The Japanese Journal of American Studies, No. 23 (2012)

The Emergence of Okinawan Ethnic Identity
in Hawai‘i: Wartime
and Postwar Experiences

Noriko SHIMADA*INTRODUCTION
In People and Cultures of Hawaii: A Psychocultural Profile, an inﬂuential text that has been widely read for more than three decades by
Hawai‘i’s educators, business people, journalists, and public ofﬁcials,
Okinawans are treated as an ethnic group distinct from Naichi Japanese.1
Okinawans have their own cultural center and host an elaborate
Okinawan festival every year. They indeed seem well established as an
ethnic group. Before World War II, however, Okinawans in Hawai‘iwere largely viewed as just one of the groups of Japanese, like those from
Hiroshima or Yamaguchi. How did they come to be regarded as a separate ethnic entity?
Few have attempted to answer this question in detail. In 1957 George
Yamamoto suggested: “The two subgroups among the Japanese in Hawai‘i
may be regarded as two distinct ethnic groups rather than mere economic
or prestige subdivisions of the same ethnic group.”2 Yamamoto failed to
explain, however, how Okinawans became a “distinct ethnic group.”
Yukiko Kimura researched social organizations in Okinawan communities during the pre- and postwar periods, but she largely ignored the*Professor, Japan Women’s University

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creation of their unique ethnic identity.3 William P. Lebra, a contributor
to People and Cultures of Hawaii, does not even question the separate
ethnic status of Okinawans. Like Kimura, Lebra examined Okinawan
experiences during and after World War II, but he did not link them tothe development of Okinawans as a discrete ethnic group. In addition,no previous research has been done on the postwar Okinawan relief
movement as being the basis for establishing a distinctive ethnic entity.4
In this article I examine the origins of an Okinawan ethnic entity in
Hawai‘i. During and after World War II Okinawans experienced significantly less racial discrimination by Naichi Japanese, and this was critical to their establishing positive self-awareness and pride in being
Okinawan. The wartime experiences of Okinawans and Naichi werequite dissimilar, and Japan’s defeat affected each group differently. In
fact, the U.S. Occupation of Japan and U.S. military rule in Okinawa had
a positive inﬂuence on the Okinawans in Hawai‘i, by helping them alleviate feelings of social and racial inferiority. Also signiﬁcant was thewealth they accumulated during and after the war, which allowed themto advance economically and contribute substantially to postwar relief
efforts in Okinawa. Relief activities united them, strengthened bonds
with their homeland, and bolstered ethnic pride, culminating in the creation of the United Okinawan Association of Hawai‘i (UOA) in 1951.
The postwar ﬂowering of Okinawan culture in Hawai‘i can be tied directly to these relief organizations.
World War II brought positive changes for Hawai‘i’s Okinawans: economic advancement, improved social and political status, and freedom
from discrimination by other Japanese. Pride in Okinawan traditions, theassertion of Okinawan values and culture, and the open enjoyment of
Okinawan music and dance—all contributed to the formation of a unique
ethnic identity in Hawai‘i. It is ironic that these changes can be traced toJapan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and Okinawans’ success at pig farming,
which was considered a lowly occupation by most Naichi Japanese.
PREWAR DISCRIMINATION
Okinawa’s history differs from that of the rest of Japan. An independent kingdom until the Satsuma Clan invasion of 1609, Okinawa became
one of Japan’s prefectures in 1879; however, given its distinctive culture and way of life, it has never been a part of mainstream Japan, politically or culturally. In prewar Hawai‘i, this “non-Japaneseness” caused

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Naichi to discriminate against Okinawans, but prejudice alone was notenough to unify Okinawans into a cohesive ethnic group.
The ﬁrst Okinawans in Hawai‘i, a group of 26 men, arrived in January
1900 as contract laborers for the Ewa Sugar Plantation. During the nextten years, Hawai‘i attracted increasing numbers of Okinawan immigrants: In 1903 a second group of 40 men arrived. A year later the
Okinawan population grew to 262. In 1905 it was 1,233. And by 1911
it reached 10,000. Before the Immigration Act of 1924 banned immigration from Asia, nearly 20,000 Okinawans had crossed the Paciﬁc to
Hawai‘i.5 According to 1924 statistics compiled by the Japanese consulate, Okinawans numbered 16,536, making them the fourth largest
group of Japanese immigrants, following those from Hiroshima,
Yamaguchi, and Kumamoto Prefectures.6 Initially, they were mostly
young males in their twenties and thirties who were escaping poverty,
heavy taxes, and military service. Okinawan women did not arrive until
1905, after the ﬁrst groups of male immigrants had saved enough money
to send for wives and families or picture brides.7
Generally, Naichi did not treat Okinawans as equals. Among Japanesein Hawai‘i, Okinawans were known as “belated immigrants.” By 1900,
Naichi already numbered around 60,000, or about 40 percent of Hawai‘i’s
population. They were settled and had an established community. On theplantations, Okinawans were assigned more difﬁcult and dangerous
work than Naichi and were housed in separate camps. In addition, thelanguage Okinawans spoke at the time was so different from Japanesethat they needed a translator whenever they communicated with Naichi.
This further limited interaction between the two groups. Made to feel
inferior and isolated, Okinawan immigrants dedicated themselves tohelping one another. But as subjects of the Japanese emperor, they werealso eager to see their children become respectable Japanese and sent
them to the same Japanese language schools as Naichi children.8 At
home, parents spoke to each other in Okinawan, but often they did notteach the language to their children. Some even changed their “peculiar”
Okinawan names to similar-sounding Naichi ones.9
In Okinawa, within each village or town, the lives of its members wereclosely interconnected and self-sufﬁcient. Marital partners were chosenfrom within one’s own village or town, and greater importance was attached to the community than to the individual. Okinawan communities
in Hawai‘i continued this tradition and organized close-knit locality
clubs whose members all hailed from the same area. The ﬁrst Okinawan

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locality club was organized in 1908, but most were established in the
1920s and 1930s when large numbers of Okinawans left the plantationsfor Honolulu. When faced with discrimination and segregation by
Naichi, Okinawans found solace and camaraderie with fellow club members, who together helped fund tanomoshi-kou (mutual aid societies),organize recreational activities such as New Year’s celebrations andsummer picnics, and strengthen community unity.10 Clubs were also vitalin maintaining homeland culture and identity.
Geographical divisions, rather than economic class or ancestral status, weighed heavily among Okinawans. Factional rivalry between locality clubs was conspicuous, and the autonomy of locality clubs worked
against the founding of a single Okinawan organization. The ﬁrst attempt
was made in 1921; general rules were adopted four years later, but dissention among the clubs caused delays. In 1940 yet another attempt was
made, but it failed due to the outbreak of World War II.11 It was not until
after the war, in 1951, as mentioned, that the UOA was organized.
Many Okinawans in Hawai‘i owned successful small businesses.
They saved their wages, borrowed from the tanomoshi-kou, left the plantations for Honolulu, and started businesses that required little capitalbut relied on special skills, such as animal husbandry and tenant farming. They also engaged in trades and businesses related to these, such as
food processing, wholesale and retail food supply, and running restaurants, which, in turn, provided food scraps to Okinawan pig farmers.12
In 1944, the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Ofﬁce of Strategic Services published The Okinawans of Loo Choo Island: A Japanese Minority Group,a report compiled in preparation for a postwar occupation of Okinawa.
The second section deals extensively with conﬂicts between Naichi andOkinawans in Hawai‘i, pointing out that Naichi discrimination against
Okinawans continued, and that mutual distrust and intolerance existed
even among second-generation university students. The two groups did
not mix socially and they almost never intermarried. The report goes on
to mention the disowning of a Nisei woman by her family for marrying
an Okinawan.13
An essay, “The Okinawan-Naichi Relationship,” by Henry Toyama
and Kiyoshi Ikeda, incorporated the responses of University of Hawai‘istudents who were asked about their experiences and observations ofprewar relations between the two groups. Some reasons were given to
explain why discrimination against Okinawans was even more prevalent

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in Hawai‘i than in Japan. First, the population of Okinawans was high—about 10–15 percent of the total number of Japanese in Hawai‘i. Second,
close contact between the two groups made Naichi less tolerant of cultural differences and more apt to create stereotypes. Third, many immigrants were uneducated and unsophisticated in their understanding ofother races and cultures.14
Naichi Japanese characterized Okinawans by their “strange” accentand “coarse” speech, love of dancing, facial tattoos (on married women),
pig farming, and working in restaurants. Their traditional dances andmusic were viewed as distinctly “non-Japanese.” Wary of calling attention to themselves, Okinawans practiced their culture indoors or within
their own community.15 They were a long way from celebrating theirdifferences and could not yet see themselves as part of a unique ethnic
entity, equal and separate from other Japanese.
Okinawans were also looked down on for raising pigs and eating pork.
They began raising pigs in 1910, and households often had several.16“The life of an Okinawan begins and ends with a pig” was a common
saying. Pigs played an essential part in Okinawan ceremonies and events,
particularly at New Year’s, when a family butchered a pig and ate asmuch “New Year pork” as possible. According to Tetsurou Shimojima,
Naichi despised the Okinawan habit of eating pork because consuming
meat had long been prohibited in Japan. Shimojima explains that, as a
Buddhist, Emperor Tenmu (r. 673–86) prohibited the killing of animals,so those engaged in slaughtering and skinning livestock and selling theirmeat faced discrimination.17 In addition, the collecting of food scraps
from homes and restaurants for pig slop was deemed lowly work. Naichichildren taunted their Okinawan peers by calling after them in pidgin,“Okinawa ken [prefecture], ken, buta [pigs] kau [eat], kau.”
THE WAR AND INDEPENDENCE FOR HAWAI‘I’S OKINAWANS
During the war, the U.S. military for the most part left Okinawan
community leaders alone.18 With their support networks still intact,
Hawai‘i’s Okinawans were able to take full advantage of the wartime
economic boom. Increased economic status and newfound pride in thehistory and culture of their homeland helped many overcome feelings ofinferiority. According to the Ofﬁce of Strategic Services report:

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NORIKO SHIMADAAs the result of Pearl Harbor, there often appears among the Hawaiian
Okinawans a feeling of elation at their status today and stress is placed on
the theory that they are not Japanese, and hence should have no blame placed
upon them for what the Japanese are doing. . . . The feeling, “We are better
than the Japanese,” is allowed full sway.19

According to one Okinawan student:
During the war, the Okinawans were proud of the fact that they were
Okinawans. They felt that it was the Naichi’s war with the Americans. Hereand there during the war one could hear an Okinawan say, “I’m not a
Japanese, I’m an Okinawa.” Yes, those who once had that suppressed feeling were getting bold now and claimed they were Okinawas and some went
as far as to say, “We are part Chinese.”20

For many Okinawans, the United States was not only Japan’s enemy,
but their liberator as well. The Ofﬁce of Strategic Services report explained that the Okinawans in Hawai‘i wanted their homeland freed from
oppressive Japanese rule, and a few even called for its separation fromJapan. A plantation worker hoped that Okinawa would be returned to
Okinawans “so we can set up our own government.”21 It is possible that
Koreans’ nationalistic profession in Hawai‘i incited Okinawans to profess the same, though no evidence has been found so far to support thisargument. When the war broke out, Koreans began to insist that they
were “not Japanese” and therefore not “enemy aliens.”22
When the war ended, Okinawa was separated from the rest of Japanand put under direct U.S. military control. Its future jurisdiction seemed
uncertain. This “Okinawan question” attracted much attention in Asia
and was of course of great concern to the Okinawans in Hawai‘i.23 It was
debated whether Okinawa should become U.S. territory, and many supported this idea. According to Masanori Higa, Okinawans in favor of themeasure failed to understand the reality of U.S. military control. Basing
their opinions solely on their experiences in Hawai‘i, they believed
Okinawa would have a bright future under the American ﬂag: “For them,
Okinawa’s return to Japan simply meant that Okinawa would return toits prewar condition. Because they did not know newly democratized
Japan, it was natural to be swayed by such misunderstanding.”24
Many others supported Okinawa’s independence. In 1947, a student
interviewing a ﬁfty-four-year-old man asked: “Would you like to seeTHE EMERGENCE OF OKINAWAN ETHNIC IDENTITY IN HAWAI‘I

123

Okinawa still be with Japan, be with China, just be under UN care or
what?” The man answered, “If Japan will take more interest in Okinawa
and help her and do all she can to improve and help Okinawa to advance,
it’s all right to be with her, but I would much rather see Okinawa be independent.” The student agreed: “I, also, wish Okinawa can be independent someday. The Naichis here used to treat us as though we were notpart of Japan, yet Japan does not wish to give up Okinawa. . . . Although
the Naichi-Okinawan conditions have changed for the better, I still wish
to see Okinawa free.”25
The peace treaty was concluded in San Francisco in 1951, and Japanregained its sovereignty. While the U.S government recognized Japan’s“residual sovereignty” over Okinawa, even after the peace treaty
Okinawa remained under U.S. military rule until 1972, when it was
ﬁnally returned to Japan.26 Further separation of Okinawa from the restof Japan enforced Hawai‘i’s Okinawans’ sense of separateness fromother Japanese and promoted closer ties with their homeland. During the1950s and 1960s, many visited Okinawa, and group tours were reported
regularly in ethnic newspapers. Many Kibei Nisei who had stayed in
Okinawa during the war returned to Hawai‘i with brides.27 Relatives
were encouraged to visit Hawai‘i, and Okinawan organizations in
Hawai‘i began offering Okinawan students scholarships to study agriculture and ﬁsheries management in the United States.28 After the
Immigration and Nationality Act (McCarran-Walter Act) went into
effect in December 1952, thus ending the absolute exclusion of immigrants from Asia, the number of Okinawans emigrating to Hawai‘i increased.
It should be made clear that Okinawans were not monolithic in their
response to Japan or Naichi immigrants. Many Okinawans strove for better relations with Naichi after the war. Especially among the younger
generation, mutual distrust between the two groups was decreasing.
Okinawan and Naichi Nisei veterans had shared the same battleﬁeld experiences.29 They “came to thoroughly know that discrimination within
the Japanese immigrant community in Hawai‘i was indeed meaningless.”30 A student reported that, while older Naichi were slow to change
their attitudes, Naichi and Okinawan schoolchildren fought less andantagonism between the two groups weakened after the war.31 Marriage
patterns began to change. George Yamamoto studied Naichi-Okinawan
marriages from 1941 to 1950 and found that one in ﬁve Okinawans hada Naichi marriage partner.32

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Even for Issei, the wall between Okinawans and Naichi began tocrumble after the war. Sadao Asato, an Okinawan leader and leading ﬁgure in the insurance business, held that “Okinawans should actively associate and cooperate with the Japanese from other prefectures” andorganized the Economic Study Club of Hawai‘i in 1947 together withnumerous Naichi businessmen.33 When the United Japanese Associationof Hawai‘i was reorganized in 1958, members of the UOA joined it aswell. In 1963 an Okinawan, Shinsuke Nakamine, was elected its president.34 This was deemed “an epoch-making event, unthinkable before
the war.”35
Furthermore, it should be added that among the Okinawan Issei, there
were many who believed in “Japan as a divine nation” and strongly identiﬁed themselves with Japan. After the war, some of them refused tobelieve that Japan was defeated and organized Hissho-kai, one of theJapan-won-the-war groups. They opposed war-relief efforts to the end
because they believed Japan was victorious and needed no relief.36
With such different attitudes toward Japan, however, Okinawans generally felt they had been “liberated” from discrimination and viewed
themselves on an equal footing with Naichi. As the following sections
show, they no longer kept to themselves but actively and openly participated in Okinawan war-relief efforts and public festivals promoting
Okinawan music and dance.
PROSPERITY AND RISING SOCIAL STATUS
In the years leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. military
increased its presence in Hawai‘i. The Paciﬁc Fleet assembled at Pearl
Harbor, bringing tens of thousands of sailors to the Hawaiian Islands.
The economy of Hawai‘i grew steadily as military workers and servicemen ﬂooded in, and as a result Okinawan restaurant owners and pig farmers prospered.
The pig farming business in Hawai‘i was largely monopolized by
Okinawans. According to a February 4, 1939, article in the Hawaii
Hochi, a pig farmers’ association was organized in Honolulu with 240
members. At the time, pig farming was already a million-dollar-a-yearbusiness, with most of the farms located in Honolulu because of the readyaccess to large amounts of food waste.37 The 1940 national census reveals
that there were 1,066 pig farmers in Hawai‘i raising 31,681 animals. Of
the 1,066 farmers, 341 lived in Honolulu and owned 22,302 hogs. If theTHE EMERGENCE OF OKINAWAN ETHNIC IDENTITY IN HAWAI‘I

125

U.S. military stationed in Hawai‘i wanted pork—and they did—theyneeded the cooperation of the Islands’ Okinawan pig farmers to securea supply. Immediately prior to the outbreak of war, the price of pork
soared, and Okinawan pig farmers turned a quick proﬁt. After the war
began demand further increased, and pig farming became a two-milliondollar-a-year industry.38 Once the target of insults, these farmers were
now seen as important to Hawai‘i’s economy and the national defense.
In addition, workers in food production and food processing were notpressed to serve in the military. In fact, it is likely that many youths
became pig farmers to avoid the draft.39
Tetsurou Shimojima interviewed pig farmers such as Akira Sakima,
who, as a ten-year-old boy in 1928, woke up at 4:30 every Saturday and
Sunday morning to collect four oil drums of food scraps in a Ford Model
T. At the age of eighteen, in 1936, Sakima got a group of friends together
and won the bid to collect food waste from Schoﬁeld Barracks, where
thousands of servicemen were stationed. With this success, he was freed
from making the garbage rounds himself and expanded his business.
After graduating from high school, he became a pig farmer—and was
exempted from military service.40
Gashin Taira succeeded in both pig farming and the food service
industry. In 1935 he purchased Kuhio Cafe from a friend, who wasreturning to Japan, with $500 in savings and a $1,500 loan from a money
broker. The restaurant catered to servicemen and was always busy.
Okinawan restaurants were successful largely because they served
American rather than Japanese food.41 They also hired fellow Okinawans,allowing them to learn the restaurant business freely, and encouraged
employees to open their own restaurants.
In other areas, too, Okinawans worked hard, accumulated wealth, andbuilt ﬁrm economic foundations. According to Sadao Asato, “during the
war there was a serious labor shortage everywhere due to the munitions
boom in Hawai‘i. . . . Life of Okinawans altogether changed from prewar to postwar days. . . . We earned three, four times more and established a secure livelihood.”42 Unable to send money to their families in
Okinawa and prohibited from making bank deposits in excess of $300,
the wartime Okinawan community was literary overﬂowing with cash.
Burglaries were common, and people even felt compelled to bury theirmoney.
After the war, it was said there were no poor Okinawans, and many
went on spending sprees. Yasutarou Soga recollects: “It was a strange

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time. Old Okinawan women wore two, three, big, shiny, diamond rings.”43
The Nippu Jiji criticized Okinawans’ fondness for lavish celebrations tomark family birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and soldiers’ homecomings.44 Okinawans also spent their wealth in more constructive ways—
for political, economic, educational, and cultural purposes. For the ﬁrst
time in Hawai‘i, an academy for Okinawan dance and music was established, and radio programs featuring Okinawan music were broadcast.
Nisei Okinawans began attending college and advanced in professionalﬁelds such as law, medicine, and dentistry, as well as business and politics.45 During the 1946 election, the ﬁrst Okinawan Nisei was elected asa representative of Hawai‘i’s Territorial Congress. An August 19, 1947,
article in the Hawaii Hochi reported on the opening of many new
Okinawan stores and businesses, including Aloha Tofu Company and
Hawaii Miso and Shoyu Company, both funded with Okinawan capital.
THE BEGINNING OF WAR RELIEF FOR OKINAWA
The relief movement for war-stricken Okinawa mobilized, for the ﬁrst
time, the entire Okinawan population in Hawai‘i—not just individual
locality clubs. United in their cause, Okinawans came together as neverbefore. Nearly all of the ﬁve thousand Okinawan households in Hawai‘i
had relatives who had suffered during the Battle of Okinawa, and many
believed it was their responsibility and duty to send aid.
The Okinawan relief effort in Hawai‘i was spearheaded by Thomas
Taro Higa, a Nisei soldier of the 100th Battalion. According to Higa’s
memoir, he was discharged and returned to Hawai‘i in February 1945.46
Having witnessed the devastation in Europe, Higa anticipated the suffering of Okinawan civilians once the Okinawan landing operations became
known. He volunteered to serve again and planned to join the army in
Okinawa. On the day of his departure, April 20, 1945, a farewell party
was held for him at Yasuteru Makishi’s home in Honolulu. At the gathering, Higa’s relief plan for Okinawan war victims was discussed andmany pledged their support. On arriving in Okinawa, Higa sent telegrams
to Hawai‘i, reporting on the horrible conditions and the progress of his
plan.
After Japan’s surrender, Higa returned to Hawai‘i on September 13
and began organizing aid. On September 16, at Sadao Asato’s home, hespoke to more than twenty Okinawan leaders. Although a few opposedit, many, including Sadao Asato and Zensuke Kaneshiro, supported theTHE EMERGENCE OF OKINAWAN ETHNIC IDENTITY IN HAWAI‘I

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idea of sending aid to Okinawa. Naichi Christian ministers Masaichi
Goto and Hiroshi Ozaki and sympathetic white community leaders Gilbert
Bowles and Rev. Edward Whitmore also pledged their support.47 Higa
later obtained the complete cooperation of the U.S. Navy in late November. Higa recollects: “The Navy was the last difﬁculty. Winning thecooperation of the Navy was such an encouragement and ﬁlled us withredoubled courage. The plan the Okinawan leaders had agreed to at thehome of Yasuteru Makishi . . . began to materialize after seven months.”48
Conditions in Okinawa were described by other Nisei soldiers. Takeo
Yoshioka’s report was printed in the November 6, 1945, Hawaii Hochi:“People are seriously suffering and they asked me to let the people in
Hawai‘i know of their condition. As Okinawa is occupied by the U.S.
military, it will be possible to negotiate with the authorities to transport
clothes and other items collected by Okinawans in Hawai‘i. I saw naked
children, and it was very sad.”49 People in Okinawa were suffering severe
shortages since shipping from the Japanese mainland had come to a halt,
and a devastating typhoon had destroyed temporary shelters built after
the war.
Hawai‘i’s Okinawans quickly responded. Under the auspices of the
Honolulu Association of Christian Churches and with the support of the
U.S. Navy, a large-scale effort to collect clothes for war victims wasorganized.50 In late November 1945, William Geiger of the association
announced that as winter was approaching clothes would need to be collected as soon as possible. Clothing for women and children was especially needed.51 Collecting stations were set up all over the Islands, andhundreds of Okinawans volunteered daily to mend and pack clothes. The
largest station was at the Honpa Hongwanji Jikouen Temple, whose
members were mostly Okinawan. Hawai‘i’s Japanese newspapers reported its progress daily: “At Jikouen Temple, local men and womenvolunteer every day for packing and mending. Last night about 200 volunteers worked until past ten o’clock.”52 At the Honolulu headquarters,
500 boxes were assembled by December 15, with 170–200 articles ofclothing per box. More boxes arrived from Maui, Kauai, and the Big
Island. Ultimately, 752 boxes, enough clothing for 200,000 people, werecollected from towns and plantations on every island. Support also camein the form of donations of food and transportation for volunteers, packing boxes, and cash for advertising and purchasing new items. The clothing drive was deemed a resounding success and ended in early January
1946.53

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WAR-RELIEF EFFORTS AND SOLIDARITY
Okinawans continued their relief work. They revived prewar locality
clubs and sent necessary items to their home villages and towns.54 On alarger scale, they set up relief organizations that crossed locality clubboundaries. Among the most successful of these were the Lepta Kai(group), the Okinawan Relief Kousei (renewal) Kai, the Hawai‘i
Association for Okinawan Relief Kai, the Okinawan Medical Relief
Association, and the Hawai‘i Christian Society for Okinawan Recovery.
Okinawan mothers in Hawai‘i organized the Lepta Kai on July 19,
1946, with support from the Salvation Army. They distributed ﬁve
thousand savings banks, known as Lepta boxes, throughout the Islands,
asking housewives to donate a small amount after each day’s grocery
shopping. The funds were collected and sent to Okinawan mothers in theform of clothes, books, stationery, sewing machines, lanterns, cooking
oil, seeds, reading glasses, bicycles, phonographs, organs, shoes, toys,and candy.55 In the ﬁrst year, the Lepta Kai raised $6,000 and sent one
hundred boxes of goods and seven sewing machines. In Okinawa the
Lepta Sewing School was founded in April 1948: “Lepta Sewing School
was managed by the Christian Church Association. It offered women,
many of whom were caring for children and elderly parents on their own,
the means for a better life. They could leave their children at the school’s
day-care center, talk over family matters, learn sewing without interruption, and prepare for a solid, independent life in the future.”56 Hawai‘i’s
Lepta Kai members sent relief goods again in 1948 and 1949, paying
special attention to the needs of children and the elderly.57
The Okinawan Relief Kousei Kai was organized as a legally incorporated foundation on March 18, 1947, for the purpose of reconstructing
Okinawa through education.58 According to a plan announced by Seiei
Wakukawa, its chief organizer, in August 1947, the group intended toraise funds to: (1) establish the ﬁrst university in Okinawa and educate
talented young people; and (2) provide students in Okinawa with scholarships to study in the United States.59 The Kousei Kai hoped to raise$350,000 in Hawai‘i and $220,000 in North and South America, but they
were unable to achieve these goals on their own.
The Kousei Kai’s plan to advance higher education in Okinawa wasshared by the U.S. government. Ryukyu University was founded in 1950
at the site of old Shuri Castle with U.S. funds. Scholarships for Okinawan
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in Hawai‘i. These were eagerly received. In 1948 ﬁve students wereselected from eighty-one applicants. The ﬁrst scholarship students stopped
in Honolulu on their way to the U.S. mainland and received “an unprecedented, enthusiastic welcome.”60
The Hawai‘i Association for Okinawan Relief Kai was organized on
December 29, 1947. Its sole purpose was to send 550 pigs to Okinawa.61
In the Battle of Okinawa one out of four civilians was killed and many
pigs were lost. Before the war Okinawa had more than 120,000 pigs,
more than any other prefecture in Japan, but only 2,000 survived the war.
This caused great concern, and increasing their numbers was linked to
the very survival of Okinawan culture.62 The loss of pigs weighedheavily on the minds of Hawai‘i’s Okinawans after Thomas Higa’s
report, “No Pigs in the Pig Sty,” appeared in the June 14, 1945, Nippu
Jiji: “There was a pot by a well. . . . Looking around, I found a pig sty
divided into three sections, made from iron and stones. I saw no pigs,
not even a piglet.” Despite their concern, Okinawans felt they could do
nothing.
Then on November 18, 1947, they were inspired by an appeal in the
Hawaii Hochi: “Rev. Thompson, a resident of Okinawa, sent us a note.
He hopes that Okinawans in Hawai‘i will send pigs to Okinawa forbreeding. He says, though it is not easy to send live pigs, please ﬁnd a
way to send them.” Two days later, on November 20, volunteers gathered at Jikouen Temple, discussed the matter, and unanimously decided
to send 550 pigs (500 females and 50 males) to Okinawa.63 The Hawai‘i
Association for Okinawan Relief Kai was born.
Tetsurou Shimojima published an essay on this topic, “Hogs That
Crossed the Paciﬁc—People in Hawai‘i Saved Okinawa,” that appearedin 158 installments in the Ryukyu Shimpou beginning in May 9, 1994,
and then as the book, Hogs and the Independence of Okinawa. In 1999
NHK (Japan’s National Broadcasting Association) produced the documentary “Five Thousand Kilometers across the Paciﬁc: The Great Pig
Transport.” This moving ﬁlm incorporates rare footage of the pigs beingtransported and shows how difﬁcult it was to keep so many animals in
cramped cages during a long, rough sea crossing. The ﬁlm was broadcast in Hawai‘i during the Okinawan Immigration Centennial.
How was the transport accomplished? In six months, $47,000 was
raised—enough to send Yoshio Yamashiro, a veterinarian, to Omaha,
Nebraska, to purchase pigs that would thrive in the Okinawan climate.
Then, in late July 1948, six Okinawans, all pig farmers, were ﬂown on

130

NORIKO SHIMADAa U.S. military plane to San Francisco.64 They went, together with thepigs Yamashiro purchased, to Portland, Oregon, and ﬁnally to Okinawa.65
One of the farmers, Ryoushin Akena, in his autobiography, Watashinokasukana chikara (My modest efforts), described his feelings at the endof the mission: “The hardships we had faced were nothing! We fulﬁlled
a great responsibility. We were deeply moved and experienced the joyof a lifetime. Though we were men, we wept.”66
Okinawans enthusiastically welcomed the pigs donated by theirfriends and relatives in Hawai‘i. In distributing the pigs, the number
given to each town and village was based on its population. Farmers drew
lots for the female pigs. When piglets were born, farmers were required
to give four female piglets to four other farmers. When piglets were bornto this second set of farmers, they agreed to give four female piglets tofour more farmers. By repeating this process, Okinawa’s pig population
grew and spread. Two years later, in 1950, it numbered more than 100,000,
and in 1956 it reached 140,000.67 The pigs saved 500,000 Okinawans
from starvation. They were a most memorable gift from Hawai‘i.
The Okinawan Medical Relief Association was composed of medical
doctors, dentists, and pharmacists. It was organized by a doctor, Matsu
Yamashiro, in January 1948. At ﬁrst Yamashiro alone donated medical
supplies, but gradually other doctors joined him. They expanded theiractivities and eventually organized an association. In the ﬁrst year, they
sent $10,000 worth of medical supplies to Okinawa.68 In 1949, another$10,000 worth was dispatched, and, in 1951, $150,000 in medical supplies was donated.69
The Hawai‘i Christian Society for Okinawan Recovery was organizedon October 26, 1948, to bring Christianity and milk-goats to Okinawa.70
After raising $30,000, ﬁve volunteers were secured and 600 milk-goats
were transported over the course of three months.71 Like the pigs donatedby the Okinawan Relief Kai, these goats were greatly welcomed in
Okinawa. The Nippu Jiji commented: “The demand for milk-goats isvigorous, and a superior goat costs more than 10,000 yen. It is said thatthe hero of the Okinawan recovery is the milk-goat.”72 The goats ﬂourished in their new home. According to a 1951 survey by the Social Work
Agency of the Government of the Okinawan Islands, “the milk-goats
numbered more than 2,700, including the ﬁrst, second, and third generations.”73
In March 1950, a group of younger Okinawans set up the Okinawan
Relief Federation of Hawai‘i to integrate all relief activities. AlthoughTHE EMERGENCE OF OKINAWAN ETHNIC IDENTITY IN HAWAI‘I

131

each aid organization had achieved excellent results separately, they
were not well coordinated, and rivalries were common. With the establishment of the federation, “the leaders of 28,000 Okinawans in Hawai‘icame to embrace peace and cooperation.”74 One of its Nisei leaders,James Kanashiro, remarked: “Okinawans in Hawai‘i reached a condition of understanding and friendship after a thirty years’ interval. Thereis no longer ﬁerce rivalry among us.”75 In the following year, the UOA
was founded as a federation of locality clubs, resolving “to assist in therestoration of a devastated Okinawa.” 300 community leaders attended
the association’s inauguration ceremony, and its ﬁrst president, Henry
Gima, declared in his inauguration speech: “There have been so manyfactions among us. . . . We should cease ﬁghting all the factional conﬂicts and move forward with common purpose. We should strive forunity, understanding and friendship.”76 At ﬁrst, there was a feeling of
caution among Okinawans about uniting the whole Okinawan community in a conspicuous way, and only fourteen of the forty-three locality
clubs joined the association. By 1956, however, thirty-four clubs hadjoined.77
Postwar relief efforts truly strengthened Okinawans’ bond with their
homeland, their identity as Okinawans, and unity within their communities. Faced with the task of rebuilding a war-torn Okinawa, they came
together with a common purpose, overcoming longstanding internal
divisions among themselves. Strong ties with the people of Okinawa
continued for years after the war, with requests for assistance as well as
letters of hearty thanks being sent regularly to the Islands. In October
1951, Shuhei Higa, chairman of the Okinawa Provisional Government,
arrived in Hawai‘i to report on conditions in Okinawa and to thankOkinawans in Hawai‘i for their help and generosity.78
THE FLOWERING OF OKINAWAN CULTURE
William P. Lebra characterizes the period 1950–70 as one of Okinawan“cultural ﬂorescence,” but such ﬂorescence can be dated to as early as
1946–47.79 According to an article in the Nippu Jiji on January 25, 1947,
entitled “Okinawan Music and Dance,” “at nearly every celebration,
Ryukyuan music and dance enliven party after party. Okinawan music
and dance have become a specialty of Honolulu—even Hawai‘i—like
Hawaiian music and hula.” Clubs were organized wherever there was aninterest in traditional singing and dancing. The ﬁrst phonograph record

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NORIKO SHIMADA

of Ryukyuan music appeared in 1947, and in the same year radio programs began to broadcast Okinawan songs.80
In February 1951 cultural exchange began to ﬂow between Hawai‘iand Okinawa. The Uruma Young Men’s Association of Honolulu, withspecial permission from the U.S. military government in Okinawa, invited ﬁfteen actors and actresses from Okinawa’s Otohime Theatrical
Company to perform traditional dances and operettas for a month and ahalf.81 Further cultural interaction followed between Okinawa and Hawai‘iin various forms and in the areas of art, music, and the martial arts.
Reﬂecting the increased interest in Okinawan culture, the Hawaii Hochi
issued a special New Year’s Day edition on Okinawan music in 1954.
Art and music were now a source of pride for Hawai‘i’s Okinawans.
Tamayo Shiroma, a master of Okinawan koto (a traditional string instrument) music, recollected in 1965 that for many years she tended to refrainfrom playing koto in public, but “today, it is unbelievable, really like a
dream, that performing Ryukyuan music is so widely accepted and thriving.”82
One unique aspect of the Okinawan cultural ﬂorescence is its direct
link to the war-relief effort. According to a female student’s report in1947, Okinawan songs and dances were proudly enjoyed at events organized speciﬁcally to raise funds for the relief effort:
Next month Kauai Okinawans are sponsoring a Ryukyuan bon dance inHanapepe for the Okinawan Relief Fund. Since this event is going to be sponsored only by Okinawans, the dances may be only Ryukyuan. But because
many Naichi girls will be taking part, I cannot be sure. Many Naichi girls
want to learn Ryukyuan dances!83

Traditional performing arts were an important part of fund-raising activities. The Nakama Ongaku (music) Kai organized a charity event, theRyukyuan Great Performing Arts Festival, featuring Ryukyuan sanshin(banjo) music. It was a two-day event at McKinley High School in
Honolulu and attracted capacity crowds. To raise more funds, the clubheld a second festival at Kalakaua Intermediate School in Honolulu thefollowing week and at Hongwanji Temple in Waipahu a month later.84
In the following year the club organized another two-day event, thePerforming Arts Festival for the Education of Eighty Thousand Children.
With the proceeds, the club “ordered eighty thousand tablets [notebooks]
and pencils” for Okinawan schoolchildren.85

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133

Members of the Miyagi Ongaku Kai were aware that doctors had“started to send penicillin and other [medicine], though far from enough,to Okinawa Central Hospital, which in turn distributed them to clinics
all over Okinawa.”86 The club held a performing arts festival at
Kawananakoa Intermediate School in Honolulu for four nights in July
1948 and contributed the money raised to the Okinawa Medical Relief
Association. On the Big Island, “the Hawai‘i Club of Ryukyuan Arts wasorganized and a fund-raising performing arts festival was held at Hilo
Hongwanji Temple.”87 In December 1948 the Club for the Study of
Ryukyuan Art sponsored a four-night performing arts festival at
Kawananakoa Intermediate School to raise relief funds.88
Other aspects of Okinawan culture also came to ﬂourish in conjunction with war-relief efforts. In July 1948 the Hawai‘i Association for
Okinawan Relief Kai held an Okinawan sumo competition in the gardenof the Japanese consulate in Honolulu, attracting ten thousand spectators. Okinawan karate was also demonstrated.89 In October the Okinawan
Sumo Association was organized to promote the sport in Hawai‘i.90
Thereafter, Okinawan sumo competitions were held to raise money for
Okinawa.91
CONCLUSIONWorld War II saw the collapse of Naichi dominance over Hawai‘i’sJapanese community and fundamental changes to the relationship between Naichi and Okinawans. In the postwar years, Okinawans’ economic status grew steadily as did their pride in things Okinawan; they
openly enjoyed and celebrated their distinctive culture, especially music
and dance, which in turn helped them (and others) view Okinawans as aunique ethnic entity—and not as a Japanese subgroup. Since then the
UOA has worked to sustain Okinawan cultural pride by sponsoring newactivities and responding to the needs of the community.
Beginning with the wartime and postwar emergence, Okinawan ethnic identity has continued to grow. Although it is beyond the scope of
this article, it may be useful to speculate brieﬂy on how Okinawan ethnic identity has been maintained and developed in Hawai‘i. A major factor has certainly been the close and continuing ties between Hawai‘i andOkinawa. For example, in the 1960s, the UOA welcomed “visiting
dignitaries of the Ryukyu Government as well as civic leaders from
Okinawa.”92 Also, at about this time, the U.S. military government in134

NORIKO SHIMADA

Okinawa sponsored the Ryukyuan-Hawaiian Brotherhood Program(1959–72), which sent more than 1,000 Okinawan students, tokunouseinen (outstanding young farmers), and others to Hawai‘i.93 Katsunobu
Okano argues that the program was intended to give Hawai‘i’s
Okinawans a new role as caretakers of Okinawa’s youth. He also claims
that the military government manipulated Hawai‘i’s Okinawans by identifying them not as Japanese Americans but “American Ryukyuans” andencouraging their separate ethnic identity from the rest of the Japanesecommunity.94
After Okinawa’s return to Japan in 1972, solidarity between Okinawansof Hawai‘i and Okinawa itself was further ensured with the creation of
the annual Okinawan Jubilee and the more ambitious Okinawan Festival
from 1982, in both of which the UOA played a leading role. On the one
hand, these festivals were accepted as a part of Hawai‘i’s social events,
attracting tens of thousand of people, not only Okinawans but various
other people. At the ﬁrst festival, Governor Jack Burns declared the week
as Okinawan Cultural Exchange Week. Shigehiko Shiramizu claims that
it was at the Okinawan festivals in the 1970s that the Okinawans in
Hawai‘i truly came into their own as a distinctive Island ethnic group.95
On the other hand, the transnational aspect—cultural interaction between
peoples of Hawai‘i and Okinawa—was prominent. Many artists andmusicians were invited from Okinawa to perform at these events, thereby
exposing younger generations to Okinawan culture. It should be pointed
out that the government of Okinawa was active in strengthening ties
between Okinawa and overseas immigrant communities. During the
1980s and 1990s, as Makoto Arakaki points out, distinct Okinawa identity was passed on to the younger generations because young Okinawans
in Hawai‘i were invited to Okinawa, fervently welcomed, and awakened
to their ethnic roots.96 Furthermore, in 1990 the impressive Okinawan
Culture Center, ﬁrst conceptualized by the governor of Okinawa, Junji
Nishime, was built in Waipahu, Oahu, with the addition of $150,000’s
worth of special Okinawan red roof tiles sent by the people of Okinawa
as a token of gratitude for the postwar assistance they had received fromtheir kinsfolk in Hawai‘i. That same year, the Okinawan government
sponsored the ﬁrst Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival, which encouraged
many young Okinawans in Hawai‘i to visit Okinawa and learn more
about their cultural heritage. Since then, the festival has been held every
ﬁve years. The close and long-standing ties between Okinawa and
Hawai‘i have been the key to Okinawans’ maintaining a strong sense ofethnic identity in Hawai‘i.

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NOTES
1
John F. McDermott, Jr., Wen-Shing Tseng, and Thomas W. Maretzki, eds., People
and Cultures of Hawaii: A Psychocultural Profile (Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i
Press, 1980). Japanese immigrants from Okinawa are called “Okinawans,” “Okinawas,”or “Uchinanchu,” and those from other parts of Japan are called “Naichi,” “Naicha,” or“Yamatonchu.”
2
George K. Yamamoto, “Some Patterns of Mate Selection among Naichi andOkinawans on Oahu,” Social Process in Hawai‘i 21 (1957): 43.
3
Yukiko Kimura, “Locality Clubs as Basic Units of the Social Organization of the
Okinawans in Hawaii,” Phylon 29, no. 4 (Winter 1968): 331–38.
4
I have examined the postwar relief activities but did not interpret them as being theorigin of Okinawan ethnic identity. See Noriko Shimada, Sensou to imin no shakaishi[Social history of war and immigration] (Tokyo: Gendai Shiryou Shuppan, 2004).
5
Tomonori Ishikawa, “Okinawa imin tenkai no haikei to sokuseki [The backgroundand footprints of the development of Okinawan emigration],” Nantoubunka 23 (2001):
70–71.
6
Hawai‘i Nihonjin Iminshi Kankou Iinkai, Hawai Nihonjin iminshi [History ofJapanese in Hawai‘i] (Honolulu: Hawai‘i Nikkeijin Rengou Kyoukai, 1964), 314.
7
Kimura, “Locality Clubs,” 332.
8
M. Alfred Tozzer, The Okinawans of Loo Choo Island: A Japanese Minority Group(Ofﬁce of Strategic Services, June 1, 1944), 18.
9
McDermott, Tseng, and Maretzki, 123; Masanori Higa, “Hawai no Okinawa,” inImin wa ikiru [Immigrants are alive], ed. Taro Higa, (Tokyo: Nichibei Jihousha, 1974),
51, 53.
10
Yukiko Kimura, Issei: Japanese Immigrants in Hawaii (Honolulu: University of
Hawai‘i Press, 1988), 333–34.
11
Tozzer, Okinawans of Loo Choo Island, 70; Nippu Jiji, June 17, 1941.
12
McDermott, Tseng, and Maretzki, People and Cultures of Hawaii, 121.
13
Tozzer, Okinawans of Loo Choo Island, 87.
14
Toyama and Ikeda, “The Okinawan-Naichi Relationship,” Social Process in Hawai‘i
14 (1950): 53.
15
Eileen H. Tamura, Americanization, Acculturation, and Ethnic Identity: The Nisei
Generation in Hawaii (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994), 194.
16
Nippu Jiji, January 1, 1975.
17
Tetsurou Shimojima, Buta to Okinawa dokuritsu [Hogs and Okinawan independence] (Tokyo: Miraisha, 1979), 39–55.
18
Tozzer, Okinawans of Loo Choo Island, 60. Japanese language school principals,
journalists, and religious leaders were among the ﬁrst to be imprisoned; few Okinawans
held these jobs.
19
Tozzer, Okinawans of Loo Choo Island, 86.
20“A Minority Group, 1947,” 4, B17F5, Romanzo Adams Social Research Laboratory,
University of Hawai‘i.
21
Tozzer, Okinawans of Loo Choo Island, 87.
22
As Lee Rihwa demonstrates, refusing to be treated as “enemy aliens,” Koreans in
Hawai‘i publicly insisted that they were “not Japanese.” They emphasized that theirnative land, Korea, had maintained its national identity even under Japanese colonial
rule and that Koreans in Hawai‘i maintained their own ethnic community, language, andidentity. Lee analyzes the Korean wartime experience from the perspective of immigrants’ nationalism and the U.S. drive to “nationalize” immigrants and says that eventually Koreans pledged allegiance to the United States and established themselves as an

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NORIKO SHIMADA

ethnic group in Hawai‘i. See Lee Rihwa, “Hawai kaigenrei-ka no Korian imin nonashonarizum— ‘tekisei-gaikokujin’ kara ‘yuukouteki-gaikokujin’ e no katari no keisei” [The claim against “enemy alien” status of Koreans in wartime Hawai‘i: Redeﬁning“Korean” and reconstructing nationalism] American Studies, no. 42 (2008): 137–54.
Unlike Koreans, Okinawans in Hawai‘i did not have nationalist leaders or organizations,and their desire for separation from Japan was not publicly pursued. A comparative studyof Korean and Okinawan wartime experiences seems inviting, but it is not the purposeof this article.
23
On November 6, 1947, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported that China claimed
Okinawa as a territory and demanded its unconditional return.
24
Higa, “Hawai no Okinawa,” 54–55.
25“A Minority Group, 1947,” 4.
26
As for postwar Okinawa, see Hideaki Tobe, “Kichi to kindaisei—Okinawa ni okeru
kokuminka no mondai to Amerika” [Military bases and modernity: The issue of nationalization and the U.S. in Okinawa], in Rekishi no naka no “Amerika”—Kokuminka wo
meguru katari to souzou [American histories: Narrating the routes to nationhood], ed.
Hayumi Higuchi and Ken Chujou (Tokyo: Sairyusha, 2006), 165–80.
27See, for example, Nippu Jiji, January 16, June 1, and October 27, 1953. “Kibei” areNisei Japanese whose parents sent them to Japan in their childhood to be educated.
28
See, for example, Nippu Jiji, October 14, 1952, and September 18, 1953.
29
The number of Okinawan Nisei servicemen was about the same as that of otherNisei. Tozzer, Okinawans of Loo Choo Island, 59; Seiji Horie, Aru Okinawa Hawai iminno Shinju-wan [The Pearl Harbor of an Okinawan immigrant in Hawai‘i] (Tokyo: PHP
Kenkyujo, 1991), 64–72.
30
Mitsugu Sakihara, Gajumaru no tsudoi [The Gajumaru gathering] (Honolulu:
Gajumaru Kai, 1980), 47.
31“A Minority Group, 1947,” 2.
32
Yamamoto, “Some Patterns of Mate Selection,” 44.
33
Ibid.
34
Hawaii Hochi, May 27, 1963.
35
Higa, “Hawai no Okinawa,” 55.
36
For more on the Hissho-kai, see Shimada, Sensou to imin no shakaisi, 208–10,
222–24, and 250.
37
Nippu Jiji, October 11, 1938.
38
Shimojima, Buta to Okinawa dokuritus, 65, 72.
39
McDermott, Tseng, and Maretzki, People and Cultures of Hawaii, 124.
40
Shimojima, Buta to Okinawa dokuritus, 67–71.
41
Ibid., 74.
42
Sakihara, Gajumaru no tsudoi, 51.
43
Yasutarou Soga, Gojunen-kan no Hawai kaiko [Recollections of Hawai‘i over the
past ﬁfty years] (Honolulu: Publishing Committee of Gojunen-kan no Hawai kaiko,1953), 673.
44
Nippu Jiji, September 19, 1945.
45
McDermott, Tseng, and Maretzki, People and Cultures of Hawaii, 124–25.
46
Taro Higa, Aru Nisei no wadachi [The tracks of a Nisei], rev. ed. (Honolulu: Hawaii
Hochi Sha, 1982), 186–90.
47
Gilbert Bowles was a Quaker missionary in Japan for forty years.
48
Higa, Aru Nisei no wadachi, 194.
49
Hawaii Hochi, November 6, 1945.
50
Higa, Aru Nisei no wadachi, 191–95.

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137

Honolulu Star-Bulletin, November 30, 1945.
Hawaii Hochi, December 13, 1945.
53
Hawaii Hochi, January 10, 1946.
54
In late December 1947, the Nakagusuku Villagers’ Locality Club on Maui and the
Nanbaru Villagers’ Locality Club on the Big Island were reestablished for the purposeof sending stationery and other goods to their home villages. Takenobu Higa, Shinbun
ni miru Hawai Okinawa-jin kyujunen [Ninety years of Okinawans in Hawai‘i as seen innewspapers] (Honolulu: Takenobu Higa, 1990), 59.
55
Nippu Jiji, June 30, 1975.
56
Nippu Jiji, April 21, 1948.
57
Hawaii Hochi, July 22, 1946; Takenobu Higa, Raihu gojunen kinen Hawai Okinawa
kenjin shasin-cho [A picture book of Okinawans in Hawai‘i commemorating their ﬁftieth year since arriving in Hawai‘i] (Hilo, HI: Uehara Matsu, 1951).
58
Hawaii Hochi, March 19 and August 10, 1947.
59
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, August 20, 1947.
60
Kousei Okinawa, 2nd year, no. 4, October 1948.
61
Hawaii Hochi, December 30, 1947.
62
Yoshihiko Teruya and Katsumi Yamazato, ed., Sengo Okinawa to Amerika: Ibunka
sesshoku no gojunen [Postwar Okinawa and America: Fifty years of cross-cultural contact] (Naha: Okinawa Taimususha, 1995), 206.
63
Hawaii Hochi, November 21, 1947.
64
Hawaii Hochi, July 14, 1948.
65
Sakihara, Gajumaru no tsudoi, 202–3. A young man who wanted to visit Okinawa
secretly ﬂew to San Francisco to join the men.
66
Shimojima, Buta to Okinawa dokuritsu, 127.
67
Ibid., 138, 215.
68
Hawaii Hochi, May 5, 1951.
69
Nippu Jiji, May 26, 1949; Honolulu Advertiser, July 25, 1951.
70
Hawaii Hochi, October 27, 1948; Nippu Jiji, March 29, 1949; Honolulu Advertiser,
August 16, 1949. Herbert V. Nicholson, a Quaker missionary to Japan, transported about
two hundred goats to Okinawa in October 1947 as a gift from the U.S. Christians. On
his way back to the United States, he happened to stop off at Honolulu and had a chance
to talk to Japanese Christians about the gift of goats. Probably, the Hawai‘i ChristianSociety for Okinawan Recovery was organized as a result of this meeting, and Hawai‘i
Okinawan Christians cooperated with Nicholson to send more goats to Okinawa. Herbert
M. Nicholson, Treasure in Earthen Vessels: God’s Love Overflows in Peace and War(Whittier, CA: Penn Lithographics, 1974), 100–106.
71
Nippu Jiji, April 15, 1949; Hawaii Hochi, November 8, 1950.
72
Nippu Jiji, March 29, 1949.
73
Hawaii Hochi, November 15, 1951.
74
Hawaii Hochi, March 24, 1950.
75
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, March 27, 1950. The federation dispersed in the spring of1952, when relief efforts were drawing to a close after seven years of intense activity.
Nippu Jiji, May 31, 1952.
76
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, September 22, 1951.
77
Hawaii Times, September 5, 1951; Kimura, “Locality Clubs,” 337.
78
In September 1949 Governor Shikiya suggested that Okinawans in Hawai‘i sponsor younger Okinawan relatives to study in Hawai‘i: Nippu Jiji, September 13, 1949.
Many thank-you messages were printed in newspapers: for example, Nippu Jiji, May
26, 1946, and June 12, 1954. For Higa’s visit, see Nippu Jiji, October 8, 1951.
51
52

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79
William P. Lebra, “The Okinawans,” in McDermott, Tseng, and Maretzki, People
and Cultures of Hawaii, 124.
80
Nippu Jiji, May 28, 1947; Higa, “Hawai no Okinawa,” 56.
81
Hawaii Hochi, November 14, 1950, February 19, 1951, and March 29, 1951.
82
Higa, Shinbun ni miru Hawai Okinawa-jin kyujunen, 130; Hawaii Hochi, January
5, 1965.
83“A Minority Group, 1947,” 5.
84
Hawaii Hochi, January 24, 1947.
85
Hawaii Hochi, January 7, 1948.
86
Hawaii Hochi, July 14, 1848.
87
Hawaii Hochi, May 17, 1947.
88
Hawaii Hochi, December 8, 1948.
89
Hawaii Hochi, July 14, 1948.
90
Hawaii Hochi, October 6, 1948.
91
Hawaii Hochi, June 3, 1950.
92
Yukiko Kimura, “Social-Historical Background of the Okinawans in Hawaii,”
report no. 36, December 1962, Romanzo Adams Social Research Laboratory, Universityof Hawai‘i.
93
Nobukatsu Okano, “Senryousha to hi-senryousha no hazama wo ikiru imin” [Theimmigrants who live between the occupiers and the occupied], Imin kenkyu nenpou[Annual review of migration studies] 13 (2007): 8.
94
Ibid., 9.
95
Shigehiko Shiramizu, Esunikku bunka no shakai gaku [Sociological study on ethnic culture] (Tokyo: Nihon Hyouron Sha, 1998).
96
Makoto Arakaki, “Hawai‘i Uchinanchu and Okinawa Uchinanchu Spirit and theFormation of a Transnational Identity,” in Okinawan Diaspora, ed. Ronald Y. Nakasone,(Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2002), 136.