Ukwanshin Kabudan 御冠船歌舞団

Reservations Now Open! 
Click here for tickets:  Aya no Hashi concert

SUNDAY, September 21, 2025, 3:00 PM

JIKOEN HONGWANJI

“Aya no Hashi” is a presentation of traditional and contemporary folk dances from the Yaeyama Islands south of Okinawa as part of a cultural exchange between Honolulu-based Ukwanshin Kabudan and the Ishigaki-based groups Ayapani Kabudan and Yaeyama Folk Dance Academy under the instruction of dance master Masako Akayama.

Around fifteen performers from across Yaeyama will grace the stage at Jikoen Hongwanji Hall on Sunday September 21, 2025 from 3:00pm. Doors will open at 2:00pm, with overflow parking available at Kapālama Elementary School. Tickets are $25 general admission and $10 for children between ages 5 and 10. Admission is free for children under the age of 5. Seating is limited.

Dance master Masako Akayama has dedicated her life to perpetuating the folk dance traditions of the Yaeyama islands and is one of the last keepers of the traditions of her native Kuroshima Island. She has mentored hundreds of students through her
Yaeyama Folk Dance Academy, including her daughter Mieko Haeno who oversees the dancers of the Yaeyama High School performing arts club and will be joining us in Hawaiʻi.

Ayapani Kabudan is a collective of young performing artists formed earlier this year and is comprised of current members and graduates of the highly renowned traditional performing arts clubs of the three high schools in Yaeyama. Several of Ayapani’s members performed in the well-received student shows in Honolulu hosted by Ukwanshin in 2015 and 2017.

“Aya no Hashi” is a culmination of more than ten years of friendship between Ukwanshin Kabudan and Yaeyama High School’s and Yaeyama Forestry and Agricultural High School’s traditional performing arts clubs. The concert will showcase a rare performance of “Kuroshima Kuduki” from Kuroshima Island which has spawned several popular iterations throughout Yaeyama and Okinawa. Please don’t miss this special presentation of the unique and distinctive performing traditions of the Yaeyama Island.

Get ready for another stimulating  Loochoo Studies session.  Sunday’s presentation will be led by Norman Kaneshiro, co-director of Ukwanshin Kabudan, live and in-person at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo.  Can’t get to Hilo? Click on the link below to join the virtual audience. 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88091543775

The theme for this year’s Loochoo Identity Summit is “MĪRANTIN: Knowing what our Eyes don’t see.”  Quite intriguing, isn’t it?  Please come and join us to learn more.  Online registration is now open!  We are also accepting requests for limited student registration/travel assistance. Please visit loochooidentity.org for more information.

Please join us for our Shimakutuba – Uchinaaguchi study session on Monday, February 10 at 7pm. (Hawai`i time). Zoom in at https://bit.ly/2XkyQHQshimakutuba

Your active participation is warmly welcomed.  Don’t be shy!

Ukwanshin Kabudan is pleased to announce that the upcoming 11th annual LoochooIdentity Summit will be held on March 21, 22, and 23 returning to Windward Community College in vibrant Kaneohe. 

We are especially delighted to offer financial assistance for qualified students to attend this year’s Summit.  Thanks to our many generous supporters who feel the importance for succeeding generations to connect to and appreciate their precious heritage, students may apply to receive fee waivers and/or reimbursed travel expenses.

For all those interested in attending the 2025 Loochoo Identity Summit, please visit our website for more details, registration information and student applications at loochoo identity.org.

Ukwanshin Kabudan is an independent non-profit 501(c)3 organization based in Honolulu, Hawai`i under the leadership of Eric Wada, Norman Kaneshiro, and Keith Nakaganeku.  It was founded to engage in educational and cultural activities to promote and perpetuate Ryūkyū/Okinawan culture, art, history, language, and the performing arts.

Loochoo Studies is an outreach program presently monthly by Ukwanshin Kabudan, an independent non-profit organization based in Honolulu, Hawai`i under the leadership of Eric Wada, Norman Kaneshiro and Keith Nakaganeku.   Loochoo Studies is held in-person at University of Hawai`i at Hilo, Ka Haka `Ula o Ke`elikōlani, Hale `Ōlelo.   Can’t get to Hilo?  The link for the online audience is shown below.  Suggestion: Your viewing experience may be better on  a laptop or desktop rather than from a mobile device.