Okinawan heritage takes center stage
By Jessica Webster
Advertiser Staff Writer
The sounds of Okinawa echoed in Honolulu Hale last night as musicians and dancers shared their talents before a capacity crowd.
Kyle Sackowski • The Honolulu Advertiser
The Okinawan celebration was the second festival in the year-long Hawai'i Ethnic Heritage Series, presented by the city.
Katsuko Miyamoto of Tamagusuku Senju-Kai gets a pre-performance back rub from troupe's aide Junko Bise.
The highlight of the evening was arguably the Ryukyu Kobudo Taiko Hawai'i-Shibu, a group of young performers who mix dance, drumming, martial arts and singing in their performance art.
"The stage was kind of small and we almost fell off ... but everybody did as best as they can," said 11-year-old Lance Namihira.
The members wore traditional martial arts outfits with the boys in black tabi and the girls in white. They carried bachi sticks and performed on taiko drums.
"It's fun. We work hard and practice a lot, sometimes two hours a week," said 11-year-old Kimberly Okaneku. "This shows a lot of our Okinawan heritage."
Another young musical performer, 10-year-old Tori Eguchi, played the sanshin, a stringed instrument.
"I like being part of this and playing for people," she said, making music for a crowd of 500.
Outside of the performance, people grabbed chilled bottles of water to offset the sweltering temperature inside City Hall, but they also had the chance to indulge in some andagi, the Okinawan doughnut.
"Yes, it's like the Okinawan (version of) malassada, but better," said Corporation Counsel Dave Arakawa.
Arakawa is part of the Hawai'i United Okinawa Association, led by Karen Shishido. The organization has more than 45,000 members in 52 clubs and raises money for college scholarships for students of Okinawan heritage.
Also at the festival was the Hui O Laulima, an Okinawan women's service club. They were promoting their Okinawan cookbook with secrets to dishes such as tibichi and namashi. The compilation is one of the few Okinawan cookbooks in English.
Admission is free to all of the city's festivals in the series. The next two festivals will be a Hispanic festival on Sept. 22 and Korean festival on Oct. 5.
