O-RI TO-RIï¼Our third day in Okinawa had us flying out to the Yaeyama Islands of Ishigaki and Taketomi. Â These beautiful southern islands of the Ryukyu chain holds some of the worlds most beautiful beaches and traditional images. Â They love their culture and it shows in the surrounding and its people. We landed at the new […]
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KATSUMI SHINSATO SENSEI EMBODIES AND LIVES THE OKINAWAN VALUES OF “MAGUKURU”.
新里ã‹ã¤ã¿å…ˆç”Ÿï¼ˆï¼™ï¼‘æ‰ï¼‰ã‚„真心æŒã¡ã€æŒä¸‰ç·šä¸–ç•Œã¬å®ã€‚æ¥æœˆäºŒåå…æ—¥ã«æ–°é‡Œä¸‰ç·šä¼šã®çš†ã•ã‚“ãŒå…ˆç”Ÿã«â€œçœŸå¿ƒâ€ãƒªã‚µã‚¤ã‚¿ãƒ«ã€ãƒãƒ¯ã‚¤ã‚³ãƒ³ãƒ™ãƒ³ã‚·ãƒ§ãƒ³ã‚»ãƒ³ã‚¿ãƒ¼ã§ã€‚ Living in a humble home in Kalihi, Shinsato sensei is like a father and grandfather to all his students.  He started utasanshin at age 20, while struggling to make a living in Honolulu. He said, hearing the voice of the sanshin made him remember his time in Okinawa with his mother. Because he wasn’t […]
Ukwanshin Tour: Last Activities Day
Our last day together for activities today was hosted by the Hands On NPO group. Â They came to pick us up and took us to historical places, as well as locations mentioned in local folk tales. Â We passed by the American gravesites where some of Commodore Perry’s crew is buried, and then went to the […]
Norman Performs At The Nomura Ryu Kochi Kamechiyo Concert In Urasoe
Tonight we were hosted by the Nomura Ryu Ongaku Kyoukai at the Tedako Hall in Urasoe. Â This was the 116th anniversary of the birth of Kamechiyo sensei. Â Norman is the grandchild student of Kochi sensei. Â The show had a cast of 1000, and Norman was chosen to have one of the solo songs in this […]
Ukwanshin Tour Day 7
Today we started our day at Shikina En, Royal Gardens. Â This area was heavily damaged during the war, but was reconstructed to its splendor. Â The quiet gardens and pond gave the feeling of going back nto time as you could imagine the royal family relaxing and entertaining their guests with the court music playing int […]
Connecting with Okinawa’s Most Sacred Sites
Our tour reached the half way point today as we visited the most significant sacred sites and historical places in Okinawa. Â We all woke bright and early to leave for the Azama Pier and board our boat to Kudaka Island. Â This island is said to be the place where the gods descended to create the […]
Ukwanshin Tour 2012: Returning Back “Home”
Excited and anxious tour participants left Honolulu on a very pleasant flight on Hawaiian Airlines to Osaka. Â However on our arrival into Osaka, we were 45 minutes late due to late departure from Honolulu, and the strong headwinds into Osaka. Â We originally had a little over one 1 and 1/2 hour to connect to our […]
Maui Okinawa Festival “Releasing Their Okinawan Spirit!”
The Maui Okinawa Festival was held on June 16th, at the Maui Mall in Kahului. Â Maui Okinawa Kenjinkai members, their families and friends, worked hard with preparations as things went into full gear with food prep from one week prior. Â The hard work and planning showed as locals and visitors alike were treated to home […]
Washita Ichiman Concert Brings Young and Old Together
“Washita Ichiman†concert at the Doris Duke Theater and Kona’s LEAD Theater brought surprise and emotional experiences that went beyond the stage. Tomoko Uehara showed a side that most people didn’t expect, while Atsuko Tamagusuku brought the audience to experience her story through her animated dance choreography. Ukwanshin Kabudan brought the two cousins to Hawaii […]
Ii Sougwachi Debiru! ã„ã„æ£æœˆã§ã³ã‚‹ï¼Happy New Year!
The Lunar New Year is more commonly referred to as “Chinese New Year”, and was observed on January 23rd. Most of Asia still retains the Lunar New Year as their larger celebration to welcome in the Chinese zodiac representative for that year, as it also traditionally was also linked to prayers and thanksgiving for the […]