2007 HUOA Leadership Study
Tour
By Tavia Shiroma, Gaza Yonagusuku
Doshi Kai
Hai Tai! It was a privilege and an honor to be a
member of the 2007 Leadership Tour.
Out of the many awesome experiences from the trip, the one that means the
most to me was meeting my Great-Grandmother’s family. My Aunty Mitsuko Tamayose, my
Great-Grandmother’s sister-in-law, gave me the names and phone numbers of family
living in Okinawa. I gave this
information to Lynn Miyahira, a fellow Gaza member who works for the Okinawan
Prefectural Government and who is fluent in Japanese (which was invaluable to me
because I don’t speak any Japanese).
She contacted them and made arrangements for me to meet them and visit my
family’s burial site. When she told
me this good news, I was overwhelmed with emotion because I knew that this was
something that my Great-Grandma would want me to do. It would also make my Grandfather, her
son, very happy because I could re-establish our ties to family in Okinawa,
which we feared were lost when my Great-Grandma passed away. Lynn was able to take the afternoon off
to accompany me on this family reunion and thank goodness because she was the
translator.
Thank you Lynn, I will never forget
that you made this possible.
When we arrived at the burial site I
was amazed. It was a massive
ancient looking structure resembling the shell of a gigantic turtle
(characteristic of the Chinese influenced burial sites that can be seen
throughout Okinawa) nestled amongst a cluster of modern-day apartments that had
been built all around the tomb. At
that moment, I truly felt my ties to Okinawa because that tomb represented my
family’s history and generations in Okinawa. I felt humbled and very proud at the
same time. It gave me tears and
chicken skin. Okinawa no longer
felt like a foreign country, it felt like home and I have no doubt that I will
be back to visit many more times.
My Great-Grandmother, Edna Higa, passed away September 20, 2006. I miss her and I felt her presence
during this trip.
To HUOA and Gaza Yonagusuku Doshi
Kai, I offer my heartfelt thanks for this wonderful opportunity and I pledge
life long service to the development and sustainability of the Okinawan
community.
To the Okinawan Prefectural
Government, thank you for welcoming us so warmly and enthusiastically, I am
confident that the bonds between Hawaii and Okinawa will remain strong.
To Jane Serikaku, Laverne
Higa-Nance, and David Arakawa, I owe my sincere appreciation to each of you for
your guidance, inspiration, and friendship.
To my fellow tour members, it was an
honor to take this journey with all of you and I am so grateful for the lifelong
friendships we have formed.