LIHUE — Honolulu singer Allison Arakawa will perform at the opening of “Hawaii Nikkei Legacy,” a photographic exhibit of the unique Japanese American culture of Hawaii at 6:45 p.m. Friday at Kukui Grove Center.
LIHUE — Honolulu singer Allison Arakawa will perform at the opening of “Hawaii Nikkei Legacy,” a photographic exhibit of the unique Japanese American culture of Hawaii at 6:45 p.m. Friday at Kukui Grove Center.
Arakawa will be joined by Kauai’s bon dance performers at 7 p.m. at the center stage to perform many favorite bon dance songs. People are encouraged to dance with the bon dance group. Arakawa will also do a special performance at Kukui Grove Center at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
The Legacy exhibit featuring 30 panels with hundreds of historic photos dating back 100 years to the present will be on display in the gallery space next to Regis Salon.
It runs from through Sept. 23 on Thursdays-Sundays. It is free and open to the public.
The intent of the exhibit is to share the story of Hawaii’s Nikkei and to promote goodwill between Japan and the United States through deeper understanding of the cross-cultural values and customs between Japan and Hawaii.
At 6:30 p.m. Friday, Byrnes Yamashita of Nisei Veterans Legacy will conduct a special guided tour of the display for the public. The exhibit covers the initial immigration of Issei (first generation immigrants) from Japan in the 1880s to modern day Hawaii, showing how the Nikkei (overseas Japanese) in Hawaii merged their Japanese cultural values with the blend of cultures in Hawaii.
Prominent Japanese Americans from Hawaii are displayed with the prefectures (states) in Japan that their ancestors emigrated from.
The exhibit is a kickoff event for the upcoming Matsuri Kauai Festival on Sept. 22 which includes Matsuri Gala Dinner and historic Isenberg Japanese Garden re-dedication ceremony on Sept. 21.
