Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 7, 1 July 1989 — Hawai'i week at Aslan Pacific Expo [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hawai'i week at Aslan Pacific Expo

Youth ambassadors share culture with Japanese

By Kelsey Hustace Na Mamo O Kamehameha Communications Intern The Hawaiians got to be the tourists for a change. Complete with travel bags and cameras over their shoulders, they rushed every souvenir shop in sight, followed a nervous guide who frantically herded them on and off tour buses, and mispronounced the native language. These "tourists" were members of "Na Mamo O Kamehameha," a delegation from Kamehameha Schools, who traveled to Fukuoka, Japan, June 2-12. They went when Govemor John Waihee asked Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate to represent Hawai'i at the Asian-Pacific Exposition. The governor designated the Kamehameha student delegation as his official Youth Ambassadors of Goodwill. The trip to Japan coincided with "Hawai'i Week" at the Expo. Although most of the group's time was spent there they had opportunities to see other parts of Japan and to visit three Japanese high schools. The delegation was primarily a performing arts group of high school students rounded out with cultural services andcommunications/mediacomponents whieh included Kamehameha students in internship positions. Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate tmstees Henry Peters, Myron Thompson and Matsuo Takabuki accompanied the delegation, as did 10 Kamehameha staff members. The delegation was joined by ,a crew from KHNL-TV Channel 13 whieh will produce a one-hour program about the trip. Altogether, the delegation included over 60 individuals. Hawai'i Week at the Expo opened June 7, and Kamehameha's delegation was joined by Hawai'i VIPs at the formal opening ceremonies. Included were Speaker Daniel Kihano, Senator Mamoru Yamasaki, the governor's administrative directof Joshua Agsalud, President of the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce Dan Takehara, and the reigning Hawai'i Cherry Blossom Queen Lori Matsumura. The Kamehameha delegation performed nine shows for enthusiastic Expo audiences. The Expo included cultural and corporate exhibits, performances of song and dance from all over Asia and the Pacific, and amusement park rides for people of all ages. At the Expo, one could dine on Sri Lankan food, visit an exhibit on Australia and purchase a purse from Vanuatu all in the same afternoon. The Expo will run through early September. While the delegation was in Japan mainly to perform, they had a ehanee to experience Japanese culture. The students dined at a traditional Japanese restaurant, spent time with Japanese students, and toured temples and a castle in Kyoto. A few students were invited to dinner in private homes. They went in pairs to two homes accompanied by the KHNL crew. One major exchange for Kamehameha took plaee at Gakushuin, formerly Japan's royal school, in the heart of Tokyo. Today, although the admission requirements have relaxed somewhat since WWII, most of the Gakushuinstudents eome from the upper class of Japanese society. Gakushuin has specific ties to Kamehameha that date back to 1880s. This is part of the reason trustees aeeompanied the delegation.

In 1882, as part of King Kalakaua's Studies Abroad Program, two young Hawaiian brothers were sent to Japan and studied at Gakushuin for six years. Following their Japanese education, the brothers attended Kamehameha and graduated in 1893. These boys, James Hakuole ahd lsaac Hakuole Harbottle, eventually become the great-grand-father and grandfather of trustees Henry Peters and Myron Thompson, respectively. At Gakushuin, a formal ceremony took plaee and gifts were exchanged. Mrs. Hoaliku Drake, the mother of Henry Peters, presented a Hawaiian quilt with the "Ku'u Hae Aloha" (My Beloved Flag) pattern whieh features the flag and crest of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Thompson presented the trustees of Gakushuin with a koa paddle fashioned by master craftsman Wright Bowman after a paddle acquired by Captain Cook when he was in Hawai'i. To help them prepare for the trip, student delegates attended three workshops on Japanese lan-

guage and culture. At one workshop they made lists on how they perceived the Japanese and how they thought the Japanese perceived Hawaiians. During the trip students found both lists to be only partially correct. The greatest lesson learned was how wrong stereotyping ean be. After meeting Japanese students, the Kamehameha students found they were not too different from themselves. The only real gap between the two was maturity levels. Since most Japanese children leael extremely sheltered lives (especially girts) most were less mature than the Hawaiian students. In fact, the Japanese students would often guess their Hawaiian friends to be 20-years-old or older, A sure-fire way to make a group of Japanese students scream with laughter and gasp in awe was simplytosay, "Watashi wajuu nana sai"or"I'm 17-years-old." The Japanese did not seem to view Hawaiians the way the students expected, either. Most of them did not seem overwhelmed that the Hawaiian delegates wore western clothes or spoke English. However, many were surprised by (and very appreciative of) the number of Kamehameha students who could speak some Japanese, and would smile and listen patiently to their attempts to use the language. Most students agreed that in Japan they were treated like celebrities. When they stepped off the tour bus to perform at a school a line of students would be waiting to shake their hands. When they left, students were hanging out of the windows waving goodbye. The Japanese practiced their English by asking Kamehameha students endless questions. Being Hawaiian in Japan was a novelty. During one shopping trip, a student wanted to buy a pair of geta slippers from a store as it was about to close. She mustered up some Japanese and eommunicated this to the storekeeper but he told her he couldn't help her. As a last resort she told him she was from Hawai'i. Within five minutes he had everything wrapped and was ringing up the total. The trip was successful in promoting understanding and good will between Hawaiians and Japanese. The students' performances at the Expo and the high schooIs gave Japanese audiences a glimpse of auth6ntic Hawaiian culture instead of the "tourist culture" most were familiar with. The Hawaiian people were well-representfed and many misconceptions were dispelled on both sides. When the journey ended Kamehameha students eame home with a handful of new penpals and at least five rolls of memories apieee.

Video cameras at several angles taped Expo performances and used the huge screen above the stage to provide the audience in the 1,500 seat auditorium with close-ups whieh complimented the action on-stage. Here, Misty Mills and Moea Sylva (both KS '89) appear largerthan life on the big screen.

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KS students performed at three diff erent Japanese high schools. At one, Tokai Munakata, Kamehameha students were invited to attend classes with Japanese students following the performance. Brooke Lee (KS '89) chose to attend a class in caligraphy. Other students attended classes in kendo, judo, drawing or music.