Monthly Archives: August 2005

My family is from Kumamoto Japan.  My great-grandfather and great-grandmother moved to Hawaii in the early 1900’s.  They were poor, and probably came from farming families.  Everyone did.  My great-grandfather moved here first with intentions of working in the sugar plantations.  I don’t know if he ever planned to move back to Japan, but I know many did. Once he decided he was not going back, he must have asked for a matchmaker to find him a bride.  I don’t know much about either of them, but I’ve seen their marriage certificate, and the marriage was performed at the immigration station.  So now, I’m trying to find out what really brought people like my family to Hawaii, and what their homeland was like.  Even now, I hear Kumamoto is strong in agriculture.  I am searching my past in hopes of figuring out my present, and what role all this will have in my future. Continue reading →