RECENT EVENTS

. : Tomodachi Committee Celebrates Hinamatsuri

On Tuesday, February 23, Consul General Yoshihiko Kamo and Mrs. Etsuko Kamo graciously opened their residence to the Japan-America Society of Hawaii’s Tomodachi Committee for the annual Hinamatsuri program in celebration of Girl’s Day. Traditionally held on March 3rd, hinamatsuri is marked by families praying for the good health, happiness and prosperity for their girls.

Upon entrance into the residence, guests enjoyed a beautiful 7-tiered hinaningyo display, a traditional Girl’s Day doll display. Guests were also treated to a brilliant musical performance by Na Hoku Hanohano Award winners Randall and Gay Hongo, along with Kamehameha Schools student and former Asian-Pacific Children’s Convention Junior Ambassador, boy soprano TX Tario. Randall and Gay entertained guests with their lovely renditions of both Hawaiian and traditional Japanese songs. TX joined Randall in renditions of contemporary songs as well as famous show tunes.

After the performance, Consul General & Mrs. Kamo invited guests to partake in special hinamatsuri refreshments prepared by their personal chef. Tomodachi Committee members also generously donated delicious items.

The Japan-America Society of Hawaii and the Tomodachi Committee would like to send a big mahalo to Consul General and Mrs. Kamo for hosting this special event. We would also like to thank Randall and Gay Hongo, and TX Tario for providing a memorable musical experience. Thank you also to the Tomodachi Committee members who generously donated refreshments and to Tomodachi Co-Chair Mrs. Kazuko Love for chairing this event.

(L)Tomodachi Committee Co-Chairs Mrs. Shizue Goldblatt and Mrs. Kazuko Love present an omiyage to Consul General Kamo and Mrs. Kamo. (R) JASH members and friends enjoyed the beautiful hinaningyo display.

. : Sharon Fukayama Selected as Akihito Scholar for 2010

University of Hawaii PhD candidate Sharon Fukayama has been awarded the prestigious Crown Prince Akihito Scholarship for academic year 2010. Ms. Fukayama was selected from a pool of 10 outstanding applicants. The scholarship provides $45,000 per year, which includes up to $15,000 allowance for tuition and one time round trip economy class airfare between Hawaii and Japan. Ms. Fukayama, majoring in Education, will be studying at Tokyo’s Keio University’s Graduate School of Human Relations collecting data on Japan’s educational system and teaching methods as her goal is establish a bilingual, bicultural school in Hawaii.

The CPASF annually provides scholarships to University of Hawaii graduate students for study in Japan, and graduate students in Japan for study at the University of Hawaii. The Scholarship was established to commemorate the wedding of Crown Prince Akihito to Michiko Shoda in 1959 to promote good relations between U.S. and Japan, and so far has provided scholarships to 131 scholars who are now serving around the world as “ambassadors of good will.” A unique aspect of the scholarship is that the scholars are given an audience with Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress of Japan at their Imperial Palace residence in Tokyo. Their Majesties have maintained a special relationship with the scholars, evidenced by their visit to Hawaii in July, 2009 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Scholarship during which they met with the scholar alumni who attended.

The scholarship is administered by the Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH), and those interested in the scholarship are directed to the JASH website under “CPASF.”

. : Students Showcase Academic Talent at Japan Wizards Competition

Roosevelt High School got its redemption. After being edged out in a tiebreaker with Waipahu High School last year, the team from Roosevelt High School won second place in the Level B public school category in the Japan Wizards Statewide Academic Team Competition to earn a trip to Japan. Three other schools earned trips to Japan: Hanalani Schools (Level A private school category), McKinley High School (Level A public school category), and Punahou School (Level B private school category).

Held this year on February 20, 2010 at Kapiolani Community College near Diamond Head on Oahu, Japan Wizards is a challenging, fun-filled annual competition for Hawaii’s high school students. Japan Wizards helps motivate students throughout Hawaii to learn more about Japan and help them develop lifelong skills in research, teamwork, personal responsibility, and operating under pressure. Students spend the fall term preparing for the competition studying a wide range of topics including arts, culture and traditions, geography, history, food, contemporary Japan, literature, politics, government, sports, and of course, language. For 2010, a total of 135 students competed from 26 schools (including nine neighboring island schools – Hawaii, Maui, Kauai) composing 45 teams of three students each. The Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH) awarded plaques to the three top scoring teams from each level, Level A and Level B, which are based on the language capability of the students. In Level A, these were Hanalani Schools (1st place), Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama (2nd place) and McKinley High School (3rd place). The Level B winners were Punahou School (1st place), Roosevelt High School (2nd place), and King Kekaulike High School (3rd place). The top scoring public and private school in each level earn a trip to Japan in the summer of 2010. To allow more schools to compete and benefit, a school that wins a Japan trip cannot compete the following year.

(L) Students prepare for the start of competition; (R) Volunteers assist with check-in and Activity Center

During competition intervals, volunteers held various activities in the Activity Center to keep the students occupied and entertained, as well as teach them aspects of Japanese culture. These activities included Jeopardy-styled question and answer games, origami, Japanese writing and charter recognition games, and gyotaku fish printing. Members of the Oahu Ghost Tours also entertained the students with obake storytelling.

As in last year, Mrs. Ina Tateuchi of the Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Foundation, a major sponsor of the event, was there to present the Atsuhiko Tateuchi Memorial Award for Outstanding Scholarship, in honor of her late husband, to the top scoring team in the competition. This year Punahou School’s Level B team was the recipient of this prestigious award.

(L) Competition winners pose with JASH President, Consul General Yoshihiko Kamo, and other guests and attendees; (R) Students try out gyotaku fish printing in the Activity Center as demonstrated by Brandon Tengan

Also on hand were JASH Chair Mr. Allen Uyeda, President and CEO of First Insurance Company of Hawaii, JASH Director and Vice President of JTB Hawaii (another major sponsor) Mr. Keiichi Tsujino of JTB Goodwill Foundation, JASH Director and JTB Hawaii Community Relations Chair Mr. David Asanuma of JTB Goodwill Foundation, JASH Director and Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Vice President for Community Relations Ms. Jean Rolles, and JASH Vice Chair/Secretary and Principal of M5 Architecture LLC Dr. Mike Leineweber. The competition was also fortunate to have in attendance Japan’s Consul General Yoshihiko Kamo accompanied by his wife Etsuko Kamo who gave encouraging remarks to the students.

JASH would like to thank all the major sponsors, including ABC Stores and Kosasa Family Foundation, Atherton Family Foundation, First Insurance Company of Hawaii, Friends of Hawaii Charities, Hawaii Hotel Industry, JTB Goodwill Foundation, The Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Foundation, and The Freeman Foundation. JASH would also like to thank the faculty and staff at Kapiolani Community College for the generous use of their facilities and for their support of the competition. Finally, JASH would like to recognize the 70 volunteers and 30 contributors, without whose service and hard work, this competition would not have been possible.