FROM JAPAN AND OTHER COUNTRIES CAME TO SHARE THEIR NATIVE CUSTOMS AND BELIEFS TO FORM THE MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY THAT HAWAII IS NOW KNOW FOR. "SEEDS OF LOCAL" IS ON TRACK TO OPEN BEFORE YEAR'S END, 2020.HJC HAD SEVERAL EVENTS FOR FYE ENDING 10/31/19 INCLUDING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY GANNENMONO PROGRAM, MUSICAL NOSTALGIA AND THE TANABATA EVENT.

THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GANNENMOTO INVOLVED MANY LOCAL JAPANESE ORGANIZATIONS ON OAHU, THE NEIGHBOR ISLANDS AND HJC. WE CELEBRATED AND PROMOTED THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GANNENMONO WITH PROGRAMS TO EDUCATE OUR MEMBERS AND THE COMMUNITY, WHICH STARTED IN JANUARY 2018. THERE WERE FIVE 150TH GANNENMONO EVENTS THAT RAN DURING NOV. 1, 2018THROUGH OCT. 31, 2019. NOVEMBER 18, 2018: ASHIKITA RIFLE CORPS PERFORMANCE AT AFOOK]CHINEN CIVIC AUDITORIUM.ATTENDANCE-APPROX. 400; VOLUNTEERS . APPROX. 30NOVEMBER 26, 2018 MISORA HIBARI FILM CONCERT INTRODUCED BY HIBARIFS SON AT PALACE THEATER.ATTENDANCE-APPROX. 300; VOLUNTEERS . APPROX. 25NOVEMBER 30 TO DECEMBER 21, 2018: NIKKEI LEGACY EXHIBITION, SPEAKER, HONORING LEGACY OF 442ND VETERANS IN WORLD WAR II.ATTENDANCE-APPROX. 200; VOLUNTEERS . 10JANUARY 24, 2019: HOKULEIA JAPAN VOYAGE PRESENTATION AT IMILOAATTENDANCE-APPROX. 200 VOLUNTEERS . NONEFEBRUARY 20, 2019: PAHOA NIKKEI JIN KAI STUDENT ART SHOW, 150TH GANNENMONO THEME.ATTENDANCE-APPROX. 75 VOLUNTEERS . 10

MUSICAL NOSTALGIA 2019 SEPTEMBER 14, 2019ATTENDANCE APPROX. 200; VOLUNTEERS APPROX. 30TANABATA FESTIVAL 2019 JULY 7, 2019 AT IMILOA ASTRONOMY CENTERATTENDANCE APPROX 2,000; VOLUNTEERS FROM HJC 60 (APPROX.)HAWAII JAPANESE CENTER PARTNERED WITH SUBARU TELESCOPE, THE HILO MEISHOIN TSUKIKAGE ODORIKAI, THE JAPANESE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE INDUSTRY OF HAWAII AND 'IMILOA ASTRONOMY CENTER FOR THE TANABATA FESTIVAL. THE ANNUAL TANABATA, OR STAR FESTIVAL, IS CELEBRATED ON JULY 7 IN JAPAN. THIS FESTIVAL TRACES ITS ORIGINS TO A LEGEND THAT THE COW-HERD STAR (ALTAIR) AND WEAVER STAR (VEGA), LOVERS SEPARATED BY THE MILKY WAY, ARE ALLOWED TO MEET JUST ONCE A YEAR -- ON THE SEVENTH DAY OF THE SEVENTH MONTH. THOUGH THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT VERSIONS, THE CORE OF THE STORY REMAINS THE SAME. IT IS BASED ON A CHINESE FOLKTALE TITLED "THE WEAVER GIRL AND THE COWHERD." IN JAPAN, CHILDREN AND ADULTS WRITE THEIR WISHES ON TANZAKU (COLORFUL NARROW STRIPS OF PAPERS) AND HANG THEM ON BAMBOO TREES ALONG WITH OTHER DECORATIONS. THEY THEN PRAY HARD FOR THEIR WISHES TO COME TRUE.THE HAWAII JAPANESE CENTER HAS STAGED A VERY POPULAR TANABATA FESTIVAL AIMED AT THE COMMUNITY FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS. THIS YEAR'S CELEBRATION STARTED WITH A TAIKO DRUM PERFORMANCE FOLLOWED BY THE MAKING OF TANZAKU WISHES, KIMONO FASHION SHOW, PUPPET STORY-TELLING, SOMEN-NAGASHI, CALLIGRAPHY, KOKESHI DOLL MAKING, ORIGAMI, BON DANCE AND A VARIETY OF HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES TO ENJOY. COVETED DOOR PRIZES WERE DISTRIBUTED TO LUCKY WINNERS ATTENDING THE PLANETARIUM PRESENTATIONS.

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