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MA: And I'm just thinking of the demographics of Hawaii, so much different than Colorado, being majority Asian population here and how, what your impressions were of Hawaii and how you sort of felt here.

NM: Uh-huh, yeah. Until I came to Hawaii this time, no matter where I went to on the mainland, I was always minority. So, you know, I had kind of a sense of entitlement, or I am always very unique. Even though hard for me to find a place in a Caucasian-dominant community, and yet, many church meetings, they always created a room for me to share my stories and then to give some leadership. But here in Hawaii, I am one of many, many Asian people. So I felt my sense of entitlement was kind of crushed, and I am not unique at all. [Laughs] So it's a humbling experience. So I am learning Asian culture and Japanese Hawaiian culture here.

And then interesting thing I learned was I asked when I first came, my church members, "Tell me about your ethnic background. Are you Japanese Americans? Are you Chinese Americans?" And then all of them said, "No. I am Hawaiian." "Oh, so you are Chinese Hawaiian, right?" "No, I am Hawaiian." And I asked him, "What do you mean by that?" There is not much distinction among different ethnic groups. But, of course, I am finding out more and more, there is a pecking order. But there is much more lenience or tolerance here in Hawaii than on the mainland. So it is kind of difficult for me to hear racial discriminatory phrases and language here among Hawaiian people. But they kind of enjoy putting each other down. So there must be a very, you know, unique sense of togetherness or community among all these different racial ethnic groups.

MA: And tell me a little bit about the church.

NM: This church was established about 120 years ago by a Japanese minister named Reverend Kanichi Miyama. And as you know, contract laborers were sent from Japan. And Japanese laborers were here, but because of linguistic and cross-cultural difficulties, these laborers, Japanese laborers, were really lost. And fellow countrypeople, countrymen in San Francisco were very concerned about Japanese laborers working on the sugar plantations in Hawaii. So they sent Reverend Kanichi Miyama to establish a Christian community here. And Reverend Kanichi came to start Bible study and fellowship group, and he managed to invite consul-general from Japan, Mr. Ando. And Mr. and Mrs. Ando became Christians. And they were really influential, of course, and this group became strong. That's the beginning of our church. And I understand that the Harris Church is the oldest Japanese church. But now, six or seven different languages are spoken, and it became a multiracial church.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright ©2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.