Artist and educator Carol Kouchi Yotsuda is the lone Kaua‘i person named a Living Treasure by leaders of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii. She will be honored along with five other Living Treasures on Feb. 3 at a banquet
Artist and educator Carol Kouchi Yotsuda is the lone Kaua‘i person named a Living Treasure by leaders of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii.
She will be honored along with five other Living Treasures on Feb. 3 at a banquet at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, for contributions to preserving the traditions and teaching of cultures in the islands, according to a mission spokesperson.
Yotsuda has taught art for more than 30 years, and works in many art forms, including painting, sculpture, papermaking and stage set design.
She designed a glass mosaic mural for the Eleele School library, ceramic murals for Wilcox Elementary School, and wall murals for the former Kauai Hilton Hotel (now the Kauai Beach Hotel & Resort) near Hanama‘ulu, and Lihu‘e Airport.
She is executive director of the Garden Island Arts Council, and served on the steering committee to build a Kaua‘i community center. Leaders of the Kauai Peace Project named her 2004 Peacemaker of the Year, and she was given the 2000 Governor’s Kilohana Award for Outstanding Volunteer in the Arts.
She and the other five nominees join a list of more than 100 island residents recognized for perpetuating the traditions, spirit and values of Hawai‘i since the program was begun 30 years ago by leaders of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii.
The other honorees are:
• Richard Paglinawan, who lectures and writes on Hawaiian traditions and works to perpetuate Hawaiian culture in the modern social environment;
• Dr. Terry Shintani, a physician specializing in nutritionrelated health issues, who created the Hawaii Diet Program and Waianae Diet Program;
• James Kunichika, one of the best-known performers of Japanese folk music seen during obon season in Hawai‘i.
He is co-founder and lead singer of Iwakuni Odori Aiko Kai dance group and has performed on tour in Japan;
• Walter H. “Uncle Walter” Paulo, who lives in the Hawaiian fishing village Miloli‘i on the Big Island. He is an internationally recognized authority on traditional and contemporary fishing methods;
• Edward “Uncle Eddie” Kaanana, who uses the lo‘i, or the taro patch, to teach traditional Hawaiian values about the environment, and works with University of Hawai‘i students as a manaleo, or native speaker, and created a curriculum for teaching taro cultivation.
