KAPA‘A n The final bon dance of the 2004 season had something special for patrons at the Kapa‘a Jodo Mission event held over the weekend. Dennis Wasano, a multi-winner at the annual Kaua‘i Chili Cookoff, had his uncle and family
KAPA‘A n The final bon dance of the 2004 season had something special for patrons at the Kapa‘a Jodo Mission event held over the weekend.
Dennis Wasano, a multi-winner at the annual Kaua‘i Chili Cookoff, had his uncle and family over visiting from O‘ahu, the visitors clearly separated from the congregation of colorful dancers by their unique garb of bright blue happi bearing the Iwakuni Odori Aikokai name, the outfit being complimented by eyelash lei.
What Wasano does with chili, his uncle Jack Kunichika does for bon odori as the 89-year-old Kaua‘i-born artist renders the iwakuni ondo in the rare old-school style.
Born in Ko‘olau, “near Larsen’s Beach,” in the northeast corner of Kaua‘i the elder Kunichika interjects, Kunichika grew up in the rice fields that dotted the area, spending his childhood working in the pineapple fields of Moloa‘a and Kapa‘a during the day and then finishing the day toiling in the rice paddies.
His day began at 2 a.m. when he would walk five miles to his job at the pineapple fields.
It was in this environment that the young Kunichika began his life’s task of memorizing and practicing the iwakuni ondo from songs that were in his home, using a hand cranked phonograph and an album that was produced about 1912.
The Kunichika family gets involved when Jack climbs atop the yagura to lead the iwakuni that precedes the intermission.
“The Iwakuni style of the bon odori is one of the oldest genres represented in Hawai‘i,” wrote Lynn Martin in ‘Music of Hawai‘i,’ a State Foundation on Culture and the Arts publication in 1994. “It originated in the town of Iwakuni, Japan, located in the Yamaguchi Prefecture on the island of Honshu.”
“In Hawai‘i, Iwakuni ondo are performed by one or two ondotori (singers) and a hayashu (caller) who perform atop the yagura,” Martin concludes.
The singing and dancing should match, explained the elder Kunichika.
Mom Katherine joins the congregation and dances while granddaughter Kelli joins Jack atop the yagura where he takes his position, and carefully, before belting out the familiar strains, unfolds a Japanese umbrella.
Although rain sprinkles was on order for the Friday night bon dance, the umbrella is meant to help deflect Kunichika’s voice downward to the dancers, while its rain-shedding qualities helped protect the singer from the evening sprinkles.
The Kunichika saga was relayed by daughter Caroline Miyata who claims their family is related to Kaua‘i Community College ceramic instructor Wayne Miyata who just happened to be in the audience Friday night as well.
That family connection was further developed Saturday night when Caroline explained to Hiro, Wayne’s son who is home for the summer from college, that her grandfather and Wayne’s grandfather were brothers, a connection that took root in Hiro’s mind amidst the swirl of trying to connect with a relative he had never met until Saturday night.
As Kunichika began his “turn” at the microphone, Miyata noted that at 89 years of age, Kunichika has been singing the iwakuni for over 70 years from the days he began memorizing the words from his home in Ko‘olau.
Miyata said that the Smithsonian Institute, the Library of Congress, the State Foundation for Culture and the Arts, and Bishop Museum have recorded and archived the elder Kunichika’s recordings, and working with the State Foundation of Culture and the Arts who declared Kunichika a master artist, the singer has an apprentice in Ralston Nagata.
Nagata works with Kunichika, and also was present at the weekend’s bon dance where he put in his own stint before the microphone. Miyata said Nagata has over 100 hours of work with Kunichika.
While Nagata took his turn at the microphone, Kunichika’s granddaughter, Kelli Miyata, joined the Kaua‘i contingent of taiko drummers and beat out the tune to set the pace for Nagata’s rendering.
Working with his family in trying to preserve a dying art, Kunichika formed the odori group, Miyata remembering that about a dozen people came to the initial sessions when they got the program started.
Today, Miyata said the number is close to 200 members.
Wasano added that whenever Kunichika visits Kaua‘i, he makes it a point to stop and visit with Mrs. Shizuno Hiranaka, 103 years young, at the Mahelona Hospital long term care unit. Although some of the long term patients were in the audience Friday night, Mrs. Hiranaka was not among them on this trip. Wasano said that while Kunichika was growing up, it was Mrs. Hiranaka who used to take care of him, and now, he visits her each time he comes to Kaua‘i.
That visit took place Saturday when the Kunichika family stopped at Mahelona Hospital where, using Caroline’s video of Jack’s performance the night before, Mrs. Hiranaka perked up, her fingers keeping time with the singing on the videotape.
Caroline explained that in addition to the video, Jack sang some songs during their visit to the hospital, and his baby sitter responded with her body keeping time with the familiar music of yesteryear.
Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) and dfujimoto@pulitzer.net
