'Sei' Serikaku loved the land, church
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
Seisuke "Sei" Serikaku was born on a Kahalu'u farm and rooted in the land that gave so much life. So when developers threatened the lifestyle of his family and neighbors in the 1970s, the Windward farmer became a warrior.
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"He didn't particularly like to lead, but when he spoke, he spoke with tremendous power. His words were like punches," said state Sen. Bob Nakata, a nephew of Serikaku's.
Seisuke Serikaku fought to keep Waiahole and Waiakane rural.
Serikaku, a community leader and member of the Methodist church, died April 3. He was 77.
Serikaku was one of dozens of farmers in Waiahole Valley who faced eviction in the mid-1970s. Developers had targeted the valley and neighboring Waiakane Valley for huge subdivisions and golf courses.
In one of the most-recognized major land battles in Hawai'i since statehood, the community fought the urbanization of their rural neighborhoods. One of the leaders of the Waiahole-Waiakane Community Association was Serikaku.
The group rallied support from throughout the island and held resistance drills to prepare for the eviction. Its motto, "The people united will never be defeated," could be heard throughout both valleys.
In 1977, just days before the farmers were to be evicted, then-Gov. George Ariyoshi announced that the state would buy the land for $6 million and create an agricultural and residential subdivision. It was not until 1998, however, when the families finally received long-term leases from the state.
Throughout the fight, Serikaku remained focused on what was most important to him: the farm and his church. Nakata, a Methodist pastor who also supported the farmers in the land dispute, said Serikaku identified himself with the prophets in the Old Testament.
"(The prophets) tried to call the kings back to being righteous and serve the people rather than oppressing the people. You can see how that fits into the Waiahole-Waiakane struggle," said Nakata, D-23rd (Kane'ohe, Kahuku). "Every so often he would speak and it was most frequently to chastise people for not standing up and fighting for their own rights, or to really chastise those in power for not being righteous."
Serikaku was born in Kahalu'u and attended Waiahole School and Benjamin Parker School. His family grew pineapple, but he would later farm taro, banana, ti leaves and papaya.
"A lot of farmers in those times couldn't be anything else so they farmed. But he was a farmer through and through," Nakata said. "He loved the land, loved the productivity that comes from the land."
Nakata said his uncle was respected not only among the Windward O'ahu farmers, but also in the Methodist church and Okinawan community.
Serikaku is survived by his wife, Ethel; daughters, Leslie Ringuette, Laurie, and Leila Serikaku-Takagi; brothers, Stanley and Katsumi; and grandchildren, Ryan and Kiana Ringuette, and Katherine and Daniel Gilmore.
Services will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Hosoi Garden Mortuary.
