Shinmachi: Stronger Than a Tsunami

AKIKO VO: IT MAY BE THEIR LUNCH SPOT OR THEIR FISHING HOLE OR THEIR SOCCER FIELD WHERE THEY VISIT THE KING KAMEHAMEHA STATUE.

FOR SOME, THOUGH, THE PRESENT-DAY SITE OF WAILOA STATE PARK IS SHINMACHI, WHICH MEANS "NEW TOWN" IN JAPANESE, A THRIVING BUSINESS DISTRICT OF THREE CITY BLOCKS ON THE HILO WATERFRONT WHERE THEY LIVED THEIR FONDEST CHILDHOOD MEMORIES.

RAMON GOYA: WE USED TO PLAY FOOTBALL, SOFTBALL, BASEBALL ON THE STREET JUNE SHIGEMASA: WE DID GET VERY CLOSE WITH OUR NEIGHBORS.

WE SUPPORTED EACH OTHER.

WE HELP EACH OTHER IN DAILY LIVING.

YOSHINOBU TERADA: AND THE POPULATION WAS LIKE NINETY FIVE PERCENT JAPANESE CARPENTERS, STEVEDORES, FISHERMEN.

RAMON GOYA: AND ALSO THERE WERE MANY BUSINESSES, COCA-COLA AND ALSO ALL THE SMALLER BUSINESSES LIKE GOYA BROTHERS, I KITAGAWA DONALD IKEDA: AND THEN ALL THE PEOPLE WOULD LIVE AROUND AND THERE WOULD BE LIKE A COURTYARD AND HAD A COMMUNITY BATH AND COMMUNITY BATHROOM KENNETH KAMEOKA: THAT YOU WOULD SEE THERE ALL THE PEOPLE WALKING WITH UNDERWEAR, TOWEL, SOAP, TARAI.

THEY'D ALL GO TO THE PLACE.

SUSAN YOSHIMI ROSETE: THAT'S WHY WE WERE JUST SAYING THIS IS WHAT WE USED TO CALL CHAWAN CUT --IT MEANS "BOWL" IN JAPANESE AND THIS IS HOW THEY USED TO CUT OUR HAIR.

AKIKO VO: ON THE MORNING OF APRIL 1ST, 1946, A TSUNAMI DESTROYED DOWNTOWN HILO, REDUCING SHINMACHI'S THREE SOLID BLOCKS OF SMALL BUSINESSES, TEMPLES, SHRINES AND FAMILY HOUSEHOLDS TO RUBBLE.

AT LEAST 38 PEOPLE DIED THAT DAY, AMONG THEM MANY CHILDREN.

MASAKO ODACHI: AND I HAD A SPECIAL FRIEND AND HER NAME WAS SADAKO, AND I STILL MISS HER, BUT I LOST HER IN 1946 TIDAL WAVE.

AKIKO VO: ALTHOUGH THE TSUNAMI ALMOST DESTROYED SHINMACHI, IT WAS NOT THE ONLY IMPORTANT EVENT TO HAPPEN IN THIS PLACE WHERE HUNDREDS OF LIVES HAD BEEN LIVED FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES.

AKIKO VO: BEFORE THE WAVE, THE PEOPLE OF SHINMACHI WORKED TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY TO FORGE THEIR INDEPENDENCE FROM THE ECONOMIC DOMINANCE OF HAWAII'S SUGAR COMPANIES.

TOGETHER, SHINMACHI'S CLOSELY KNIT BUSINESSES, FAMILIES AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS, POOLED THEIR RESOURCES AND THEIR EFFORTS.

TEMPLES, SHRINES AND OTHER PLACES OF WORSHIP HELD THEM TOGETHER.

THEY WANTED TO ENSURE THAT THE NEXT GENERATIONS WOULD NEVER KNOW THE GRUELING LABOR AND THE WORLD OF UNCERTAINTIES THAT THE FIRST GENERATION OVERCAME IN HAWAII.

AKIKO VO: WE KNOW THE TSUNAMI GRABBED A HOLD OF SHINMACHI AND STOLE IT AWAY.

BUT WHAT DID IT TAKE?

AND WHAT, IF ANYTHING, REMAINS?

AKIKO VO: MOST JAPANESE MEN WERE BROUGHT TO HAWAII AS CONTRACT LABORERS FOR THE FIVE MAJOR SUGAR COMPANIES.

THE CONTRACTS BOUND WORKERS TO THE PLANTATION FOR THREE TO FIVE YEARS, WHERE THEY WORKED LONG HOURS UNDER THE STRICT SUPERVISION OF CAUCASIAN OVERSEERS.

WORKERS LIVED IN COMPANY HOUSING THAT WAS OFTEN IN DISREPAIR AND THE ONLY MARKET AVAILABLE WAS THE COMPANY STORE WHERE THE SUGAR COMPANIES DETERMINED WHAT WOULD BE ON THE SHELVES.

THE COMPANIES WOULD PROFIT FROM THEIR EMPLOYEES WHO HAD NOWHERE ELSE TO SHOP.

MANY JAPANESE PLANTATION WORKERS FOUGHT AGAINST THE SYSTEM WITH STRIKES AND OTHER FORMS OF PROTEST.

SOME WORKERS TOOK A DIFFERENT PATH: THEY LEFT THE PLANTATION TO CREATE BUSINESSES OF THEIR OWN, TO PROVIDE FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR NEIGHBORS AND TO ULTIMATELY BUILD A STRONG ECONOMIC FOUNDATION FOR THEIR CHILDREN.

AS INDEPENDENT BUSINESSPEOPLE, THEY WOULD NOT BE LIMITED BY THEIR NATIONAL ORIGIN, BY THEIR WORKING CLASS STATUS OR BY RACIAL DISCRIMINATION.

IN JANUARY 1913.

A GROUP OF JAPANESE BUSINESSMEN FORMED THE HILO SHINMACHI ASSOCIATION, THE GROUP ORGANIZED AS A KUMIAI -- AN ASSOCIATION TO ASSIST WHEN THERE WAS A DEATH IN THE FAMILY.

THE KUMIAI WOULD AID THE PEOPLE OF SHINMACHI BETWEEN PIOPIO STREET AND THE WAIAKEA BRIDGE.

AKIKO VO: THIS PARTICULAR KUMIAI ALSO BECAME A COMMUNITY OF MUTUALLY SUPPORTIVE ENTREPRENEURS.

AKIKO VO: ONE SHINMACHI ASSOCIATION MEMBER, KAMETARO FUJIMOTO, CAME TO HAWAII IN 1894 AT AGE 16 TO WORK ON A PLANTATION.

HE LEARNED CARPENTRY AND BUILT HOUSES FOR PLANTATION WORKERS.

HE LEFT THE PLANTATION AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY TO STRIKE OUT ON HIS OWN AS A GENERAL CONTRACTOR CONSTRUCTING COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS AND HOMES IN HILO'S UPSCALE NEIGHBORHOODS.

BUT EVEN AS A SUCCESSFUL INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR, FUJIMOTO COULD NOT ESCAPE THE CONSTRAINTS OF THE SUGAR COMPANIES WHO CONTROL THE SUPPLY CHAINS AND PROCESSING OF LUMBER, FUJIMOTO MADE A BOLD DECISION.

HE BECAME HIS OWN SUPPLIER AND IN DOING SO, FOUNDED WHAT BECAME ONE OF HAWAII'S LEADING BUSINESSES.

MICHAEL FUJIMOTO: IN 1921 OR EVEN A LITTLE BIT BEFORE '21 HE AND HIS FRIENDS CREATED HAWAII PLANING MILL LIMITED, AND THIS WAS A COMPANY THAT WAS DESIGNED TO SUPPLY LUMBER TO THE COMMUNITY.

AKIKO VO: SUMIE TOKUNAGA ALSO FORGED A PATH FROM THE PLANTATION TO PRIVATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN SHINMACHI BY TURNING HIS PASSION FOR FISHING INTO ANOTHER OF HILO'S CENTURY BUSINESSES.

HE CAME TO HAWAII AT AGE 19 TO WORK ON THE PLANTATIONS BECAUSE AS THE STORY GOES, HE DID NOT WANT TO BE A SHINTO PRIEST.

AT THE END OF HIS CONTRACT, HE LEFT THE PLANTATION TO WORK AS AN ACCOUNTANT IN A GENERAL STORE IN SHINMACHI.

HE WAS GOOD AT BUSINESS, BUT HAD A PASSION FOR FISHING.

HE MERGED THE TWO IN 1920 WHEN HE OPENED HIS S. TOKUNAGA STORE WHERE CUSTOMERS CAME FROM MILES AWAY TO BUY THEIR FISHING SUPPLIES.

MICHAEL TOKUNAGA: MY GRANDFATHER'S CUSTOMER BASE, DURING THE YOU KNOW EARLIER TIMES, I HEARD STORIES OF PEOPLE DRIVING IN FROM PUNA, DRIVING IN FROM KAU OR EVEN DRIVING IN FROM THE HAMAKUA COAST, YOU KNOW, I GUESS THIS WAS A BIG TREAT FOR FAMILIES TO, YOU KNOW, DRIVE INTO TOWN AFTER WORK FRIDAYS OR FIRST THING SATURDAY MORNING, SPEND THE TIME IN HILO TOWN, YOU KNOW, DO THE GROCERY SHOPPING AND DO WHATEVER SHOPPING.

AKIKO VO: SHINMACHI ENTREPRENEURS WERE GOOD AT DIVERSIFICATION, MEETING THE NEEDS AND SATISFYING THE TASTES OF THEIR COMMUNITY.

THE IKEDA FAMILY STARTED A VARIETY OF BUSINESSES AT THE TURN OF THE 20TH CENTURY WHEN TATSUNOSUKE IKEDA ARRIVED FROM HIROSHIMA.

DONALD IKEDA: BUT HE WANTED THE ADVENTURE SO HE CAME OVER.

AND SO HE CAME OVER AS A LABORER AND HE WAS AT KUKUIHAELE BUT HE WOULD NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THE COMPANY, YOU KNOW, THE PLANTATION STORE.

HE WOULD GO FISHING.

AND MY GRANDMOTHER WOULD RAISE VEGETABLES AND SOMEHOW HE GOT INVOLVED WITH HORSE AND BUGGY.

I DON'T KNOW HOW.

AND HE RAN THE TRANSPORTATION STORE.

AKIKO VO: AFTER SUCCESSFULLY STARTING A TRANSPORTATION BUSINESS BETWEEN HILO AND HONOKAA, IKEDA ESTABLISHED THE FIRST SHOYU AND MISO FACTORIES ON HAWAII ISLAND.

HE HAD A REPUTATION FOR HARD WORK AND FOR MAKING PERSONAL VISITS TO CUSTOMERS IN HIS TRUCK--A RATHER BIG DEAL IN EARLY SHINMACHI.

TATSUNOSUKE'S SON, SHIRO IKEDA, MOVED INTO NOODLE MANUFACTURING.

THIS ENDEAVOR EVENTUALLY BECAME HILO MACARONI COMPANY.

THE LOCAL JAPANESE PRESS CELEBRATED SHIRO AS "FLUENT IN BOTH ENGLISH AND JAPANESE" AND "SHARP-WITTED."

HE WAS CONSIDERED A SHINING EXAMPLE FOR THE SECOND GENERATION, WHERE HIS FATHER WAS KNOWN AS STEADY AND AMBITIOUS.

SHIRO WORKED LIGHTNING-FAST TO BUILD A $30,000 SODA WORKS, OUTFITTED WITH THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY.

HE BECAME KNOWN AS "THE MAN WHO BROUGHT 7-UP TO HILO."

AKIKO VO: INNOVATION AND EXPANSION REQUIRED CAPITAL AND THE BANKING SYSTEM SERVED THE INTEREST OF THE SUGAR PLANTERS, NOT THEIR FORMER LABORERS WHO WERE VIEWED AS COMPETITION.

ISOJIRO KITAGAWA WAS ONE SUCH COMPETITOR.

HE PAID HIS OWN WAY FROM JAPAN TO THE CANE FIELDS OF HAWAII.

BEFORE THE END OF HIS FIRST DAY AT WORK, HE HAD ENOUGH OF PLANTATION LIFE AND TURNED IN HIS CANE CUTTER.

HE HEADED TO SHINMACHI TO MAKE HIS LIVING AS A FISH PEDDLER.

BRIAN KITAGAWA: SO THAT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, MY GRANDPARENTS WERE VERY GOOD, COULD CLEAN FISH FASTER THAN YOU COULD EVEN IMAGINE.

AKIKO VO: THOUGH GIFTED IN CLEANING AND SELLING FISH, THE KITAGAWA'S REAL TALENT WAS IN FORESEEING CUSTOMER DEMAND IN SHINMACHI--STARTING WITH THE FISHERMEN.

BRIAN KITAGAWA: THEY SUPPLIED THE BOATS, THEY SOLD GAS.

AS I SAID, THEY SOLD GAS FOR THAT.

THEY HAD ONE-CYLINDER ENGINES.

SO THEY USED TO...GOING OUT... "PUTT PUTT, PUTT PUTT PUTT PUTT, PUTT PUTT."

YOU KNOW, REALLY OLD SAMPANS.

AND THE SAMPANS WERE BUILT LIKE THE JAPANESE SAMPANS.

AKIKO VO: SELLING GASOLINE FOR THE FISHERMEN'S ONE-LUNG ENGINE SAMPANS LED TO SELLING CARS.

I. KITAGAWA MOTORS BECAME ONE OF SHINMACHI'S MOST IMPORTANT BUSINESSES.

KITAGAWA WAS ALSO A PARTNER IN NIPPON SHOJI KAISHA, ONE OF A NUMBER OF HOMEGROWN INVESTMENT AND LENDING AGENCIES THAT SERVE JAPANESE BUSINESSMEN.

THIS WAS NEEDED SINCE THE BANKING ESTABLISHMENT ALMOST ALWAYS REFUSED LOANS TO JAPANESE CUSTOMERS.

BRIAN KITAGAWA: IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY TO START A BUSINESS, YOU'D HAVE TO, YOU'D HAVE TO FIND A WAY OF GETTING THEM READY TO START A BUSINESS.

SO THEY GO TO THEIR FRIENDS AND ASK, "NOW I GOT THIS IDEA.

I'M GOING TO DO THIS BUSINESS.

SO, YOU KNOW, I NEED YOUR HELP."

THEY GOT TOGETHER AND DECIDED WHO HAD THE BEST IDEA TO DO A BUSINESS AND THEY ALL PUT MONEY IN.

WHEN I CAME HERE, WE HAD STOCK IN SUISAN, AND WE HAD STOCK HILO RICE MILL, WE HAD STOCK IN AMERICAN TRADING, AND I DIDN'T REALIZE WHERE ALL THESE STOCKS CAME FROM, BUT THEY DATE FROM THE TIME MY GREAT GRANDFATHER INVESTING IN BUSINESSES.

AKIKO VO: STEADY, HARD WORK, GENEROSITY TOWARD NEIGHBORS AND A GUTSY SPIRIT TRANSFORMED SHINMACHI FROM A GROUP OF NEW BUSINESSES INTO A NEW TOWN.

IN SHINMACHI, OVER A THOUSAND RESIDENTS WORKED TO CREATE STABLE, PROSPEROUS FUTURES FILLED WITH POSSIBILITIES FOR THE GENERATIONS TO COME.

THE GOAL WAS NOT TO BE THE RICHEST PERSON IN SHINMACHI, BUT TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.

AKIKO VO: IN JUST A FEW SHORT YEARS, SHINMACHI'S MUTUAL SUPPORT NETWORKS TRANSFORMED A GROUP OF JAPANESE BUSINESSES INTO A THRIVING COMMUNITY OF SHOPS, TEMPLES AND NEIGHBORS WHO WERE LIKE AN EXTENDED FAMILY.

RAMON GOYA: AND THE GOOD PART ABOUT SHINMACHI WAS EVERYBODY SORT OF HELPED EACH OTHER OUT.

THEY REALLY LOOKED AFTER EACH OTHER.

I DIDN'T SEE TOO MANY COMPETITIVE TYPE OF BUSINESSES WITH EACH OTHER.

THEY ALL, YOU KNOW, HELPED EACH OTHER WHENEVER THEY COULD.

AKIKO VO: BUILDING AND TRANSPORTATION BUSINESSES FLOURISHED IN SHINMACHI.

HAWAII PLANING MILL, KNOWN TODAY AS HPM, EXPANDED FROM A SMALL LUMBER YARD TO BECOME A MAJOR PLAYER IN THE LOCAL CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.

ENTREPRENEUR GUNJI KONO BROUGHT TRUCKING TO HILO WHEN HE FOUNDED HILO TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, OR HITCO FOR SHORT.

VERY FEW PEOPLE IN SHINMACHI OWNED CARS, BUT PEOPLE CAME FROM MILES AWAY TO PURCHASE FROM I.KITAGAWA.

AND SHOPS LIKE QUALITY AUTO, NICK'S GARAGE AND GOYA BROTHERS MADE SHINMACHI A DESTINATION FOR PARTS, SERVICE, AND REPAIR.

AKIKO VO: BEFORE THERE WAS GOYA BROTHERS, THERE WAS AIZO GOYA'S HORSE AND BUGGY TAXI SERVICE.

AIZO STARTED OUT AS A MULE TENDER FOR THE PUNA SUGAR COMPANY AFTER IMMIGRATING FROM OKINAWA IN 1909.

HE FOUNDED HIS TRANSPORTATION BUSINESS TO SUPPORT HIS WIFE HARUKO AND THEIR GROWING FAMILY.

HARUKO CAME TO HAWAII AS A PICTURE BRIDE.

AIZO CLOSED THE TAXI SERVICE IN 1933 TO OPEN GOYA BROTHERS GAS STATION AND GROCERY WITH HIS SONS, RONALD AND TOSHIO, KNOWN TO MOST AS "HICK" AND "SQUARE," AND ELLEN'S LIQUORS WITH DAUGHTER ELLEN HIROKO.

THE FAMILY'S WARM HOSPITALITY MADE CUSTOMERS MORE LIKE GOOD FRIENDS.

RAMON GOYA: MY FATHER WAS MORE LIKE, WELL, HE WAS A FATHER TO SOME OF THE GUYS, BUT MORE LIKE A FAVORITE UNCLE.

HE LIKED TO JUST BE ONE OF THE GUYS ALWAYS TALKING STORIES, GOING OUT, GOING MOVIES WITH THEM AND DOING THINGS WITH THEM.

AKIKO VO: BY THE 1930S NO ONE HAD TO LEAVE SHINMACHI TO HAVE A DRESS MADE, OR TO BUY FISHING SUPPLIES, OR HAVE A SIGN PAINTED.

IT WAS THE PLACE TO GO FOR FRESHLY MADE BREAD, SUSHI, NOODLES, ICE CREAM, SAKE, PASTRIES AND FISHCAKE MADE FROM THE CATCH OF THE DAY.

A PERSON COULD GET A HAIRCUT, SEE THE PHARMACIST, HAIL A TAXI, OR SEE THE MOVIES AT THE ROYAL THEATER.

SHINMACHI HAD EVERYTHING.

AKIKO VO: AND THERE WERE NEW BUSINESSES EVERY YEAR.

RAYMOND MASATO ATEBARA WAS A FAMILY BREADWINNER AT AGE 16 WHEN HIS FATHER BECAME VERY ILL.

HE WORKED AS A BUTCHER, A SAMPAN DRIVER, ANY JOB THAT WOULD SUPPORT HIS PARENTS AND FIVE SIBLINGS.

TO MAKE ENDS MEET DURING HIS STUDENT DAYS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII, MANOA, HE DELIVERED GROCERIES TO HONOLULU'S LUXURY HOTELS.

ON THOSE RUNS RAYMOND DISCOVERED A MAINLAND DELICACY, THE POTATO CHIP.

WHEN HE RETURNED TO HILO TO CARE FOR HIS FATHER, AN AD IN POPULAR MECHANICS FOR CHIP-MAKING EQUIPMENT CAUGHT HIS EYE.

IN 1936, WITH LITTLE MORE THAN SHEER DETERMINATION TO WORK WITH ATEBARA'S POTATO CHIPS OPENED IN ITS ORIGINAL LOCATION ON EMMA STREET.

THE FIRST MONTHS WERE HARD.

NO ONE IN SHINMACHI HAD HEARD OF POTATO CHIPS, AND HILO'S HUMIDITY SOMETIMES MADE THEM SOGGY.

WITH A FEW ADJUSTMENTS, ATEBARA'S TOOK OFF.

MANY YEARS LATER, WHEN HIS CHILDREN ASKED RAYMOND WHY HE WENT INTO THE POTATO CHIP BUSINESS, HE SAID SIMPLY, "I LIKE THEM."

AKIKO VO: SHINMACHI WAS NOT THE FANCIEST PART OF TOWN, BUT ITS RESIDENTS WERE PROUD OF ITS ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

WHEN PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT STOPPED IN HILO DURING HIS 1934 TOUR OF THE U.S.

TERRITORIES, SHINMACHI BUSINESSES AND THE JAPANESE IMMIGRANT NEWSPAPERS EXTENDED ALOHA AND HIGHLIGHTED THEIR ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE DEPTHS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION.

KANGO KAWASAKI, PRESIDENT OF THE HILO JAPANESE ASSOCIATION, GREETED ROOSEVELT AS "THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE LAND," "CREATOR OF THE NEW DEAL," AND "THE APOSTLE OF NEW DEMOCRACY."

AKIKO VO: ALTHOUGH MOST IN SHINMACHI ADMIRED THE NEW DEAL, THEY STAYED FOCUSED ON THE NEIGHBOR-TO-NEIGHBOR RELATIONSHIPS THAT HAD SUSTAINED THEM FOR TWO DECADES, SHINMACHI FAMILIES HAD ALWAYS KNOWN STRUGGLE AND SACRIFICE SO THE HARDSHIPS THAT CAME WITH THE DEPRESSION WERE ALREADY FAMILIAR.

MERCHANTS EXTENDED CREDIT WHERE THEY COULD.

NIPPON SHOJI KAISHA WROTE OFF SOME OF THEIR LOANS AND NEIGHBORS SHARED WHAT THEY HAD WITH ONE ANOTHER.

AKIKO VO: THE ECONOMY HAD SLOWED, BUT EVERYBODY IN SHINMACHI, THE MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN WORKED AS STEADILY AND SKILLFULLY AS EVER.

YOSHINOBU TERADA: YOU KNOW, MY FATHER WAS A CARPENTER, BUT HE WAS ALSO THE HANDYMAN FOR THE SHINMACHI, THE WOODEN BUILDINGS.

AS A YOUNG MAN I WENT ALONG WITH MY FATHER TO THE VARIOUS BUILDINGS TO REPLACE LIKE FOUR- BY-FOUR, TWO-BY-FOURS.

RAMON GOYA (VO): WE SPENT MOST OF OUR DAY AT THE SERVICE STATION-RESTAURANT AREA.

AND MY MOM AND DAD WORKED THE WHOLE TIME FROM 8: 00 IN THE MORNING WEEKDAYS, EIGHT TO 10:30 AT NIGHT.

YOSHINOBU TERADA: MY MOTHER WAS...I HATE TO SAY, TYPICAL, BUT TYPICAL HOUSEWIFE.

SHE HAD SUCH A BIG FAMILY.

YOSHINOBU TERADA: SHE COOKED IN THE MORNING, COOKED AT LUNCH AND COOKED THE DINNER.

EIGHT BOYS AND ONE GIRL.

AKIKO VO: PEPPERED AMONG SHINMACHI STOREFRONTS WERE A NUMBER OF SMALL HOUSES OF WORSHIP, LIKE SUITENGO SHRINE, WHERE SERVICES WERE CONDUCTED IN MINISTER JUNGO TSUTSUMI'S FAMILY HOME.

THE TENRIKYO MISSION OF JAPAN SENT KINZAEMON AND KAMEKI ODACHI TO HILO TO ESTABLISH THEIR HOME CHURCH IN SHINMACHI.

AKIKO: THEIR DAUGHTERS, JUNE AND MASAKO, RECALLED THEIR PARENTS' DEEP COMMITMENT TO THEIR DAILY MUSIC AND HEALING MINISTRIES.

JUNE SHIGEMASA: OUR FATHER, I BELIEVE, HAD THE RESPONSIBILITY OF DOING THE EVANGELICAL WORK.

AND SO WE UNDERSTAND THAT HE TRAVELED BY FOOT AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE, BUT HE WENT SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE CITY LIMITS AND THAT WAS HIS RESPONSIBILITY TO ESTABLISH TENRIKYO IN THE CITY OF HILO.

AS BOTH A MINISTER OF THE CHURCH AND WOMAN OF THE HOUSEHOLD, KAMEKI ODACHI HAD MANY DUTIES.

MASAKO ODACHI: SHE WAS QUITE BUSY BEING A HOUSEWIFE AND SHE DID PARTICIPATE IN THE SERVICES AND KEPT THE ALTAR.

JUNE SHIGEMASA: SHE WAS VERY QUIET AS A MINISTER'S WIFE.

SHE WAS VERY STOIC.

BUT SHE HAS THIS SENSE OF HUMANITARIANISM, YOU KNOW, AND SO MANY OF THE WOMEN PARISHIONERS LOOK TO HER FOR GUIDANCE AND DIRECTION.

AND I CAN, I MAY NOT HAVE UNDERSTOOD EVERYTHING, BUT I COULD SENSE THAT PEOPLE WERE DRAWN TO HER BECAUSE OF HER ABILITY TO MINISTER TO ESPECIALLY THE WOMEN THAT CAME WITH THEIR CHILDREN.

AKIKO VO: SHINMACHI KIDS LEAD BUSY LIVES, MOST WORKED IN THEIR PARENTS' BUSINESSES BEFORE MEETING THEIR FRIENDS TO WALK TO PUBLIC SCHOOL.

EDUCATION WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO SHINMACHI PARENTS, SO AFTER ENGLISH SCHOOL, SHINMACHI KIDS WENT TO JAPANESE SCHOOL FOR LANGUAGE AND CULTURE CLASSES.

AFTER THAT WAS ANY COMBINATION OF WORK, PLAY, OBLIGATIONS AND ADVENTURES.

JUNE SHIGEMASA: WE WERE EXPECTED TO SIT AND PARTICIPATE IN THE SERVICE TWICE A DAY.

DONALD IKEDA: EVERY CHURCH HAD JUDO.

SOME OF THEM USED TO HAVE KARATE AND SOME WOULD HAVE KENDO, BUT DIFFERENT MARTIAL ARTS.

SO WHEN WE WERE FIVE YEARS OLD, WE WOULD GO TO JUDO.

WITH NO QUESTIONS ASKED -- YOU HAD TO GO.

AKIKO VO: AND WHEN IT CAME TO MAKING THEIR OWN FUN, THE SHINMACHI KIDS WERE AS INVENTIVE AS THEIR PARENTS.

DONALD IKEDA: WE NEVER BOUGHT ANYTHING.

WE MADE EVERYTHING OURSELVES.

BUT I THINK ABOUT IT NOW, I WOULDN'T LET MY GRANDCHILDREN PLAY WITH IT.

RAMON GOYA: WE USED TO SET LITTLE OIL CANS SO THAT THE OOPU OR THE GOBI FISH WOULD SWIM IN AT NIGHT.

AND THE NEXT DAY AND ALL THE BOYS WOULD DIVE AND THEN WE WOULD RETRIEVE THOSE CANS WITH THE FISH IN IT.

AND, YOU KNOW, THE FILIPINO MEN REALLY LOVE TO EAT THAT OOPU.

SO WE USED TO SELL THE FISH TO THEM AND THAT'S WHERE WE GOT OUR MONEY FOR CANDY, SHAVE ICE, BUT OUR FAVORITE WAS THE DRIED ABALONE.

THAT'S THE ONE THAT WE ALWAYS WANTED TO BUY WITH THE MONEY.

AKIKO VO: THERE WAS LOTS OF SWIMMING DOWN GATES IN THE WAILOA RIVER.

SEVERAL SHINMACHI KIDS BECAME CHAMPION SWIMMERS DESPITE THE LESS THAN IDEAL CONDITIONS THAT LED THEM TO CALL IT KUKAI RIVER.

SUSAN YOSHIMI ROSETE: AT THAT TIME, THERE WAS NO SEWER SYSTEM SO EVERYTHING WAS GOING INTO THE RIVER, RIGHT?

YEAH.

AND THAT'S WHERE WE LEARN TO SWIM IN THAT RIVER.

OH, YEAH.

AKIKO VO: SHINMACHI ATHLETES ALSO COMPETED IN FOOTBALL, BASEBALL, TENNIS, BADMINTON, AND SUMO ALL ACROSS WHAT WAS AT THAT TIME THE TERRITORY OF HAWAII.

ALTHOUGH THEIR WORK SCHEDULES WERE DEMANDING SHINMACHI RESIDENTS MADE TIME TO TRAIN, COMPETE, CHEER -- ANYTHING THEY COULD DO TO SUPPORT THE HOME TEAMS.

TEAM SPIRIT, COMMUNITY CELEBRATIONS, AND THEIR DREAMS FOR THEIR CHILDREN STRENGTHENED SHINMACHI FAMILIES IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD.

SHINMACHI'S TEMPLES, SHRINES AND CHURCHES WERE THE PILLARS OF THIS SUPPORT SYSTEM.

DONALD IKEDA: MY MOTHER USED TO GO THERE AND MY FATHER.

IN FACT, YOU KNOW THE BIG URN WHERE YOU OFFERED INCENSE, MY GRANDFATHER BROUGHT THAT BACK FROM JAPAN.

TO US ALL THE CHURCHES WERE HOLY PLACES.

IT'S A SAFE REFUGE.

WE WERE BROUGHT UP LIKE THAT.

AKIKO VO: AS TODAY, EVERY SUMMER, SHINMACHI FAMILIES CELEBRATED THE RETURN OF THEIR ANCESTORS FOR OBON.

THEY FILLED THEIR HOME SHRINES WITH FRESH FLOWERS, INCENSE, AND FOOD.

BUDDHIST TEMPLES HELD THEIR SPECIAL OBON SERVICES AND A BON DANCE TO ENTERTAIN AND HONOR THOSE WHO HAD PASSED AWAY.

SUSAN YOSHIMI ROSETE & JOAN GOODALL PUAKELA: AT THE TIME WE ALL HAD TO WEAR ONLY KIMONO.

YOU HAD TO WEAR A KIMONO.

YOU COULDN'T WEAR ANYTHING ELSE.

YOU HAD TO WEAR ALL KIMONO.

MY MOM WOULD HAVE HAD ME MADE ONE.

YEAH.

AND EVERY SUMMER WE PICKED IT OUT WE'D GO TO EVERY BON DANCE WITH THE SAME KIMONO.

KENNETH KAMEOKA (VO): BUT THEY HAD THEIR BON DANCE AND THEY'D HAVE ALL KIND OF FOOD, YOU KNOW.

DONALD IKEDA: YEAH.

KENNETH KAMEOKA: THEY MUST SPEND A LOT OF MONEY.

THEY HAD BARBECUE STICKS.

DONALD IKEDA: NOT ANY MORE.

EXPENSIVE -- TOO EXPENSIVE.

KENNETH KAMEOKA: SHAVE ICE.

THEY HAD MUSUBI.

AKIKO VO: BON DANCES WERE ONE OF THE MANY WAYS THAT PEOPLE IN SHINMACHI RENEWED THEIR STRONG CONNECTIONS WITH ONE ANOTHER, BUT FOR SOME IN SHINMACHI, THE JAPANESE CULTURE PUT THEM ON THE MARGINS.

EVERYDAY INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SHINMACHI'S JAPANESE MAJORITY AND THEIR CHINESE, FILIPINO, PORTUGUESE AND CAUCASIAN NEIGHBORS WERE FRIENDLY.

YET INTERMARRIAGE WAS UNCOMMON AND INTERRACIAL FAMILIES WERE HELD AT A DISTANCE.

JOAN GOODALL'S MOTHER WAS JAPANESE AND HER FATHER, A PHARMACEUTICAL DISTRIBUTOR, WAS FROM ENGLAND.

HER MOTHER MOVED JOAN AND HER BROTHER FREDERICK TO SHINMACHI AFTER THE GOODALL'S DIVORCED IN HONOLULU.

JOAN GOODALL PUAKELA: I GREW UP HALF, HALF HAOLE, HALF JAPANESE.

AND I COULD FEEL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE OLDER GENERATION.

THERE WAS AN AWKWARD FEELING, AND I DIDN'T LIKE IT.

SUSAN YOSHIMI ROSETE: AND YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHY, TOO.

JOAN GOODALL PUAKELA: WELL, THOSE DAYS I DIDN'T KNOW.

BUT AS I GREW OLDER, I KIND OF KNEW AND I KIND OF UNDERSTOOD THE LANGUAGE, YOU KNOW, SO I WOULD KNOW WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT.

ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: THIS GRADUATING CLASS OF YOUNG AMERICAN EAGLES ARE NOW READY TO MAN THE FIGHTING SHIPS OF THE ARMY AND NAVY AIR CORPS AKIKO VO: AND AS THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC DREW CLOSER TO HAWAII, MORE AND MORE PEOPLE IN SHINMACHI WOULD EXPERIENCE WHAT IT MEANT TO BE AN OUTSIDER IN AN AMERICAN TERRITORY.

BUT FOR AS LONG AS THE UNITED STATES REMAINED AT PEACE, THE COMMUNITY OF SHINMACHI CONTINUED TO WORK EVERY DAY TOWARDS A FUTURE WITH ABUNDANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE GENERATIONS TO COME.

KGU RADIO BROADCAST: HELLO, NBC.

HELLO, NBC.

THIS IS KGU IN HONOLULU, HAWAII.

I AM SPEAKING FROM THE ROOF OF THE ADVERTISING PUBLISHING COMPANY BUILDING.

WE HAVE WITNESSED THIS MORNING THE DISTANT VIEW, A BRIEF BOMBING OF PEARL HARBOR BY ENEMY PLANES, UNDOUBTEDLY JAPANESE.

ONE OF THE BOMBS DROPPED WITHIN FIFTY FEET OF KGU TOWER.

IT IS NO JOKE.

IT IS A REAL WAR.

AKIKO VO: THESE FIRST WORDS DESCRIBING JAPAN'S ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR CHANGED LIFE FOR EVERYONE IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.

WITHIN HOURS OF THE UNITED STATES' FORMAL DECLARATION OF WAR, HAWAII GOVERNOR JOHN POINDEXTER DECLARED MARTIAL LAW, PLACING HAWAII UNDER MILITARY CONTROL.

AKIKO VO: FOR NEARLY THREE YEARS, THE ARMY AND NAVY SEIZED CONTROL OF HILO BAY.

SHINMACHI'S CHILDREN REMEMBER IT THIS WAY: KENNETH KAMEOKA: DURING THE WAR, WE COULDN'T GO ACROSS THE STREET BECAUSE OF BARBED WIRES.

SUSAN YOSHIMI ROSETE: ALL I REMEMBER WAS BLACKOUT BECAUSE WE USED TO LIVE FRONT STREET.

JOAN GOODALL PUAKELA: THE GUY WOULD, THE SOLDIER WOULD KNOCK ON THE DOOR AND SAY THEY GOT LIGHT COMING THROUGH, GOT A PUKA, YOU GOT TO GO COVER IT.

ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: DECEMBER THE 7TH: STILL MORE DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN THE NEED FOR THESE MONSTROUS LOOKING THINGS.

KENNETH KAMEOKA: I WAS PROBABLY IN ABOUT THE THIRD GRADE WHEN THEY ISSUED EACH ONE OF US A GAS MASK.

SO WE JUST STRUNG IT OVER OUR SHOULDERS WHEN WE WENT TO SCHOOL CARRYING A BOOK BAG, PLUS THE CASE WITH A GAS MASK.

AKIKO VO: OCCASIONALLY, SOLDIERS CAME TO SCHOOL TO HOLD GAS MASK DRILLS.

WHEN THE SCHOOLCHILDREN RECEIVE THE SIGNAL, THEY WERE TO PUT THEIR MASKS ON QUICKLY AND RUN INTO A TENT FILLED WITH TEAR GAS.

THE FACT THAT THEY WERE LOOSE, ADULT-SIZED GAS MASKS CREATED A PROBLEM.

KENNETH KAMEOKA: AS SOON AS WE WALKED IN THERE WE COULD FEEL THE EYES BURNING, YOU KNOW, THE NECK, THE SKIN BURNING.

SO WE JUST WENT RIGHT OUT.

EVERYBODY CAME OUT CRYING BECAUSE ALL THE GAS MASKS WAS TOO BIG, TOO LARGE.

ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: DECEMBER THE 7TH: JUST VIRTUALLY OVERNIGHT, THE ISLAND SCENE CHANGED.

WAR HAD COME TO AMERICA'S TROPICAL SUBURB.

AKIKO VO: THE NEW MILITARY ORDER ALTERED THE FLOW OF LIFE FOR EVERYONE IN HAWAII, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF JAPANESE ANCESTRY WHO CAME UNDER HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY AFTER THE EMPIRE OF JAPAN ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR.

IN THE PROPAGANDA FILM DECEMBER THE 7TH, THE "VOICE OF REASON" WARNS UNCLE SAM THAT THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII COULD NOT BE FULLY TRUSTED.

ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: DECEMBER THE 7TH THEY EXPRESSED THEIR LOYALTY AND NO DOUBT, WILL THEY SEND THEIR CHILDREN TO AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS WHERE THEY PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG AND SING PATRIOTIC AMERICAN SONGS.

BUT THEY ALSO SEND THEM TO THEIR OWN LANGUAGE SCHOOL, WHERE THEY ARE TAUGHT JAPANESE LOYALTIES, CULTURE, AND MORALS.

SUSAN YOSHIMI ROSETE: I REMEMBER WE HAD SOME JAPANESE KIMONO AND SWORDS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.

YEAH, I THINK MY FATHER FOLKS THEY BURNT IT ALL.

SUSAN YOSHIMI ROSETE: THAT'S WHY WE DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING FROM JAPAN THAT THEY HAD.

AKIKO VO: IN 1942, THE HILO JUNIOR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PETITIONED THE HAWAII COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO CHANGE THE NAME OF SHINMACHI TO HANAKAHI, THE HAWAIIAN WORD FOR "PLACE OF WORK."

THE JUNIOR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SAID IT WAS "UNFITTING FOR ANY PART OF HILO TO HAVE A NAME DIRECTLY ASSOCIATED WITH A NATION WITH WHICH WE ARE AT WAR."

AKIKO VO: THE COUNCIL DISMISSED THE PETITION, BUT THE CONTROVERSY REFLECTED THE REALITY.

THAT SOME HILO PEOPLE SAW SHINMACHI AS A HAVEN FOR THE ENEMY, WHILE OTHERS WERE READY TO STAND UP FOR THEIR NEIGHBORS.

THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII WERE NOT SUBJECT TO THE MASS REMOVAL AND INCARCERATION THAT WAS CARRIED OUT ON THE WEST COAST OF THE MAINLAND.

BUT THE FBI MAINTAINED A LIST OF JAPANESE INDIVIDUALS TO BE ARRESTED IN THE EVENT OF WAR THAT INCLUDED SOME IN SHINMACHI.

THE ARRESTS WERE NOT MADE FOR ANYTHING THAT THEY HAD DONE, BUT FOR WHAT THE U.S.

GOVERNMENT WANTED THE PUBLIC TO BELIEVE THEY MIGHT DO.

THESE ARRESTS WERE ORDERED BY PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.

ONLY SIX YEARS HAD PASSED SINCE THE JAPANESE COMMUNITY WELCOMED HIM TO HILO AS "THE APOSTLE OF NEW DEMOCRACY."

AKIKO VO: BUDDHIST AND SHINTO PRIESTS WERE PRESENTED AS SHADOWY FIGURES WHOSE MISSION IN HAWAII WAS TO FOSTER LOYALTY TO JAPAN,.

ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: DECEMBER THE 7TH SHINTOISM EMBRACES MANY DOCTRINES.

IT PREACHES HONOR OF THE ANCESTORS, THEREBY KEEPING ALIVE THE FIRES OF NATIONALISM AND PRESERVING A RACIAL AND SOCIAL BOND.

WITH THE UNBROKEN AND DIVINELY DESCENDED IMPERIAL DYNASTY.

AKIKO VO: ACROSS THE ISLANDS, JAPANESE SCHOOLS WERE SHUT DOWN AND TEMPLES AND SHRINES CONFISCATED FOR MILITARY PURPOSES.

BECAUSE HE WAS A MINISTER, CAN KINZAEMON ODACHI WAS ARRESTED AND HELD AT KMC, KILAUEA MILITARY CAMP OUTSIDE OF HILO, BEFORE BEING TRANSFERRED TO A DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE INTERNMENT CAMP IN LORDSBURG, NEW MEXICO.

AKIKO VO: THIS LEFT HIS WIFE, KAMEKI, WITH THE CHURCH AND FOUR CHILDREN TO CARE FOR ALONE.

WHEN ASKED IF SHE WANTED TO BE REUNITED WITH HER HUSBAND, KAMEKI, LIKE MANY WIVES OF THE INCARCERATED, JUMPED AT THE CHANCE.

JUNE SHIGEMASA: TWO VERY LARGE CAUCASIAN MEN.

I REMEMBER LOOKING UP AT THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE SO TALL AND THEY CAME TO ASK MY MOTHER THROUGH THE INTERPRETATION OF ELDEST SISTER BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND ENGLISH, AND THE QUESTION WAS, "WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE WITH YOUR HUSBAND?"

AND MANY OF THEM SAID, "OF COURSE, YES."

AND THAT'S HOW IT STARTED, THAT WE HAD TO PACK OUR THINGS.

AND I REMEMBER GOING IN A BIG ARMY TRUCK OVER WAILOA BRIDGE AND GOING TO THE WHARF.

AKIKO VO: THE ARMY PUT THE ODACHIS ON A SHIP TO SAN FRANCISCO.

JUNE WAS SEASICK THE ENTIRE CROSSING.

AKIKO VO: IT TURNED OUT THAT THEIR MAINLAND DESTINATION WOULD NOT BE NEW MEXICO, BUT A FAMILY INCARCERATION CAMP IN JROME, ARKANSAS.

IN ADDITION TO RAISING HER CHILDREN IN A STRANGE PLACE AMONG PEOPLE SHE DID NOT KNOW, KAMEKI HAD RECEIVED WORD THAT HER HUSBAND WAS GRAVELY ILL.

JUNE SHIGEMASA: WHILE MOTHER WENT OUT TO WORK IN THE PX, I MEAN, DOING KP DUTY, THE OLDER CHILDREN HAD TO LOOK AFTER THE YOUNG ONES.

AND WE COULD TELL HOW DISTRAUGHT AND HOW BURDENED MY MOTHER WAS FEELING AT THAT TIME.

AKIKO VO: AFTER NUMEROUS APPEALS TO THE WAR RELOCATION AUTHORITY, THE ODACHIS RECEIVED WORD THAT THEY WERE TO BE REUNITED AS A FAMILY IN THE SAME CAMP BUT DRIVEN ODACHI PASSED AWAY AT LORDSBURG BEFORE THE TRANSFER TOOK PLACE.

HIS DAUGHTER, MASAKO, HAS NO ANGER OR BITTERNESS WHEN SHE TALKS ABOUT THE CAMPS, BUT STILL FEELS DEEPLY ABOUT THE LOSS OF HER FATHER.

MASAKO ODACHI: I WAS NOT BITTER ABOUT WHAT WE WENT THROUGH, BUT I DO FEEL SORRY FOR MY MOTHER BECAUSE HER HUSBAND, YOU KNOW, WHO SHE REALLY LOVED WAS NEVER TO COME BACK TO US.

AKIKO VO: BACK IN HILO, CHILDREN HAD A VARIETY OF ENCOUNTERS WITH THE STRANGERS WHO LANDED IN THEIR CITY.

KENNETH KAMEOKA: WELL, WE SAW A LOT OF MILITARY TRUCKS, MILITARY PEOPLE GOING UP AND DOWN THE STREET, AND WE ALWAYS SEE THEM.

WE ALWAYS GIVE THEM THE V FOR VICTORY SIGN.

EVERYBODY DID THAT WHEN YOU SAW START MILITARY TRUCKS COMING IN.

SUSAN YOSHIMI ROSETE & JOAN GOODALL PUAKELA: I REMEMBER THE SOLDIERS COMING FROM THE FROM THE SAND BEACH.

RIGHT.

I REMEMBER THAT THEY HAD SPAM AND VIENNA SAUSAGE.

AKIKO VO: THE FONDNESS BETWEEN THE SOLDIERS AND THE CHILDREN OF SHINMACHI WAS HEARTFELT, BUT TINGED BY THE FACT THAT THEY WERE CHILDREN OF THE SO-CALLED "ENEMY RACE."

YOSHINOBU TERADA: PRETTY NICE TO TO US AS KIDS.

THEY LET US ROAM AROUND THE CANNONS, THE MACHINE GUNS AND SO ON.

BUT THEY ALWAYS TOLD US THAT IF THEY'RE HAVING AN INSPECTION COMING, THAT WE'D BETTER LOSE OURSELVES FOR THE DAY.

AKIKO VO: JOAN GOODALL, WHOSE MOTHER WAS JAPANESE AND FATHER ENGLISH, SOMETIMES DREW UNWANTED ATTENTION FROM SOLDIERS WHO MISS THEIR OWN DAUGHTERS.

JOAN GOODALL PUAKELA: YOU KNOW WHAT THE GUYS WOULD GRAB ME AND THEY WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, THIS LOOKS TO ME LIKE MY CHILD, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE HALF, EH, THEY'RE ALL HAOLES.

AND I REMEMBER THAT I USED TO BE SO SCARED BECAUSE THEY WOULD HUG, EH.

AKIKO VO: FOR MANY IN SHINMACHI, THE INFLUX OF MILITARY PERSONNEL WAS ALSO AN INFLUX OF NEW CUSTOMERS FOR THEIR GOODS AND SERVICES.

THE KIDS EVEN GOT IN ON THE ACTION.

YOSHINOBU TERADA: SO I RECALL THIS ONE TIME WHEN I THINK WAS AN ENSIGN OR WHATEVER IN THE NAVY AND THEY SAID, "I'LL GIVE YOU FIVE BUCKS IF YOU GO DOWN AND GET MY UNIFORM."

SO I SAID, SURE.

SO I RAN DOWN, GOT THE UNIFORM AND THAT WAS THE BIGGEST PAYDAY FOR ME, FIVE DOLLARS!

AKIKO VO: THE WAR EXPANDED WOMEN'S WORK INTO AREAS OUTSIDE OF THEIR HOMES AND BUSINESSES.

THE LOSS OF BUDDHIST CLERGY TO INCARCERATION AND THE ARRIVAL OF SOLDIERS FROM THE MAINLAND PLACED MULTIPLE BURDENS ON SADAKO HARA'S MOTHER, KIYONO.

HER HUSBAND, REVEREND TETSUO HARA, HAD BEEN THE MINISTER AT HILO MEISHOIN PRIOR TO HIS DEATH IN 1940.

WHEN THE PRIESTS WERE INCARCERATED, MRS.

HARA WAS ONE OF THE FEW PEOPLE WHO KNEW THE CORRECT SUTRAS FOR FUNERAL RITES.

SHE WENT ON CALLS WITH MR.

DODO, THE FUNERAL DIRECTOR, WHENEVER SHE WAS NEEDED.

AKIKO VO: HER SPIRITUAL LABORS SUSTAIN THE COMMUNITY, BUT THEY DID NOT BRING A WAGE TO FEED HER FAMILY.

FOR THAT, MRS.

HARA, LIKE MANY WOMEN IN SHINMACHI, TOOK IN LAUNDRY FROM THE MILITARY PERSONNEL.

IT WAS NOT EASY WORK.

SADAKO HARA IWASAKI: OH, THEY WERE SO LARGE AND SHE WOULD STARCH AND IRON AND SPRINKLE.

HOW DID SHE DO IT ALL?

WE ALL USED TO HELP I GUESS.

I USED TO PUT BLANKETS ON THE BENCH AND IRON BECAUSE THEY'RE SO TALL AND WE'RE TINY AND TRYING TO IRON.

AKIKO VO: THE WAR BROUGHT MANY HARDSHIPS, BUT IT ALSO BROUGHT NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR SHINMACHI TO SHOW ITS INVENTIVENESS.

WHEN POTATOES WERE RATIONED, ATEBARA'S INVENTED TARO CHIPS.

HILO MACARONI'S EXPERIMENT WAS A BLAND GERMAN HARDTACK CRACKER RECIPE CREATED HAWAII'S BELOVED SALOON PILOT CRACKER.

AND AT GOYA BROTHERS, HUNGRY NEWCOMERS WERE EXPANDING THE MENU.

RAMON GOYA: PEOPLE NOT ONLY CAME TO EAT, BUT A LOT OF THEM HUNG OUT THERE AND BECAME GOOD FRIENDS.

AND MY MOM LEARNED A WHOLE LOT OF DISHES AND THINGS FROM THEM BECAUSE THEY CAME FROM THE MAINLAND.

MY MOM NEVER KNEW WHAT GRILLED CHEESE WAS ALL ABOUT, WHAT KIND OF SANDWICH IT WAS.

SO SHE ASKED THAT PERSON, PLEASE COME INTO THE KITCHEN AND SHOW ME HOW TO DO IT.

AND HE BECAME A REGULAR, YOU KNOW.

YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE THING.

THEY PERSONALIZED THEIR BUSINESS.

ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: IMPORTANT AND DECISIVE BATTLES, AND EACH TIME THESE MEN OF THE 100TH INFANTRY BATTALION AND THE 442ND COMBAT TEAM HAVE BEEN RIGHT OUT IN FRONT.

AKIKO VO: AS SOLDIERS FROM THE MAINLAND BECAME FIXTURES IN HILO, SECOND-GENERATION MEN FROM SHINMACHI AND ACROSS THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS JOINED THE ARMED FORCES WHEN THE ARMY FORMED THE ALL JAPANESE FOR 442ND REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM, THE FOUR FOUR TWO, IN EARLY 1943.

THERE WERE AT LEAST TWO SOLDIERS FROM EACH BLOCK IN SHINMACHI ON THE FRONT LINES IN EUROPE.

RONALD TAKAHATA, WHO GREW UP HELPING HIS FATHER RUN QUALITY AUTO IN SHINMACHI, WAS ALREADY A TRANSLATOR IN THE MILITARY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE FOR THE DURATION OF THE WAR.

AKIKO VO: WATARU KOHASHI LEFT HIS JOB AT HIS FATHER'S FISHCAKE FACTORY TO ENLIST IN THE 442ND.

LIKE THE THOUSANDS OF HIS FELLOW SOLDIERS OF JAPANESE DESCENT, KOHASHI HELPED TO LIBERATE ITALY AND TO RESCUE THE TEXAS LOST BATTALION.

HE LOST MANY FRIENDS, INCLUDING ONE WHO DIED IN HIS ARMS.

AKIKO VO: AT THE END OF THE WAR, WHEN MARTIAL LAW WAS LIFTED, THE BEACHES WERE FREED OF THE BARBED WIRE, MOST OF THE SOLDIERS AND PEOPLE IN INCARCERATION CAMPS CAME HOME, AND ALL OF THE GAS MASKS WERE RETURNED TO MILITARY STORAGE.

THERE WAS EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE THAT LIFE IN SHINMACHI WOULD SETTLE INTO A STEADY RHYTHM OF WORK, PRAYER, NEIGHBORLINESS, AND PLAY.

FOR EIGHT MONTHS.

SHINMACHI'S MODEST WISH WAS GRANTED.

ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: UNITED NEWSREEL INTERNATIONAL: THE PACIFIC OCEAN ON THE RAMPAGE, SWIFT, TOWERING WAVES ORIGINATING IN THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, SPREADING OUT FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES TO BATTER SHORELINES FROM HAWAII TO SOUTH AMERICA.

ONE OF THE WORST TIDAL WAVES ON RECORD TAKES ITS TOLL AS MAMMOTH WAVES BEGAN TO BREAK.

KENNETH KAMEOKA: MY GRANDFATHER WAS LIVING HERE IN SHINMACHI.

I WAS PROBABLY IN FIFTH OR SIXTH GRADE.

IN THE MORNING, WE'D USUALLY GO TO SCHOOL ABOUT 6:45 IN THE MORNING.

YOU COULD HEAR PEOPLE SCREAMING AND YELLING LIKE, "HEY!

TIGER WAVE!"

WE THOUGHT IT WAS "TIGER WAVE" BUT THEY WERE PROBABLY SAYING, LIKE, "TIDAL WAVE."

AND THEN THEY'RE ALL STANDING ON THE ROOFS OF HOUSES.

SO WE JUST THOUGHT "EH," AND JUST YELLED BACK, "APRIL FOOL!

APRIL FOOL!"

AKIKO VO: IT WAS LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER THE WAR ENDED THAT A TSUNAMI TURNED SHINMACHI INTO A SWIRLING CHAOS OF SPLINTERED BUILDINGS, SCATTERED OBJECTS OF EVERY KIND, BROKEN TREES, PANICKED PEOPLE AND LIFELESS BODIES.

THAT MORNING, THE OCEAN RECEDED, ODDLY, AND THE FEW WHO WERE FAMILIAR WITH TSUNAMIS SHOUTED WARNINGS ABOUT THE FIRST TWO WAVES.

WHEN THE POWERFUL THIRD WAVE HIT SHINMACHI, MOST COULD ONLY REACT TO SURVIVE, IF SURVIVAL WAS EVEN POSSIBLE.

SUSAN YOSHIMI ROSETE & JOAN GOODALL PUAKELA: DURING THE TIDAL WAVE WE WERE HIGH UP HERE.

YEAH, YOU GUYS SAW ALL THE THREE WAVES?

OH YEAH.

DOWN ON THE THIRD WAVE.

BUT MY MOTHER KEPT TELLING US, GO UNDER THE BED, GO ON TOP OF THE BED.

AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES, UP AND DOWN.

UP AND DOWN BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

RIGHT.

RIGHT.

SUSAN YOSHIMI ROSETE: SO MY UNCLE HAD PEOPLE COME AND HELP ME AND THEY TORE OFF THE ROOF TO GET US OUT OF THE HOUSE.

THEN WE ALL GOT SEPARATED FROM THERE, WHOEVER HAD TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL.

SUSAN YOSHIMI ROSETE: HOW DID YOU GUYS END UP?

JOAN GOODALL PUAKELA: THE THING IS, MY MOTHER HEARD THE NOISE, SO SHE OPENED THE DOOR, THE WATER CAME RIGHT IN THE HOUSE, SUCKED ME RIGHT OUT TO THE FRONT, AND THEN I MYSELF JUST GAVE UP BECAUSE THE BOARDS WERE ALL HITTING ME AND I DIDN'T HAVE ANYBODY BY ME.

SO I KIND OF REMEMBER I WAS RECEDING OUT.

AND THIS MAN PICKED ME UP.

YOSHINOBU TERADA: THEN I FELT THAT THE HOUSE WAS STARTING TO SINK.

AND I SAID, WELL, YOSHI IF YOU'RE GONNA STAY HERE, THAT HOUSE GOING TO COVER YOU WITH THE ROOF AND THAT WILL BE THE END OF YOU.

SO I LOOKED IN THE BACK AND I SAW MY BROTHER'S SURFBOARD THAT HE BUILT IN HIGH SCHOOL.

AND WHEN I HOPPED ONTO IT AND THE WAVES STARTED TO, OR SHOULD I SAY THE WATER, AND ALL THAT DEBRIS, SEEMED TO PUSH ME TOWARDS THE SUGAR MILL.

SUSAN YOSHIMI ROSETE: SO YOU FOLKS WAS SEPARATED.

WE WERE ALL SEPARATED.

AND YOUR YOUR MOTHER?

YOUR BROTHER WAS?

JOAN GOODALL PUAKELA: MY MOTHER WAS TRYING TO HANG ON TO HIM.

SUSAN YOSHIMI ROSETE & JOAN GOODALL PUAKELA: HER BROTHER IS THE ONE THAT WAS LOST IN A TIDAL WAVE.

NEVER FOUND.

AKIKO VO: THE TSUNAMI TOOK THE LIVES OF 159 PEOPLE IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, OVER ONE HUNDRED WERE KILLED IN HILO ALONE, THIRTY-EIGHT FROM SHINMACHI.

IT WAS CLEAR RIGHT AWAY THAT THE RECOVERY WOULD BE LONG AND ARDUOUS FOR THE THOUSANDS OF SURVIVORS WHO LOST THEIR HOMES, BUSINESSES, SAVINGS, HEIRLOOMS AND PEOPLE THEY LOVED DEARLY.

AS BEFORE SHINMACHI RESIDENTS WORKED WITH WHAT THEY HAD IN ORDER TO REBUILD.

THE SALVATION ARMY HELPED MEET THE BASIC NEEDS OF THOSE WHO HAD NOTHING BUT WHAT THEY WERE WEARING.

THE LOCAL BOY SCOUTS HAD THE TERRIBLE TASK OF LOOKING FOR BODIES.

MOSTLY, NEIGHBORS HELPED NEIGHBORS BY TAKING TSUNAMI REFUGEES INTO THEIR HOMES, WORKING TOGETHER TO SALVAGE WHAT COULD BE SALVAGED AND TO REBUILD AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

AKIKO VO: THE ARMY AND NAVY WERE PREPARING TO LEAVE THE ISLAND IN JUST FIVE MONTHS, BUT THERE WERE STILL ENOUGH SOLDIERS REMAINING TO LEAD SEARCH AND RESCUE EFFORTS.

THE NAVAL AIR STATION BARRACKS, LOCATED NEAR HILO'S 7 LYMAN AIRFIELD, BECAME THE NEW HOME FOR HUNDREDS OF FAMILIES WHO LOST EVERYTHING.

HILO MEISHOIN: (GONG) AKIKO VO: THE CHURCHES PROVIDED REFUGE IN THE WAKE OF THE TSUNAMI, HOLDING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER AS THEY HAD SINCE SHINMACHI'S FOUNDING.

AKIKO VO: THE 1946 TSUNAMI TOOK EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE BUILDINGS ON THE CORNER OF KAMEHAMEHA AVENUE AND BISHOP STREET.

THESE BUILDINGS WERE SHIELDED BY THE LUMBER AT HPM.

GOYA BROTHERS WAS HIT HARD, BUT THE FAMILY REBUILT AND OPENED MAY'S FOUNTAIN IN 1946, BRINGING A SPARK OF LIFE TO SHINMACHI, SERVING EVERYTHING FROM HAM AND CHEESE AND ROOT BEER FLOATS TO HILO'S HOMEMADE DISH, LOCO MOCO.

AKIKO VO: A SECOND TSUNAMI IN 1960 KILLED 61 PEOPLE AND DESTROYED 530 BUILDINGS, INCLUDING THE LAST PHYSICAL REMAINS OF SHINMACHI.

AFTER LOSING EVERYTHING TWICE IN 15 YEARS, MANY SHINMACHI FAMILIES QUESTIONED THE WISDOM OF REBUILDING.

OTHERS SAW NEW POSSIBILITIES.

MICHAEL TOKUNAGA: YOU KNOW MY GRANDFATHER AFTER THE 1960 TIDAL WAVE, HE WANTED TO CALL IT QUITS.

HE REALLY WANTED TO CALL IT QUITS.

BUT THEN MY MOM SAID, "OH, I'LL RUN THE BUSINESS," YOU KNOW?

AND THEN FOR A FEMALE TO BE RUNNING A FISHING TACKLE BUSINESS IN THE 1960S, THAT WAS PRETTY TOUGH.

SHE KNEW HOW TO FISH.

SHE WAS A GOOD ANGLER, ALSO, SHE PROVED HERSELF.

IT WASN'T A DRESS SHOP.

IT WASN'T A COSMETICS STORE.

IT WASN'T A FABRIC SHOP.

IT WAS BASICALLY A FISHING TACKLE SHOP THEN.

AKIKO VO: SHINMACHI WAS ULTIMATELY DECLARED AN INUNDATION ZONE WHERE REBUILDING IS PROHIBITED.

DISPLACED RESIDENTS FORMED THE SHINMACHI CLUB, WHICH HOSTED AN ANNUAL REUNION TO BRING ALL NEIGHBORS TOGETHER AND TO KEEP THE SPIRIT OF MUTUAL SUPPORT AND SHARED RESILIENCY ALIVE.

JOAN GOODALL PUAKELA AND KENNETH KAMEOKA: SEE WHERE YOUR BROTHER.

YEAH.

YOUR BROTHER WAS BURIED.

AND WHAT YOU SAID WAS THAT ALL THE PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T HAVE ANY GRAVES, RIGHT, WERE BURIED OVER THERE?

AKIKO VO: FOR JOAN GOODALL, SHINMACHI REMAINS A VAST TERRAIN OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS, ESPECIALLY ABOUT HER LOST BROTHER FREDERICK.

JOAN GOODALL PUAKELA: BECAUSE I SAW THE MOUNDS.

KENNETH KAMEOKA: AND SOMEBODY TOLD YOU THAT WAS THE AREA?

JOAN GOODALL PUAKELA: YET THIS WAS WHERE THE TIDAL WAVE VICTIMS, BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T FIND THE OWNERS, YOU KNOW, AND MY BROTHER WAS SEVEN, I THINK AT THAT TIME MY MOTHER EVEN CAME OUT OF THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE SHE HAD GASHES ON HER HEAD AND SHE WAS BANGED UP.

SO THEY TOLD THE HOSPITAL SHE GOT OUT TO LOOK FOR MY BROTHER.

KENNETH KAMEOKA: SO THAT TIME, THEY NEVER FOUND HIM?

JOAN GOODALL PUAKELA: YOU KNOW, MAYBE NOT.

YEAH, I DON'T KNOW.

JOAN & KEN: AT LEAST HE'S IN THE AREA.

YEAH, SOMEWHERE IN THIS AREA.

YEAH, YEAH.

KENNETH KAMEOKA: YEAH, THAT'S GOOD.

OK, YEAH, HE WILL BE HAPPY.

AKIKO VO: THE TSUNAMIS DID NOT TAKE ALL OF SHINMACHI.

AT HILO DAIJINGU, A SINGULAR FEMALE KOMAINU, A LION DOG STATUE, SITS NEXT TO THE EMPTY BASE OF HER MATE, WHICH WAS SWEPT AWAY IN THE WAVE.

TRACES OF SHINMACHI STILL APPEAR IN THE S. TOKUNAGA STORE'S ANNUAL ULUA CHALLENGE, ON THE GROCERY STORE SHELVES, AND IN THE TEMPLE SANCTUARIES, AND ESPECIALLY IN THE STORIES OF THOSE WHO REMEMBER THIS PLACE BEFORE THE TSUNAMI.

AKIKO VO: OVER MANY DECADES,THE MUTUAL SUPPORT THAT THE SHINMACHI ASSOCIATION BROUGHT INTO BEING IN 1913 REMAINS ALIVE IN THE JAPANESE BUSINESS COMMUNITY.

BRIAN KITAGAWA: YOU KNOW, WE CAN GET MORE DONE TOGETHER THAN WE CAN DO FIGHTING EACH OTHER.

SO WE WORK TOGETHER AS A GROUP TO BETTER THE BUSINESS, YOU KNOW, BETTER THE INDUSTRY.

BUT THAT STILL EXISTS TODAY.

MICHAEL FUJIMOTO: THERE IS NOT THAT CLASS STRUCTURE THAT YOU HAVE IN A LOT OF COMMUNITIES.

YOU KNOW, PEOPLE HERE JUST... I THINK BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW WHERE OUR ROOTS ARE.

AND WE ALL CAME FROM THE SAME PLACE.

SOME OF US WERE A LITTLE LUCKIER THAN OTHERS.

AND THAT'S WHERE THAT FEELING OF THE KUMIAI IS VERY STRONG IN HAWAII, BECAUSE YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR COMMUNITY.

SADAKO HARA IWASAKI: MY FATHER PASSED AWAY, SO THEY MADE A SECTION FOR US TO STAY.

AKIKO VO: SHINMACHI FAMILIES STILL CARRY FORWARD THEIR ANCESTORS' TRADITIONS FROM THE PAST AND THEIR DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE.

DONALD IKEDA & KENNETH KAMEOKA: IN THE OLD DAYS, I GUESS THE PARENTS ALWAYS WANTED TO MAKE THEIR CHILDREN BETTER THAN WHO THEY WERE.

DONALD IKEDA: WE TOLD THE PARENTS, IF YOU SEND US TO COLLEGE, WE'RE NOT GOING TO COME BACK AND DO HARD LABOR.

AKIKO VO: THE SUGAR INDUSTRY BROUGHT JAPANESE LABORERS TO HAWAII.

THE SUGAR COMPANY SET THE RULES THAT THE SHINMACHI ASSOCIATION HAD TO WORK BY, USING THE SKILLS AND VALUES THEY BROUGHT FROM PLANTATION LIFE AND JAPANESE CULTURE.

THE PEOPLE OF SHINMACHI CREATED THEIR OWN FERTILE GROUND OF OPPORTUNITY AND STABILITY.

AKIKO VO: IN 2016, THE SUGAR INDUSTRY MADE ITS FINAL EXIT FROM HAWAII.

THE DESCENDANTS OF THE HILO SHINMACHI ASSOCIATION ARE STILL HERE, AND THEY CONTINUE ON.