PUHI — Seeds from the mayor’s trip to Japan about a month ago have begun to sprout. Kumu hula Kaleinani Hayakawa, a longtime visitor from Japan to Kaua‘i, and Tsuneo Suzuki were spending the day finalizing plans for trips they
PUHI — Seeds from the mayor’s trip to Japan about a month ago have begun to sprout.
Kumu hula Kaleinani Hayakawa, a longtime visitor from Japan to Kaua‘i, and Tsuneo Suzuki were spending the day finalizing plans for trips they are planning to the Garden Isle later this year.
Art Umezu, acting as go-between for the mayor and visiting Japanese dignitaries, said Suzuki plans to return twice — once with a group of Japanese athletes to participate in the Kaua‘i Marathon scheduled for Sept. 6 on the South Shore.
Umezu said Suzuki will not only coordinate the trip of 15 Japanese athletes, he will actually participate in the marathon along with his athletes.
Following that trip, Suzuki is gathering another group of travelers to visit Kaua‘i later in September to take part in the week-long Mokihana Festival that usually takes place in the final week of September.
On the heels of that trip, Hayakawa is gathering a contingent of 50 hula dancers to visit Kaua‘i, coinciding with the 25th annual hosting of the Matsuri event in October, sponsored by the Kaua‘i Japanese Cultural Society and Kaua‘i County.
But her trip doesn’t stop there as Umezu said she will also bring kane hula dancers from Kaua‘i to perform at the Yokohama Grand Hotel in Japan at the New Grand Monarch event celebrating the 150th anniversary of Yokohama and the visit by King Kalakaua to Yokohama 150 years ago.
Hayakawa has a history of bringing her halau of dancers to perform for Kaua‘i audiences and despite retiring several years ago, continues to usher Japanese travelers to the island. Last year, Hayakawa brought a troupe of dancers from Spa Resort Hawaiians to view the hula competition at the Mokihana Festival.
Sue Kanoho, director of the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau, said Hayakawa paid her a visit during this trip as well.
Kanoho said the hard work done by Umezu over the years nurtures the relationship between Iwaki City and Kaua‘i.
“They support us and we support them,” Kanoho said. “It’s a very nice relationship, a Friendship City relationship.”
Hayakawa’s rise to fame in Japan came with the release of “Hula Girl,” a movie that has won four academy awards based on the story of the Joban coal mine in Iwaki City, states an online source.
In 1965, the mine, the largest in Mainland Japan, faces a crisis with massive layoffs threatening because the once-thriving industry is hanging on by a thread.
A plan to develop and create a Hawaiian paradise in this cold, northern region centered around a hula show was devised and a dance instructor from Tokyo was brought in to train the young coal miners’ daughters in hula.
The instructor, Madoka Hirayama, in the film, was once a leading performer and when faced with the coal miners, looked down on them and their amateurish daughters.
But the town girls’ sincere dedication rekindles a passion in the instructor, and each dealing with their own harsh lives, the girls find a new lease on life as they support each other through absorbing the essence of hula.
Today, Iwaki City is the home of Spa Resort Hawaiians where Kapa‘a High School graduate Daphne Sanchez was invited to perform before large audiences during the spring break.
Following that tour, Sanchez has been invited to return for more performances.
Umezu said the day-long planning trip by the Japanese dignitaries can be directly attributed to the mayor’s visit to Japan.
