Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 7, 1 July 2007 — Kū Holo Lā Komohana [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kū Holo Lā Komohana

Voyage to the Western Sun

In early June, the venerable voyaging eanoe Hōkūle 'a completed its epie five-month, 8,000-mile voyage through the islands of Micronesia to Japan, sailing new waters both for the eanoe itself and for the eonnections of aloha between distant peoples and cultures of the Pacific. After making the 1,200-mile open-oeean crossing between the Micronesian island of Yap and Okinawa in April, Hōkūle 'a made its way from port to port through Japan's southern islands, stopping at eaeh spot for a few days to share the beauty, mana and history of the wa'a with enthusiastic crowds who were clearly thrilled to touch the eanoe and to gain deeper insight into the accomplishments of the ancient Polynesian wayfinders and the inspiring feats of those who follow in their footsteps today. Among the many highlights of the Japan voyage were stops at Nagasaki and Hiroshima, where crews presented peaee offerings, a journey through the gorgeous islands of the Seto Inland Sea, where many of Hawai'i's Japanese

families trace their roots, an emohonal visit to the to wn of Uwajima to pay tribute to those lost in the Ehime Maru tragedy, and a jubilant grand finale in the ultramodern port of Yokohama, the primary site of King Kalākaua's groundbreaking visit to Japan in 1881. Several of the crewmembers on board were Japanese nahonals who have been part of the voyaging 'ohana for a while, and for them the most exciting part of having Hōkūle 'a in Japan was clearly being able to share her lessons with young people in a nahon in whieh cultural values have been changing dramatically among the younger generations. The voyage was funded in part by a grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and several OHA staff members were among those fortunate enough to join the eanoe on portions of its sojourn in Japan. Here, Ka Wai Ola offers a few photos and words to help share the amazing experience of being part of Hōkūle 'a 's Kū Holo Lā Komohana, or Voyage to the Western Sun. □

H0L0M0AN A • VŪYAGING

V \ Background: Hōkūle'a threads between islands in the Seto lnland Sea. Photo: Kaimana Barcarse. Inset, clockwise from top left: A visitor to the eonoe is overeome in Uwajima; taiko weleome in I Suo-0shima; crewmember Kyoko lkeda I checks out a traditional sailing boat I tbot accompanied Hōkū neor Hiroshimo; I novigotor Nōinoo Thompson meets with 85-yeor old fisherman Oshimo-son on [ the sacred temple islond of Miyajima. Tbe next night, Oshima-san delivered 2 7 fresh-caught fish to feed the crew. \ Photos: Na'alehu Antbony, Heidi Kai Guth, Derek Ferror. ii