Chrysanthemum Ambassador Abigail Tamayose embodies the changes in a Maui program started more than seven decades ago.
Tamayose, a student at King Kekaulike High School in Pukalani, recently represented Maui and the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center at the Fukuyama Rose Festival in the city of Fukuyama, Japan.
This is the first year that the event recognized the participants as ambassadors and liaisons. Also representing the Chrysanthemum Festival as liaisons are Rylee Ota, who graduated from Maui High, and Keala Rodriguez, a graduate of Seabury Hall in Makawao.
For decades, a queen was crowned at the Chrysanthemum Ball, an elegant ballroom-dance, sponsored the Maui AJA Veterans. The Chrysanthemum Ball raised money for community service programs and scholarships administered by Maui AJA Veterans. In 2007, the name was changed to Chrysanthemum Festival. The program, now administered by NVMC, brings young leaders together to participate in various exercises including essay writing, fundraising and community engagement.
“It is an extraordinary honor for the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center to be entrusted with carrying forward this 70‑plus‑year tradition from Maui’s Sons and Daughters of the Nisei Veterans. In transforming the Chrysanthemum Ball into the Chrysanthemum Ambassador Program, we wanted our young leaders to experience what the returning Nisei meant when they lived by the motto ‘for continuing service,’” explained Deidre Tegarden, NVMC executive director.
In May, Tamayose led a delegation to sister city Fukuyama in Hiroshima Prefecture for the annual Fukuyama Rose Festival. Maui and Fukuyama share a spirit of friendship forged through tremendous sacrifices. The ambassador rang the bell and presented strings of origami paper cranes at the monument to Sadako Sasaki and reflected on those who perished in the atomic bombing on Aug. 6, 1945 at the cenotaph at the Hiroshima Peace Park.
(To read Tamayose’s reflections on the journey A Journey of Resilience, Peace, and Aloha)
The Maui delegation also met with city officials including Fukuyama Mayor Naoki Edahiro and the Fukuyama City Council.
“Watching Abigail speak about the resilience of Hiroshima and Fukuyama, in the meeting with Mayor Edahiro, reminded us that this program is not just about honoring history; it is about preparing the next generation to carry that legacy forward with courage, humility, and purpose,” Tegarden said.
Fukuyama, known as the Rose City, set a goal of planting one million roses to embody the spirit of businesses, and local groups that came together to rebuild after the devastation of war.
At the Chrysanthemum Gala, Tamayose paid tribute to the sacrifices of the Nisei generation. Her great-grandparents Fusaye Kaminishi and Kazuo Nakano were both incarcerated at concentration camps during World War II.
“People in my generation are forgetting what Nisei veterans and Japanese Americans endured. I hope to connect with my heritage and develop a better understanding of Japanese and Nisei history,” Tamayose said
“I learned about the resiliency and the courage they had to stay strong in situations that were not ideal or fair. This has shown me that maybe my life and my problems are not so bad. Ultimately, I learned that we can take the courage, resiliency, and strength that the Nisei generation had and use it in our mindset and community to make us more united with love, respect, and most importantly, gratitude.”
The Chrysanthemum Ambassador program teaches valuable leadership skills to the young leaders who form an important bridge between Maui and Japan. In early June, a delegation from the Fukuyama Chamber of Commerce and Industry visited Maui and were assisted by Tamayose and Chrysanthemum Liaison Rylee Ota.
Ota will be heading to San Diego State in the fall where she will study electrical engineering. Besides the Chrysanthemum program, Ota was co-president of the school’s band program and kept up a busy schedule of AP classes. She said that Rev. Shinkai Murakami of Wailuku Hongwanji encouraged her to join the Chrysanthemum program.
Her great-grandfather James Yamato served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and she said her great-grandmother Dorothy Yamato taught her the values of enryo (humility), sekinin (responsibility) and gisei (sacrifice). Ota said she values the lessons she has learned as a Chrysanthemum Liaison.
“It taught me to be confident and speak up more,” Ota said. “I want to be more like them where I am able to be more selfless and I can help others and be involved in our community and help the future generations.”
“I learned a lot more about the values of the Nisei veterans. When I first went to the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center, I learned a list of words that are all related to the core values of the 442nd (RCT). When I read through it, I realized that I could relate to some of those values. I understood how the culture and the values intertwined, especially with how much the veterans sacrificed.”
The Chrysanthemum Ambassador program is open to all Maui County high school sophomores and juniors, girls and boys, of all ethnicities. Students will still be required to study and learn about the Nisei soldier history and the values of the program will still be rooted in the Nisei values.
Under the guidance of the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center, the program continues to evolve and expand, under NVMC’s mission to “ignite the potential in people by inspiring them to find the hero in themselves through the legacy of the Nisei Veterans.”
In remarks at the Chrysanthemum Gala, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen praised the Chrysanthemum program as carrying on and moving forward the legacy of Nisei veterans.
“This year’s Chrysanthemum ambassador candidates represent the next generation of leaders, each stepping forward with a willingness to serve and to give back through community involvement, learning and outreach, they help ensure the stories and lessons of those who have come before us are carried forward. Their role reflects the importance of leading by example and building stronger connections across our community,” said Bissen.
For more information on NVMC and the Chrysanthemum Ambassador program visit www.nvmc.org.
