Jodie Chiemi Ching
Jodie Ching is a former editor of The Hawai‘i Herald: Hawai‘i's Japanese American Journal and is a member of Afuso Ryu Ongaku Kenkyu Choichi Kai and Tamagusuku Ryu Senju Kai. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Japanese from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and is a 1998 recipient of a scholarship sponsored by the Okinawan Prefectural Government for Okinawan descendants. Ching is also the author of IKIGAI: Life's Purpose (Brandylane Publishing, 2020), an Okinawan children's book under the pen name Chiemi Souen.
Updated March 2024
Stories from This Author
Hawaii’s Uta-Sanshin Master Grant “Masanduu” Sadami Murata: An Incredible Story about Identity—Part 2
March 22, 2024 • Jodie Chiemi Ching
Read Part 1 >> Up until Grant’s divorce and his son’s illness, for about 30 years, he remained unaware of his Okinawan lineage. He was raised by Japanese-American Sansei parents, and never wondered why he so passionately gravitated toward Okinawan culture: as a 13-year-old, he wanted to practice Okinawan dance and play sanshin; he loved listening to Issei and asking them questions; he even took to Uchinaaguchi (Okinawan language). Mrs. Terukina asked him “Who are you?” to urge him to …
Hawaii’s Uta-Sanshin Master Grant “Masanduu” Sadami Murata: An Incredible Story about Identity—Part 1
March 21, 2024 • Jodie Chiemi Ching
A typical night at Grant “Masanduu” Sadami Murata’s house consists of a group of his uta-sanshin students gathered on his covered lanai for their weekly practice. Uta-sanshin, the art of singing while playing the Okinawan three-stringed lute, is practiced four days a week, each night with a different group of students. They sit on folding chairs and line up on one side of a couple of low folding tables – so the students can see the right and left hands …
The Legendary Waffle Dog and the Japanese American Family Behind It
Jan. 19, 2022 • Jodie Chiemi Ching
What is a waffle dog? In Hawaii, this hand-food looks something like a long UFO—basically a hot dog encased in a waffle with delectable crispy corners. While it looks futuristic, it came to Hawaii in the late 1920s and is now considered a food legend. But for the Asato family, the waffle dog also symbolizes a legacy rooted in gambari (persistence), kökö (filial piety) and gisei (sacrifice). Waialua-born Nisei Agnes (Gusukuma) Asato and her husband, Jiro Asato (from Kita-Nakagusuku, Okinawa), …
Kaua‘i-Grown Gambaru Girl
Dec. 1, 2021 • Jodie Chiemi Ching
Hawaii News Now’s Anchor Ashley Nagaoka Embodies Perseverance, Grace and Humility Sophisticated and cheerful, Yonsei Ashley Toshiko Nagaoka — Emmy award-winning anchor of Hawaii News Now’s “First at 4” newscast at 4 p.m. and “This is Now” at noon on KHNL — is, at her core, a local girl with a huge heart proud to be from Kaua‘i. Just a few days after returning from a family visit on Kaua‘i, Nagaoka and I met for a Sunday morning Zoom chat. …
