CHOKI OSHIRO
published Oct 14, 2018

Since Onaha was a friend of Dr. Yamashiro of Wailuku, he often visited Wailuku and became a good friend of plantation workers, who were there from Shuri. Dr. Yamashiro was an officer in the Salvation Army and during the war, he went back to Okinawa with his wife to help Okinawans there. He worried about the poor medical conditions in Okinawa and tried his best to solve the problems. He even negotiated with the U.S. Army concerning the matter. He finished his life in Okinawa.

Now I want to talk about some Okinawan people in Hawaii who are my seniors. In Waipahu plantation area, where I live, there is Hodou Nagamine's family from the island of Hawaii. Mr. Nagamine has already passed away, but his children all grew up to be successful. Only one of them is in Waipahu now, the others are in Honolulu. Nagamine was a very good leader for us, always willing to offer his time for people from Okinawa. He established an Okinawan society to guide younger ones and children. We do not see people like him often.

Chozin Kaneshiro was also from the Big Island. He was my good friend and a sincere, frank person. His eldest son, Seiichi, and his wife are still active as exemplary leaders of younger people. Mr. Kaneshiro was tough. He was able to carry a cart as heavy as 300 pounds, I heard. He was a lovable and good-natured person. One of his sons was a captain in the U.S. Army during the World War II and became a schoolteacher. He was the one who saved my life when I fell into the sea and almost drowned as a child in Okinawa.

Seisuke Kaneshiro, at the celebration of his 88th birthday, invited a tour group from his wife's hometown, Kin-son. He is lucky, because his children are all rich. His retired life is truly a happy one.

Chogorou Oshiro, a labor contractor in Papaaloa, was one of the most successful men in the days when the Big Island was more prosperous. He was from Aza Noha in Tomigusuku Village of Shimajiri County, Okinawa. He came to Hawaii by a ship, Chusamaru, in January of the 40th year of Meiji (1907). He worked in Overend Camp of Honokaa plantation for about one year and was well-recognized by the plantation owner. There with the owner's favor he started various jobs by contract. This was the beginning of his fortune. He was always nice and associated with others with a smile. He was talented, or rather had the unique ability to control his workers successfully and efficiently. Consequently over 100 workers, Filipinos as well as people from Okinawa, came to work under him. He was given a camp by the plantation owner and named this Oshiro Camp. This camp was located on Papaaloa hill. His sugar cane lands were of an incomparably large scale. When there were enough plantation workers, he rented several hundred acres and made them into a sugar cane field. It is said that he once earned over $3000 from one harvest. At present his farming land has been reduced to 200 acres, but there are not many who own 200 acres of sugar cane lands in Hawaii. This also will tell how big his business used to be. According to people, he already had several tens of thousands of dollars when he was as young as 32 years old. He was a man of gentle and sound spirit. He was also very steady and frank. He never showed a hostile attitude towards others even if they deserved it. Generally a person in such a situation becomes boastful and insolent. Also such a person usually does not care about other people's pains and troubles. He was, however, really different. He was always humble and never infringed upon his worker's rights. He was never elated by his success and other's flattery. He loved reading books and tried improving himself. Although he had graduated only from an advanced elementary school, he had good knowledge and common sense. He deserves to be praised as a very valuable asset for the society. He served as a secretary of the Okinawan Kenjinkai in Hawaii and made contributions to the public. If I should talk about his contributions, I could talk endlessly. Later he came up to Honolulu and then moved to Lanai. One time he raised vegetables and another time he worked in a pineapple cannery. He unfortunately died in a plantation field. I think most of his savings were donated for the public welfare .

Besides him, there was another unusual, unique person. According to what I heard from him personally, he had never attended a school. In Hawaii, he, who was illiterate, realized the necessity of reading English and Japanese newspapers. He desperately studied both English and Japanese languages. His spare time was used only for studying. As a result of this long and hard battle, he became fluent in English as well as Japanese. He was a man of knowledge and was too good to be a mere laborer. I learned a lesson by reading his stories and other things written in English. They showed me that one's effort could really produce something great.

Saburo Nakahodo's wife became 88 years old this year, I think. His son is an engineer working for the government. Mrs. Nakahodo is living happily with her three grandchildren.

Speaking of Mr. Nakahodo, a daughter of the head household of the family is married to Choho Oshiro, who came to Hawaii as a laborer. Mr. Oshiro was not a farmer. Since he had been a schoolteacher, labor jobs were not suitable for him. Later he was tempted by his friends and gave himself to gambling. There he forgot about his duty as a laborer and started to degrade himself. In the end he became a problem and had to go back to Okinawa. When he came to visit his relatives in Wahiawa, he told us about his going back to Okinawa. I tried my best to convince him not to return, but it did not do any good. It was too bad. If he had worked in the plantation, he would not have become involved with any bad friends and on the contrary could have found good friends. If the friends from the same hometown had respected him and helped each other according to the American laws, and had he paid his taxes, his retired life would have been comfortably sup- ported by a pension. I don't know what happened to his wife. She has probably gone to the U.S. mainland or somewhere.

Men and Women

The problems between men and women in the old days were complicated. Once a woman in a plantation camp was kidnapped. We searched for her everywhere and finally found her in a hotel room in Honolulu. She was locked in there. I also went there with others to talk with the guy who had kidnapped her. The guy was tough and violent, but he had no reason to be: there is no law which allows someone to steal someone else's wife like that. He finally gave up, because we had told him we might sue him if he didn't listen. So we told him we wouldn't have a grudge or any hard feeling against him if he apologized and willingly agreed to send her back to her husband. He agreed and we took her back with us.

Another case happened at Ewa Plantation. A husband came home and found his wife had left him. She took all of her belongings with her. He went to report it to the office. Unfortunately the interpreter was out, so he found himself in a communication problem. He didn't know what to do. A white man asked him osumara (what's the matter?). He told the man, "Mii, wahine, ten kuraaku, Honolulu kisha pau." (My wife is gone to Honolulu. She took the 10:00 train.) In this way, our immigrants' lives, half a century ago, had many funny stories. And all this was because we could not understand or speak English.

Communicating in old (Japanese) English

Now I am writing about other people, but someone else may ask me, "How about you? Could you use English fluently?" My answer is of course "No!" I also goofed and had some embarrassing episodes myself. Once I heard one of my fellows asking what time it was. Another man answered "Happa tsurii" (half past three). Later when I was taking a bath, one of my senior fellows asked me how many bales of pulapula (seed cane) I had cut. So I answered "Happa tsurii". Then he laughed and told me that I should say "Tsurii no hafu baiki" (three and a half bags).

Our English in those days was really funny. A contract worker in Lahaina Plantation was asked by his superiors "How many people are working here?" He answered, "Ten, ten, wan burooku" (Ten, ten, one broke), in loud voice. The supervisor said, "All right, boys," and galloped away. What the worker meant to say is that ten plus ten minus one, 19. The English of our immigrants, who had come here early in this century, was really funny and you could hear hilarious stories like this everywhere.

Even place names were funny to us. For instance, there was a harbor, called Laupahoehoe on the Island of Hawaii. Though it is seldom used now, the harbor was busy in those days. While the ship anchored off the coast, a small boat handled by two crews took passengers to the shore. When the surge pushed the boat up, the crews helped passengers to land. The crews would toss up a passenger and the people on the shore would catch him. It was certainly dangerous, but now it is a story of the past. Now Hawaii island has berths, in addition to airplanes and automobiles.

Helping Hands

While I was working at Queen's Hospital as an elevator boy around 1911, Mr. Yasunori (Hotoku) Higa came from the island of Hawaii. It was the best days for Okinawan immigrants and he soon became a manager of the Kyushuya Inn. We became good friends. One day I had to work late at night and decided to stay overnight at the inn. He told me to go to his house to rest for a while, as it was not very late yet. After a delicious supper, Mrs. Higa said, "Mr. Oshiro, you are a married man and your wife is waiting for you. So you should not stay out like this. It is not too late yet. Let my husband take you home." Then they gave me a ride home. Mr. Higa, since his young days when he was still a bachelor, was always willing to help poor students. With his help some became doctors and others became scholars and so on.

There was a Dr. Yamashiro who became an excellent doctor, thanks to Mr. Higa's help. When one of my friend's wife became seriously sick with a high fever and was in critical condition, Dr. Yamashiro came. He repeatedly said, "Mrs., I am a doctor. I will surely cure you. The gods will not take your life! Don't worry. Pray for Buddha's mercy and help. Don't even doubt it. Just believe in Buddha's mercy. I'll cure you by all means and you try to believe in your recovery." She recovered and has been healthy ever since . This incident became well known. When Mr. Higa became sick, Dr. Yamashiro did his best to cure him. Although he was unsuccessful, Mr. Higa must have been very happy and died in peace, for he had been attended to by his favorite doctor who was like a loving son. In fact, Dr. Yamashiro's case is only one example. Mr. Higa used most of his money to help others and was respected by many young people.

Mrs. Higa was also a great and wise woman. I think she believed in the famous Japanese saying, "Wag ami o tsunette hito no itasa o shire" (Give a pinch to yourself and know the other's pain). She was from Aza Taira of Tomigusuku-son.

When Mr. Higa went back to Okinawa to visit, he brought back cloth made from the fiber of banana leaves. When he passed away soon after that, people talked about the cloth, saying he probably had foreseen his death and brought back the cloth for his funeral. I believe he sacrificed his whole life to help and serve others. He spent almost all the money he received from the hotel, to help poor students. He was satisfied with it and was happy. Even after he got married, he never changed his ideal and spirit of sacrifice.

There is a person named Maruyasu, who also had only elementary school education. He is from Nishihara-son and quite different from other people . He is a very good writer. He was selling food and miscellaneous items to workers in Waipahu Plantation for a long time . Even during the war, he did a good job in distributing those goods to the people. After that, he started a noodle shop with his wife. They also succeeded in that business. When they retired, they kindly transferred their ownership of the shop to my child.

Hibi Kojitsu (Everyday is a good day) and Hiyamikachi, mada korekara da, oretachi wa! (Let's rise again, we are still young and have many things to do in the future!). With such mottos, he makes a rich and happy life with whatever he has. He writes a good hand and reads many books. He is also a good speaker, but hardly meets with others, because he is shy and humble. However when he must, he gives an excellent speech. His speech is simple, clear and always impresses the audience. I am lucky to be his friend. He has various hobbies. For instance, he is an expert of bonsai (dwarf trees). His home life was not a very happy one, but it never bothers him. He is satisfied with what he has and optimistically lives his days. He says, "hiyamikachi, mada korekara da. Oretachi wa 75-sai no seinen de aru" (Let's rise again, we are 75 year old YOUTHS! We are still young). I learn a lot from him.

In the main section of Waipahu, there is a well-known Takayesu Bicycle Shop. Now Mr. Takayesu's son is the owner of the shop. Both the father and son have been doing their business successfully. Mr. and Mrs. Takayesu worked desperately selling, repairing and established the foundation of their business. Their son sells various new models, made in Europe as well as in U.S.A. for the younger generation. Mr. and Mrs. Takayesu are very honest and kind. They also work hard and are loved by children. Even after they gave the store to their son, they were helping their customers with a smile. Now they are retired and although they seldom visit the store, they are still in good health. Mr. Takayesu is 91 years old now, but never looks as old as his actual age. Mr. and Mrs. Takayesu remind me of the saying, "Shojiki no kobe ni kami yadoru" (God dwells in an honest heart). They are eager believers and members of the Salvation Army. Some of their grandchildren are on the mainland (U.S.A.) and the others are in Pearl City. Both Mr. and Mrs. Takayesu are from Awase, Okinawa, and have been Christians from before coming to Hawaii.

The eldest son owns the bicycle shop and the second son is an attorney. The second son is an interesting man. During school vacations, he sometimes worked as a government construction laborer and as a salesman. He was very courageous and independent. Now, he is settled down, but he was very active when he was young. He called me, "Choki," and I was very proud of having such a young friend. His wife is from Maui. One time, when his wife went to visit her family on Maui, he went with her. He told her parents they should be happy and proud of their daughter being married to an Okinawan. I understand everybody burst into laughter. If there is one who can say such a manly thing, it is he. I was impressed by this episode and thought he was the very person we might call an Okinawan. He was brave, because people from Yamatu (Japan) and those from Okinawa were not considered to be equal in those days. I think it was the good old days, when we could still see such a character as his. In those days, on one of the islands, a father committed suicide because his daughter had fallen in love and married a man from Okinawa. This tells the extent of the discrimination against Okinawan people in those days.

My World View

At present it is the time of second and third generations and we, the first generation, do not have any right to interfere. Free marriage is naturally accepted without any problem. My son once asked if he should marry an Okinawan girl. I told him he would not have to worry about her racial background and he could marry anyone of his choice. Now we live in such a blessed world, in which all of us are like brothers and sisters. Everyone should be friendly, help each other and try to avoid any possibility of wars in the future. Don't you agree with me? People in some countries consider subjugating other countries to be good. I feel pity for such people. These type of people are always trying to find other people's weak points. They often exaggerate it to put them into a fix. We must be careful about this type of people, because they are cruel enough even to laugh at others when they fall into a fix. However righteousness and justice will always overcome evil. It is just as said in a Japanese saying, Tabi wa michizure, yo wa nasake (In travelling, companionship; in life, kindness). We all must love each other, help each other, compromise with each other and make this world enjoyable.

In Mr. Higa's days, Teikan Miyasato was working at the Yoneya Inn. He also devoted himself to helping people from his hometown. Later Mr. Miyasato went back to Japan and owned a successful Japanese inn in Kobe. When I stayed at his inn, on the way back from my trip to Okinawa in 1940, he said war might start soon and advised me to stay in Japan. I told him that I'd rather die with my children and grandchildren in Hawaii. If I had stayed in Japan one more week, I would have lost my job.

On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. The Arizona was sunk with her crew aboard. It's still there and people pray for the crew when they visit. I too have gone there two or three times. If it were in Japan, they would probably not leave her under the water and so close to the island. Their families would not let it happen because of a religious difference. Anyway it seems that many Japanese tourists also v1sit Pearl Harbor nowadays. Probably it is also recognizing a brave spirit to leave crew members with their ship like this.

I, from the bottom of my heart, wish we would have a peaceful world without any war in future. A peaceful world is the most desirable. I, as a pacifist, always believe in pacifism. Among my friends, there was one who came to Hawaii as an immigrant, when he was young, in order to avoid being drafted for military service in Okinawa. I heard he quit his schooling in Okinawa as a third grader and came to Hawaii. He was indeed a pacifist. When he was young , he sent out letters to various countries in the world to advocate world peace. Almost all the countries responded to him. I was very much impressed when he showed those letters to me. I admired him, because he actually demonstrated and showed what he believed in. He did not just talk about it. This is Hashiji Kakazu of Kona, originally from ltoman, Okinawa.

The Okumuras of Makiki Christian Church

"Trust and love, then you will see no rivals," the late Rev. Takie Okumura told us. He also said we must make up our mind to stay in the United States as permanent residents. "We must raise our children to be sincere American citizens, so that they might be proud of themselves. Giving a good education to our children is the most important responsibility of parents. In order to move to the mainland U.S.A., where there is a vast land, as successful immigrants, it would be best if four or five of us make a team and work as agricultural laborers to collect necessary money and start some business together. There are many Japanese in California and they need young hard workers. Boys, be ambitious! Our dream is right there. Work sincerely and healthily, and then no poverty will catch up with you. Also patience is the essential foundation to be successful. If you should continue working and making your effortS, you will surely be rewarded. Trust and work. Be patient and wait for your chance. The only way for the youth to succeed is to work." Because of this teaching and ideal, he was called down by some people as a traitor to Japan. In their opinion, Rev. Okumura tried creating agricultural slaves, instead of encouraging them to study, and training illiterate young people to be servants. In my opinion, he was right. There is no other choice but hard work for young people to be financially successful.

In my view, the allegations that appeared in Japanese language newspapers were totally personal accusations based on hatred towards him. In those days Japanese language newspapers took sides with non-Christians and obviously showed their personal hatred toward Christians. They judged social events and happenings from an emotional base. It seems to me it was also a religious conflict.

Nowadays, since people have more understanding about different ideologies and are rich in ideas, they don't fight over such small problems. Both the society and journalists are now fairer and have better understanding. In the old days, however, Japanese society had various problems which were hard to understand. We laborers were careful not to cause problems; we improved ourselves and cooperated with each other. Consequently, today's life is more efficient and comfortable. The memory of Rev. Okumura, who was often spoken ill of, tells me that he after all was a man of foresight. Looking at Makiki Seijo Kyokai, towering like a castle by McKinley High School, I can see how carefully he planned, having looked far into the future.

There is one unforgettable thing about him. I was baptised by him at Wailuku Church on Maui about 1910. Even after I came back to Honolulu, I still kept close contact with him and spent a good deal of time with other young people at Aiyu Club (Friendship Club). I learned a lot from them. Even after I had moved to Waipahu, he never forgot my birthday. He always sent me a letter and his calligraphy as a birthday present a few days before my birthday. I still keep them with me. Rev. Okumura was, among the Japanese in those days, a master of calligraphy. Mrs. Okumura managed Okumura Home, a boarding house for students from other islands. She took care of them very kindly. The Okumura Home was famous. Many students who stayed there became educators and politicians. Rev. Okumura invited students to his church and took care of them like a father. Their parents were also happy. He took care of not only students but also laborers. He devoted himself to social welfare. Consequently, the majority of church members were laborers. He took an electric train from Liliha to Kalihi to cover a larger area in his work. Rev. Okumura educated four or five students to be ministers. He enjoyed writing and sent his calligraphy for our birthdays. He was never late doing this for almost 300 members of his church. Since he loved us so much, even I who was not a very good church member was very much impressed. I never forgot the birthday donation to the church. The church was prosperous and at every service, we welcomed some new members.

A Friend Came from Afar

After retiring in 1968 I decided the best way to learn was by travelling so I visited Japan, Europe, and South America.

There were many Okinawan immigrants in Peru. Especially among the people from Kin-son were owners of large farms who invited young people from their hometowns to work on their farms.

I never imagined we would have a welcome party there. As I watched the street in front our hotel, a young woman asked me what part of Okinawa I was from. I told her that I was from Tomigusuku in Shimajiri. Then she said, "Oh my! Nobody came here to welcome you. I know some people from that village." As soon as she said this, she rushed out to tell the people about my coming. About 20 young men and women gave a welcome party. However, they all looked very tired and sleepy so I tried to make my stay short. I wanted them to go home early to get enough rest. A laborer's life is the same no matter where you go. I heartily thanked them for coming after their hard work. I said, "Please work in good health and take care of your health. The mission of our community association is cooperation and mutual assistance. It is to live in peace and comfort. Please work in harmony with the people from other villages. Thank you very much for coming in spite of your being very tired." I heard that the parties for the people from Kin-son and Gushikawa villages were also friendly and successful. It was as a famous old saying, "A friend came from afar, and we are very happy."

My niece and her family live in Sao Paulo, Brazil. There are also some people from my hometown there. I felt very sorry for them, because, in spite of the fact that Brazil is as large as all the other countries in South America combined, these people lived in a poor slum-like, overcrowded place. Laundry hung everywhere. They were living happily, but I wish they could live comfortably after their retirement. It would be nice to have a piece of farmland, even a small one.

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