This Okinawan cultural program will be presented by writer/lecturer Tetsuro Shimojima (visiting from Japan) and Emceed by Actress Tamlyn Tomita.

Shimojima was touched by the Humanism of Taro Higa. Higa was a decorated US Army Nisei veteran from Hawaii. He was a member of the famous 100th/442nd Infantry Battalion from the European battlefields. He volunteered to return to his ancestral homeland of Okinawa in April 1945 as the Battle of Okinawa was underway. Speaking in the local Okinawan dialect, Higa repeatedly risked his life entering multiple caves. He coaxed and rescued (cave flushing) hundreds of civilians to surrender to the safety of American soldiers including a teacher who had instructed him as a grade school student in KitaNakagusuku to live his life like the noble Okinawan Gajumaru Tree.

This then became his guiding light towards a life filled with compassion and courage in the war zone and in the months following the end of WW II. This then is the story that Shimojima tells.

The lecture will be presented in Japanese. Headsets for simultaneous English translation will be available.

There will also be cultural entertainment including a spoken word + uta-sanshin performance by young Uchinaanchu yonsei (fourth generation descendants), Jeff Tanaka and Joseph Kamiya.

Admission is $10 per person. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. Seating is first come, first served.

For more information, please contact Tamiko Uyehara at Uyehara Travel: 213-680-2499

Tickets are available to purchase at the Okinawa Association of America (OAA): 310-532-1929, oaamensore@gmail.com