Walter Tamashiro, the king of seafood, dies

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Legend has it that residents in Kalihi-Palama saw a bunch of Samoan crabs running wildly down King and Palama streets many years ago. Rather than panic or scoop up the large crustaceans for their own pots, they caught the wayward crabs and returned them to Tamashiro Market.

Walter Tamashiro was not afraid to try new things, his son Cyrus Tamashiro said. Family photo

Tamashiro, a pioneer in the seafood business who turned a mom-and-pop store into a Hawai'i landmark, died Thursday in Honolulu. He was 72.

Tamashiro was one of a few business owners in the early 1960s who sold fresh and live seafood.

But because he was new at the business, he didn't quite know how to keep many of the live creatures.

"He didn't tie them very well, so they got loose and ran down the street, underneath the neighbors' houses and under the buses," said his son, Cyrus Tamashiro. "That's how he learned how to tie crabs a little better — they ended up chasing them down and the neighbors came and retrieved them."

Cyrus Tamashiro gave the crab incident as an example of how his father would try new things.

Tamashiro Market was one of the first retailers to import live Maine lobsters, and Kona and Dungeness crabs. The store also featured an expanded poke section, which has become common in many fresh fish stores.

Tamashiro Market didn't start out as a seafood operation. Walter's parents, Chogen and Yoshiko Tamashiro, opened the original grocery store in Hilo, where Walter was born.

The 1946 tsunami wiped out the family store, and Chogen Tamashiro decided to move the family to Honolulu in 1947. The Tamashiros set up a new store at North King and Palama streets, where it operated as a typical mom-and-pop grocery.

When Chogen Tamashiro's health began to fail, Walter took over the store in 1954. The only other employees beside himself were his wife, Louise, mother and one worker.

Walter Tamashiro wasn't satisfied with just a grocery store, so he looked at what his customers wanted, which was fresh seafood.

"He just saw a niche that wasn't being filled, and he realized that his customers loved fish," Cyrus Tamashiro said. "He focused on quality seafood and variety."

The business began slowly, and Tamashiro was lucky to sell a few pieces of opelu and half an aku, his son said. But Tamashiro Market grew in popularity, and the store, with its pink building and famous crab sign, would become a regular stop for residents and visitors.

"His approach to business was building relationships and trust," Cyrus Tamashiro said. "His relationships usually developed into friendships, and quite often they lasted a lifetime. He had a lot of friends and was very well liked."

One of the market's early employees was Hari Kojima, who began as a part-time clerk when he was in high school, more than 40 years ago. Kojima often demonstrated the art of fish cleaning for customers and made guest appearances on the "Let's Go Fishing" television show.

Kojima eventually became host of the show and later "Hari's Kitchen." He was delivering newspapers when Tamashiro asked his mother for permission to hire him, he said yesterday.

Kojima described Tamashiro as a father figure.

"There were many occasions when I was on the clock, he would take me on the side and talk about different things — not necessarily business, just talk," Kojima said.

"I would feel guilty because I was getting paid. But (he wanted to) teach you something. It didn't have to be about business — and that was a really neat part of him."

Pat Arakaki has known Tamashiro for more than 50 years. The chief executive officer of Hawaiian Candies & Nuts said he admired Tamashiro, who started his career as a pig farmer.

"He learned the business the hard way," Arakaki said. "He wasn't a fisherman. But he made it a go, and as you know Tamashiro Market became famous in Hawai'i. Even on the Mainland they know Tamashiro Market."

Entertainer Danny Kaleikini, a longtime friend of Walter Tamashiro, called him "truly Hawaiian."

"He would always support no matter what thing I got involved with that had to do with the people of Hawai'i, and I thank him for all the support," Kaleikini said. "He will be truly missed."

Besides his wife and son Cyrus, Tamashiro is survived by sons Guy and Sean; five grandchildren; mother, Iris Yoshiko; and sisters, Ellen Konishi and Loraine Tamashiro.

Visitation will be from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Hosoi Garden Mortuary, with services at 4 p.m.