Past Events

Format: Leadership Storytelling and Japanese American History in Hawai’i at JCCH Gallery (including allowing participants to walk through the gallery)

Program Description: A storytelling-focused discussion on leadership and Japanese American history in Hawai‘i, including an opportunity for participants to walk through and experience the gallery.  This event will explore how personal identity, cultural background, and lived experiences shape leadership styles in Hawai‘i. Through a partnership with the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i, the program will highlight the value of authentic leadership in a diverse, community-centered environment.  The session will feature a storytelling-driven conversation led by JCCH President & Executive Director Nate Gyotoku, blending insights from the Japanese American experience in Hawai‘i with reflections from his own leadership journey. Through both historical and personal perspectives, participants will gain a deeper understanding of how culture, community, and lived experiences influence leadership development and career paths. 

In his essay, “Imaginary Homelands,” Salman Rushdie describes our remembrances of homelands as like a broken mirror, with some of its fragments lost forever. Revisiting the cultural past, he writes, is more about memory and forgetting than recreating precisely what once was. Visited by ancestors from their Asian heritage and guided by traditions from distant, imagined, but vivid and personally inspiring pasts, these artists live and work in the multicultural environment of Hawai‘i, sharing a common vision of how art can respond to the challenges and possibilities posed by our urgent need for a more inclusive and interdependent world.

In 2019, Yukie Shiroma invited Kenny Endo and Norman Kaneshiro on a journey to explore the intersections of Japanese taiko, Okinawan sanshin, Okinawan and modern dance to create new music and choreography to tell contemporary stories. Musicians Derek Fujio, Brandon Ing and Jesse Shiroma soon joined the ensemble, and the Imaginary Homelands Band was formed. Collaborating with Shiroma and eight dancers, their collaborations were presented at Palikū Theatre on February 2022, Leeward Theatre in April 2024, and UH Hilo Performing Arts Center in October 2024. Without the dancers this time, the musicians return to the stage to present selections from recent shows and some new solos.

Imaginary Homelands: The Concert is presented by the University of Hawai‘i Outreach College, Monkey Waterfall, and private donors. Additional supporters include the University of Hawai‘i’s Department of Music.

The Artists:
Kenny Endo was the first non-Japanese national to be honored with a natori, a
professional stage name, in the field of Japanese classical drumming. Born in Los Angeles, he received his BA at UCLA and MA at UH Mānoa. He is currently Artistic Director of the Taiko Center of the Pacific and tours extensively, presenting his innovative cross-cultural musical collaborations throughout the U.S. and internationally. In 2022, he was recognized as a Living Treasure of Hawai‘i and a United States Artist Fellow.

Norman Kaneshiro, co-founder and musical director of Ukwanshin Kabudan, an Okinawan performing arts organization, is a grand master of Okinawan music, Nomura-Ryu Ongaku Kyō Kai. He has a BA in Ethnic Studies and is now working on an MA in Applied Cultural Anthropology at UHM. Since 2002 he has been an instructor of Okinawan music in the UHM Department of Music. In 2009 Kaneshiro was designated as a cultural preservationist of Okinawan classical music by the Okinawan Prefecture Government.

Derek Fujio is the Music Department Chair and Orchestra teacher at Kaimuki Middle School. He joined the faculty in 2008 after graduating with a BA degree in Music from Yale University. In 2018 he received a MA in Music Education from UHM. A lifelong student of sanshin under Norman Kaneshiro and koto under Jane Kaneshiro, he is currently the senior master instructor and president of the Okinawan koto organization, Ryukyu Sokyoku Koyokai Hawaii.

Brandon Ufugusuku Ing is a fourth-generation Okinawan born and raised in Kāneʻohe. He has spent many years practicing both guitar and sanshin in a wide range of musical styles, including traditional Okinawan music. He devotes much of his time and energy contributing to the revitalization of Uchināguchi, the indigenous language of Okinawa as well as composing songs in the language. Currently an elementary school teacher on O’ahu, Brandon is enrolled in the Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization doctoral program at Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani at the University of Hawai’i Hilo.

Raised in Hilo, Hawai’i; Jesse Shiroma views music as a meeting ground between the ancestral past and present. His work with the accordion has been recognized through two Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards and an Emmy nomination for the docu-series “Will Play For Food”. As a biracial descendant of diaspora, he has spent the last 15 years in dialogue with his central European heritage and now brings that experience into his Ryukyuan sphere through study on the sanshin and teeku.

Join Hamakua Heritage Center and Hamakua Jodo Mission for Japanese Cultural Heritage Day on Sunday, November 1st, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Enjoy workshops, historic tours, presentations, performances, a mini bon dance, and more! This free event is open to the public.

📆 October 27, 2026 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
📍Kaimukī Public Library

Come on over and join the fun—play Hanafuda with your fellow community members at the Kaimukī Public Library! Several Hanafuda decks will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. This will be a relaxed, self-directed play session—no formal instructions will be provided. However, instruction sheets are available for those interested in learning more about this wonderful game. Everyone, regardless of experience level, is welcome to join!

Temari Hawaii’s biggest annual event returns, featuring new and returning local artists! What began in the 80s as a studio-clearance sale has blossomed into a distinguished craft market, featuring Hawai‘i’s finest makers and their one-of-a-kind creations.

Event Details
Sunday, October 25, 2026
McKinley High School Cafeteria
8:00 – 9:00 AM • Temari members’ early access hour (details TBA)
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM • Public access
Free parking via the Pensacola Street entrance

Afun-filled event with food, drinks, live entertainment by Senjukai Hawaii members, and our popular silent auction

Cultural Fusion is Senjukai Hawaii’s annual fundraising event to help us in our mission to perpetuate Okinawan dance and culture.

Proceeds from Cultural Fusion help us to purchase supplies, perform community service, hold recitals, and provide scholarships to students to further their training in Okinawa.

Experience the heartbeat of Hawaiʻi’s Okinawan community in this deeply personal, original theatrical production. Beginning in late 2024, a dedicated team hosted intimate community story circles and talk-story interviews with members of Hawaiʻi’s
Okinawan community across the islands. More than 80 local Uchinānchu elders, family members, and cultural practitioners opened their hearts to share personal histories. Playwright Lee Tonouchi skillfully weaves these exact multi-generational voices, memories, and shared truths into a singular, cohesive narrative quilt. Directed by Harry Wong III and Terri Madden, Our Okinawan ʻOhana brings stories of family, immigration, culture, humor, resilience, and belonging to the stage.

Showtimes: 
Saturday, October 17, 2026 • 6:00 PM
Sunday, October 18, 2026 • 2:00 PM
Where: Palikū Theatre
Price: $25/ticket
Learn more: https://www.playbuilders.org/our-okinawan-699ohana.html
Get your tickets at the link below.

Join bento artist Keiko Johnson for hands-on keiki & junior cooking classes filled with creativity and healthy, colorful food. Attendees will learn how to turn everyday ingredients into an adorable birthday bear bento in honor of Geoffrey the Giraffe’s birthday at Macy’s Ala Moana. They will build and decorate their very own bento box while learning simple techniques that will encourage them to be adventurous eaters and explore their culinary imaginations. Each child will take home their own bento box and a small set of fun bento accessories to keep the fun going.

Keiki Class: Ages 5-7
Saturday, October 17, 2026 • 10:00 – 11:00 AM
Macy’s Ala Moana, 4th Floor Demo Kitchen
$84/per child

Junior Class: Ages 8-12
Saturday, October 17, 2026 • 12:30 – 1:30 PM
Macy’s Ala Moana, 4th Floor Demo Kitchen
$84/per child

A unique immersive theatrical experience bringing the history of the Honouliuli Internment Camp to life through a powerful fusion of dance, music, and poetry. The performance will illuminate the experiences, resilience, and humanity of those who were incarcerated — offering audiences an unforgettable and deeply moving journey into this important chapter of history. Proceeds from this event will support the educational and preservation programs at Honouliuli National Historic Site.

Featuring Jake Shimabukuro, Kenny Endo, Hawai’i Youth Symphony, Hui ʻIwa Academy, Jill Togawa’s Purple Moon Dance Project, Halla Huhm Korean Dance Studio, Will Espero, and Sharon & Lauren Fujimoto-Johnson.

Tickets starting at $50.50
Doors Open at 3:00 PM
Start at 4:00 PM
End at 6:00 PM

Join PlayBuilders of Hawaiʻi for a free community preview featuring highlights from Our Okinawan ʻOhana by Lee A. Tonouchi and Directed by Harry Wong III. Inspired by story circles and interviews conducted with members of Hawaiʻi’s Okinawan community, this heartfelt production celebrates Uchinānchu family, culture, humor, hardship, and resilience on the stage.

When: Sunday, September 27, 2026 • 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Where: Hawaii Okinawa Center Legacy Ballroom
Learn more: https://www.playbuilders.org/our-okinawan-699ohana.html
Please register using the link below.