Lee A. Tonouchi
@Lee_TonouchiLee A. Tonouchi, Okinawan Yonsei, stay known as “Da Pidgin Guerrilla” for his activism in campaigning for Pidgin a.k.a. Hawai‘i Creole for be accepted as one legitimate language. Tonouchi stay da recipient of da 2023 American Association for Applied Linguistics Distinguished Public Service Award for his work in raising public awareness of important language-related issues and promoting linguistic social justice.
His Pidgin poetry collection Significant Moments in da Life of Oriental Faddah and Son: One Hawai‘i Okinawan Journal won da Association for Asian-American Studies Book Award. His Pidgin children’s picture book Okinawan Princess: Da Legend of Hajichi Tattoos won one Skipping Stones Honor Award. And his latest book stay Chiburu: Anthology of Hawai‘i Okinawan Literature.
Updated September 2023
Stories from This Author
Her Name Tag Reads “Friend of the Vets”: Stacey Hayashi Shares Stories of da Nisei Veterans
March 5, 2025 • Lee A. Tonouchi
In high school Stacey Hayashi, 49, remembahs reading just one tiny paragraph in her textbook about Japanese American Internment during WWII. Wuzn’t till she went college at UH [The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa] that she wen go learn much more about da Japanese American experience when she wen go take Dennis Ogawa’s American Studies 310: Japanese Americans and Franklin Odo’s Ethnic Studies 330: Japanese in Hawai‘i. Although she nevah realize ’em at da time, Stacey credits these classes for …
Roy Sakuma and Divine Intervention: Da Kine Story of Hawai‘i’s Legendary ‘Ukulele Mentor
Feb. 3, 2025 • Lee A. Tonouchi
In Hawai‘i his name stay synonymous with da ‘ukulele. At 78 and still going strong, Roy Sakuma oversees da four locations of his Roy Sakuma ‘Ukulele Studios, which he’s been operating with his wife Kathy for ova 50 years. Togeddah dey also run their ‘ukulele record label, Roy Sakuma Productions. Plus it too, dey also lovingly organize da Annual ‘Ukulele Festival, “the largest of its kind in the world, boasting crowds of thousands.” If you eva get da chance for …
He get da Eye of da Lion! Jon Itomura stay Perpetuating Okinawan Lion Dance in Hawai‘i
Jan. 7, 2025 • Lee A. Tonouchi
Jon Itomura, 61 stay da Executive Director of da Hawai‘i United Okinawa Association (HUOA) and Co-Founder of Hawai‘i Okinawa Creative Arts (HOCA), one organization dedicated to promoting creative or contemporary presentations of shishimai or Okinawan Lion Dance. He’s one busy Okinawan big-wig now, but back when he wuz one little kid growing up in Liliha on O‘ahu, he used to love just “playing hide-and-go-seek at night in the graveyard at O‘ahu Cemetary.” An’den as one teenager, dis Saint Louis High …
“A Pebble on the Ground”: How It Helped Kirk Kurokawa Become Hawai‘i’s Premiere Portrait Artist
Dec. 9, 2024 • Lee A. Tonouchi
In fall 2023 da portrait of da late Senator Daniel Inouye wuz unveiled in Washington D.C. And who wuz da artist chosen for dis prestigious gig? Wuz none oddah than Baldwin High, class of 1992 grad, Maui boy Kirk Kurokawa, 50. He stay SOM [really, really] famous now, but aftah finishing art school, he had couple-few bouts of self doubt. Fortunately each time da universe wen steer him back to his artistic passion for portraiture. Today he no can imagine …
Das Using his Noodle! How Bryce Fujimoto wuz da Least Likely for Carry on his Grandfaddah’s Saimin Legacy
Nov. 18, 2024 • Lee A. Tonouchi
In 1969, Bryce Fujimoto’s grandfaddah, da late Franz “Shiro” Matsuo opened up da first Shiro’s Saimin Haven in ‘Aiea on ‘Oahu wea he had da unconventional idea for have one restaurant centered around Hawai‘i’s favorite-est noodle soup dish, saimin! During Braddah Bryce’s hanabattah [childhood] days, thoughts of saimin and legacy wuz da furthest tings from his mind. For him, small kid time wuz all about going beach and riding bike around his Mānoa neighborhood. When asked if he wuz Shiro’s …
It All Started with one Question: How Sarah Tamashiro Kuaiwa Came one Museum Curator
Oct. 28, 2024 • Lee A. Tonouchi
At age 31, Sarah Tamashiro Kuaiwa stay da youngest curator at da Bishop Museum, da largest museum in Hawai‘i. Dis 2011 St. Andrew’s Priory grad wen get her BA in art history from Occidental College in Los Angeles, den she we go get her master’s degree at da University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa before finally getting her PhD in art history from da University of East Anglia Sainsbury Research Unit in Norwich, England. In 2022 she got her current position …
Totally Pawsome: Aiko Wan’s Dresses Showcase Her Passion for Dogs, Art, and MATH?!!
Oct. 1, 2024 • Lee A. Tonouchi
As one child Aiko Wan, 39, loved math. She remembahs in six grade she won one district math competition which only made her wanna excel at math even more. When she got to high school and came time for take her SATs she got one perfect 800 math score. So I asked if she got perfect on top da English too and she said, “I scored 740 in English, but I was happy with that considering I went in without …
Master of da Disappearing Act: Actor Dann Seki on Becoming da Character
July 30, 2024 • Lee A. Tonouchi
Dann Seki, 78, stay one Hawai‘i acting icon. He grew up in ‘Aiea on O‘ahu in da 1950s back when ‘Aiea wuz just one small plantation town and nevah have nahting around but miles and miles of sugar cane. But luckily da town did have not one, but TWO movie theatres. Where get ‘Aiea Shopping Center now, Dann says there used to be one movie theatre that dey called Up Theatre. And below Moanalua road around where get da post …
No Longer One Need for Speed: Sanshin Master Kenton Odo on mastering da moment
July 9, 2024 • Lee A. Tonouchi
It’s kinda funny how growing up Kenton Odo always wanted for be da fastest. Like da fastest for ride his bike around Pacific Palisades on O‘ahu. Da fastest for hike down Heart Attack Hill. Even when he started learning songs on top da sanshin [Okinawan three-stringed instrument], he mostly only wanted for play da fastest of da songs. Nowdays dis 54 year old, ’88 Maryknoll grad finds himself no longer in such one rush. His journey to mastering da moment …
Storytelling Sensation Kathy Collins—How one “short Japanese girl” could still do acting
June 6, 2024 • Lee A. Tonouchi
Growing up in rural upcountry Maui, Kathy Collins [maiden name Yogi], 67, always had one fascination with stories and da power dey had in transporting da reader into totally different worlds. In da books of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Kathy would imagine “how wonderful it would be to live in the Midwest at the turn of the last century, making snow angels, churning butter. running through the meadow and picking wildflowers.” During da course of her life, Kathy’s been one radio …
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