Okinawan Culture & Arts

The Historical Gallery is located at Hawaii Okinawa Center. You'll find a selection of historical artifacts and reference books.

Okinawan Classes offered by HUOA

Okinawan Cultural Directory

We are fortunate in the Okinawan community to have so many cultural leaders who continue to preserve, perpetuate and promote the Okinawan culture. If you are interested in learning more about Okinawan performing arts, taiko or karate, look through the Okinawan Cultural Directory and contact a group that may interest you. If you are unsure of which group to contact, feel free to contact HUOA at 808-676-5400 or huoa@huoa.org.

Okinawan Dance Classes offered by Leeward Community College

Leeward Community College is offering Beginning Okinawan Dance class by Yukie Shiroma. It will be held at the Small Dance Studio at LCC in series of 4 classes. To register, call (808) 455-0479 or go to here for schedule and registration information.

Okinawan Music

Unique to Okinawa, Okinawan folk music continues today. You will find a sampling of the most well known songs at the link above.

Literary Journal: Voices from Okinawa

Voices from Okinawa is the summer 2009 issue of MANOA, an international literary journal published by the University of Hawai‘i Press. Over 200 pages long, Voices features the following: three plays and an essay by Jon Shirota, a Nisei novelist and playwright born in Hawai‘i; two essays by Mitsugu Sakihara, an Issei university professor and historian; an interview with Seiyei Wakukawa, an Issei journalist, historian, and activist; an interview with June Hiroko Arakawa, a Kibei Nisei who was a prominent community figure; an essay by Philip K. Ige, a Nisei writer born in Hawai‘i; art from the Sakamaki/Hawley Collection of Hamilton Library, of the University of Hawai‘i.