Written by Dennis M. Ogawa, Ph.D., assisted by Claire Marumoto and published by the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i, the book tells Marumoto's life story, which encompassed many key events of 20th century Hawai'i history, ranging from the Massie case (for which he assisted the local attorney on Clarence Darrow's defense team) to the Nisei soldiers' story during World War II and the breaking down of discriminatory barriers for non-Caucasians after the war.

Born in 1906 and raised in Kona and Honolulu, Marumoto graduated from McKinley High School in 1924, and with financial help from the local community, went on to graduate from the University of Chicago and Harvard Law School. He became a pioneering Nisei lawyer in Hawai'i, a leading advocate for statehood, a member of the Emergency Service Committee during World War II, an instructor at the Military Intelligence Service Language School in Minnesota and later a first lieutenant sent to Okinawa in the last months of the war and to Korea in the immediate aftermath of the war, and a territorial, and later, state Supreme Court Justice.

Ogawa — a professor of American studies at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa and also a member of the JCCH board of governors—said the book grew out of an oral history he conducted with Marumoto in the 1970s as well as other sources, and was initiated after Marumoto passed away in 1995 at the age of 89.

"He helped me a lot when I was writing 'Kodomo no tame ni (For the sake of the children): The Japanese American Experience in Hawaii' (published in 1978)," Ogawa said. "And I did an oral history with him that turned out well. We became close friends, and we both ended up often referring to that oral history over the years."

The core of the book is Ogawa's oral history, augmented by material from two other oral histories and Marumoto's writings from various stages of his life. These writings include excerpts from a diary written in 1920 when he was 14, letters written to his wife, Shigeko while she convalesced with tuberculosis on Maui, letters to Shigeko and son Wendell from various parts of the U.S. and Asia while he served in the military during World War II and three pieces he wrote about aspects of Hawai'i and Hawai'i legal history later in his life.

Claire Marumoto, Marumoto's daughter who played a large role in pulling together and preparing material for the project, said, "The book brought many stories my father told over the years into a cohesive whole."

The title of the book comes from the fact that Marumoto was the first Nisei to accomplish many different things in Hawai'i, from being named to the territorial supreme court to being a board member of Waialae Country Club, explained Ogawa.

"He was really first among the Nisei in so many things," Ogawa said. "A lot of people don't understand what that means anymore. We tried to remain faithful to that oral history and to the events the family wanted to tell. I wanted to stay true to what the people themselves thought and said. I leave it to others to interpret."

"First Among Nisei: The Life and Writings of Masaji Marumoto" is part of a series edited by Ogawa through the University of Hawai'i Press series, titled "Extraordinary Lives: The Experience of Hawai'i Nisei." Another JCCH project, a translation of World War II internee Yasutaro Soga's wartime memoirs titled "Life behind Barbed Wire," is also a part of this series. It is scheduled for publication by the University of Hawai'i Press at the end of this year.

Admission is free. Cost of the book is $20 for JCCH members; $25 for non-members (tax included).