KAPAIA — “This is the second year we’ve done this,” said Laraine Moriguchi of the Kapaia Foundation. “Last year, we started with 100 fish. This year we have more than 200 fish, and next year it’ll be 300.” Moriguchi said
KAPAIA — “This is the second year we’ve done this,” said Laraine Moriguchi of the Kapaia Foundation. “Last year, we started with 100 fish. This year we have more than 200 fish, and next year it’ll be 300.”
Moriguchi said her goal is to reach 600 fish, representing the 600 residents who lived in Kapaia Valley during the 1930s.
“They have taught us a lot, and having the fish represent them is a tribute to their contribution to the community,” Moriguchi said.
In a photo taken in 1935, the flying of koinobori during Boys Day was one of the events celebrated by the plantation-era community.
Boys Day, falling on the fifth day of the fifth month, is a national observance in Japan and arrived to Hawaii with the Japanese immigrants who were brought here to labor in the plantations.
The koinobori, or carp swimming upstream, represented the courage, strength and determination to overcome all obstacles required for the feat and became symbolic for Boys Day as a wish for sons’ good future.
“Next year we hope to have 300 fish, and the following year, 400 fish until we reach 600 fishes,” Moriguchi said.
