‘UTA-SANSHIN & UDUI” – a free performance on Jan. 25, 11am @ UH West Community College

This is an in-person event at UH West Oʻahu’s Library (B-Building). Directions to campus can be found below; parking is free. Please take the following purple route – annotated as if you were walking from the parking lot – to access our facility. This is a link to the non-annotated map. Note: we are the building with the beacon designed by Carol Bennett. 

The workshop will be in the Libraryʻs second floor event space. For directions, please stop by the Circulation Desk upon entering the building. 

Reservations now Open! SOUGWACHI UYUYĒ – A New Year Celebration

Please register to reserve a seat and select your bento choice. You can place your order with the online registration or mail in the attached reservation form. Seating is limited so reserve your seats now!

To register online, click on this link: 2024 New Year celebration.
Or

Complete and mail the attached reservation form with your payment to:
Ukwanshin Kabudan

PO Box 892725

Mililani, Hawaii. 96789

If you have any questions, please reply to this email or call (808) 781-9658. We will be glad to assist you.

DECEMBER 2023 – JANUARY 2024 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Happy Holidays!

Anyone is welcome to attend these cultural classes.  Please complete our Contact Form to enroll in any of these classes.

DECEMBER 2023 – JANUARY 2024 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

December 10         LOOCHOO STUDIES (Okinawa) Studies @ UH Hilo, 10am-4pm

January 8                SHIMAKUTUBA – Uchinaaguchi Study Session

                                7pm (Hawai`i time) online: [https://bit.ly/2XkyQHQshimakutuba]

                                Instructor: Brandon Ufugusuku Ing

Sanshin classes

December 5          7:30 – 8:30 pm  Ufubushi (classical uta-sanshin) 

                              instructor: Keith-shinshii

                              http://bit.ly/3vBOIWnSanshin

LAST CLASS OF 2023

December 6          6:30-7:30pm Intermediate Fa-uta (bon dance songs)

                              7:45-8:15pm Beginners’ Foundations class

                              instructor: Norman-shinshii

December 13        6:30-7:30pm Jiutee (advanced)

                              instructor: Norman-shinshii

UP-COMING EVENTS in 2024

February 10            Uchinā Sōgwachi Shinnenkai

March 22, 23, 24.    Loochoo Identity Summit

October-November Calendar of Events

Oct. 24 – Nov. 5 –GAKUMUN (study tour) to Okinawa
Intimate visit to Uchinaa conducted by Ukwanshin Kabudan directors  Eric Wada and Norman Kaneshiro
[2023 and 2024 tours are sold out]

Friday, Nov. 10  –NUFANI, Okinawan dance workshop
3:00 – 5:00 pm
Windward Community College, Hale Pālanakila free, open to the public, no registration necessary
Instructor:  Eric Wada

Monday, Nov. 13 –SHIMAKUTUBA – Uchinaaguchi  Study Session [https://bit.ly/2XkyQHQshimakutuba]
Instructor: Brandon Ufugusuku Ing

Sanshin classes
*Regularly scheduled classes are canceled from October 25 – November  7 and will be on hiatus for the month of December.

Ist & 3rd Tuesdays: 7:30 – 8:30 pm  Ufubushi (classical uta-sanshin with Keith-shinshii) http://bit.ly/3vBOIWnSanshin

1st & 3rd Wednesdays: 6:30-7:30 pm Intermediate Fa-uta (bon dance songs)

7:45-8:15 pm Beginners’ Foundations class

2nd Wednesdays: 6:30-7:30 pm Jiutee (advanced)

4th Wednesdays: 6:00-7:00 pm Ufubushi (classical uta-sanshin w/ Keith-shinshii)
7:15-8:30 pm Jiutee (advanced)

Please note:

  • We start at 6 pm only on 4th Wednesdays
  • Wednesday classes are hybrid (held online and in-person) 

2023 Juuguya – Autumn Moon Festival – Reserve your tickets now!

There are 2 ways to submit your reservation.  Please select the one that is most convenient for you:

1. online at (click on this link)  2023 Juuguya reservation

2. download, complete and mail the attached registration form to Ukwanshin Kabudan, PO Box 892725, Mililani, HI 96789. 

Every attendee must purchase a ticket for admission entry and buffet dinner.  Confirmation of reservation will be acknowledged upon receipt of payment.  
If you have any questions, please reply to this email.

Hope to see you there!

OGSH DNA Workshop

Request from Okinawan Genealogical Society of Hawaii (OGSH)
Please share the attached information on the DNA workshop sponsored by OGSH and HUOA scheduled for Tuesday, September 26th at 7 pm at HOC.  This is research done by Raplee Nobori to discover his Okinawan mother and Japanese father’s ancestry.   Below is the flyer and registration form for the “Tracing Your Okinawan Ancestry through DNA”  and the link to the trailer we created.  He discovered interesting DNA  information regarding a connection between the Ainu and Ryukuans as well as differences between Japanese and Okinawan DNA and their migration routes.

Link to Registration Form

Note from Ukwanshin Kabudan
Please register for and attend this intriguing presentation on DNA mapping and migration patterns sponsored by OGSH. In promoting this great learning opportunity, however, we at Ukwanshin Kabudan would like to remind you that DNA mapping and other empirical scientific research methods are merely tools to help build the bigger picture of who we are. When used in concert with ancestral knowledge, they can be powerfully constructive; however, when wielded with little or no cultural lens, they can be extremely deceptive, even destructive. Scientific research is very much prone to Western cultural biases that, historically, have dismissed or diminished the value of ancestral knowledge of native peoples. Genetic research, in particular, has a long history of over-generalizing or mischaracterizing minority and indigenous peoples, often in line with racist beliefs. This is not to say that all scientific research should be dismissed or distrusted; rather, it is a reminder that even “objective” science can be tainted or skewed by incorrect assumptions about a group of people. In regards to DNA mapping and migration research as it applies to Okinawa, please be aware that there are some who use this type of data to dismiss claims that Okinawans are indigenous, or even a separate ethnic group. Please be clear — we are NOT insinuating this is the intent of Mr. Nobori or OGSH. However, we do want to make sure our community is aware of the rhetoric surrounding studies regarding our “ethnic origins.” Please bear in mind that “heritage”, “ancestry,” “culture,” and definitely “ethnic identity” go far beyond where the first of our gene pool came from. The vast majority of who we are as a people — including indigeneity — come from what our ancestors did in place on the lands they connected with as their parents. We hope any discussion on DNA mapping or migration research will be helpful starting points in the densely layered discussion on understanding who we are as a people.

September 2023 Calendar of Events

  • September 1-30, 2023: Give Aloha donation program at your neighborhood Foodland market
  • Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, 10 am – 3:30 pm: Loochoo Studies Cultural Workshop, University of Hawai`i at Hilo
  • Monday, Sept. 11, 7 pm – Shimakutuba – Uchinaaguchi Study Session https://bit.ly/2XkyQHQshimakutuba
  • Saturday, Sept. 30.  Juuguya: Mid-Autumn Full Moon Festival, Jikoen Hongwanji
  • Sanshin classes:
    • Ist & 3rd Tuesdays: 7:30 – 8:30 pm  Ufubushi (classical uta-sanshin)http://bit.ly/3vBOIWnSanshin
    • 1st & 3rd Wednesdays: 6:30-7:30 pm Intermediate Fa-uta (bon dance songs)7:45 – 8:15 pm Beginners’ Foundations class
    • 2nd Wednesdays: 6:30-7:30pm Jiutee (advanced)
    • 4th Wednesdays: 6:00-7:00 pm Ufubushi (classical w/ Keith-shinshii);
      7:15-8:30pm Jiutee (advanced)

Please Note:

  • We start at 6 pm only on 4th Wednesdays
  • Wednesday classes are hybrid (held online and in-person)