Kelli Y. Nakamura and Brandon Marc Higa share stories about community building between Okinawan immigrants and Okinawan prisoners of war in Hawaii. They discuss assimilation policies enforced during Japan’s Meiji Restoration Era (1868-1912) to contextualize Okinawan people’s treatment as a minority within a minority. Our guest speakers also shed light on the experiences faced by Okinawan prisoners of war at Honouliuli incarceration camp, the largest and longest running detention site during WWII. Yuimaaru, a term meaning “mutual assistance and cooperation,” is explored throughout the presentation as a custom that emerged to unify and strengthen Okinawan identity and community throughout the war. Yuimaaru continues to characterize Okinawan relationships in Japan and Hawaii today. 

This program is adapted from the presenters’ recently published article in the University of California, Los Angeles’ Amerasia Journal titled, “Yuimaaru: Okinawan Prisoners of War Shape Okinawan Identity & Transnational Connections.”