EDITORIAL
Hawai'i says goodbye to a piece of tradition

Whenever a venerable Hawai'i business closes its doors, we lose a connection with our past.

Another one of those threads will be broken June 26 when Iida's ends a 105-year tradition of purveying Japanese goods in Honolulu.

A store that survived bubonic plague, the Chinatown fire, the World War II internment of its president and several changes of location found rising rents and a slowing business too much.

Customs and tastes change, of course, but there is in all of us a yearning for the cherished traditions of our youth.

Whether shopping for Boy's Day carp flags, dolls, vases or family crests, Iida's provided that link to our traditions.

We wish the Iida family — and their employees — a happy and well-deserved retirement. They will be missed.