One Ocean, One People: Voyage to Micronesia and Japan

One Ocean, One People: 2007 Voyage to Micronesia and Japan
Hōkūle'a's voyage to Micronesia and Japan, posted on YouTube: view an 8.5-minute online video of Nainoa Thompson. (Courtesy of Hawai'i Tourism Japan; available in English and Japanese.)
Google Tracking Map (courtesy of M. Shintani)
UHM's SOEST tracking map

Hokule'a's and Kama Hele's arrival in Yokohama on June 9, 2007, culminated a five-month, 9,570 mile journey that expanded the boundaries of Hokule'a's world and created new stories from new experiences. The journey began on January 11, 2007 with Hokule'a and Kama Hele departing from Honolulu for Kawaihae on the Big Island, from where she left for the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau, places she had never been before, but with which she had developed cultural ties and relationships. Photo Right: Hokule'a sailing out of Kawaihae, January 19, 2007. Photo by Kathy Thompson.

On this first half of the journey, named Ku Holo Mau ("Sail On, Sail Always, Sail Forever") she was accompanied by Alingano Maisu, a gift for Navigator Mau Piailug for his achievement and teachings throughout the Pacific, teachings that fostered a revival of traditional voyaging and navigation and created a family of Pacific voyagers. Built under the leadership of Clay Bertelmann and Na Kalai Wa'a Moku o Hawai'i at Mau's request, Alingano Maisu was delivered to Mau's home island of Satawal to enable Mau's 'ohana to perpetuate his centuries old voyaging traditions. Photo Left: Maisu and Hokule'a. Photo by Mike Taylor.

An unexpected gift of this visit to Satawal was Mau's initiation of five Hawaiians along with eleven Micronesians into pwo, an acknowledgement of their knowledge, achievements, and ability to serve their people as navigators. The five Hawaiians--Chad Baybayan, Shorty Bertelmann, Bruce Blankenfeld, Chadd Paishon, and Nainoa Thompson served as captains and navigators during the 2007 Voyages to Micronesia and Japan. Photo Right: Mau's five Hawaiian graduates on Satawal. Photo by Sam Low. For Sam's photos and stories of Satawal, see Ku Holo Mau.

Background on Ku Holo Mau ("Sail On, Sail Always, Sail Forever"): 2007 Voyage to Micronesia. Click Here: Map of Ku Holo Mau.

At a welcoming ceremony on June 10, near where Hokule'a was docked with Kama Hele in Yokohama, Nainoa Thompson spoke about the tremendous effort it took to complete the voyage from Hawai'i to Micronesia to Japan, and thanked the numerous people who made it possible, starting with Mau; the captains and crews of the canoes and escort boat; those who contributed various navigational, cultural, and educational expertise both for this project and in the past; those who provided support at home and in the places the vessels stopped; those who were being trained and are committed to carrying on the voyaging in the future. While about 260 people sailed the vessels on this voyage, Nainoa estimated that at least five times as many provided support. He also noted that the planning and training for this voyage started over five years ago. Photo Left: Mau Piailug. Photo by Sam Low.

Nainoa said that the voyage to Japan, Ku Holo La Komohana (“Sail On to the Western Sun”), started as an opportunity to retell stories such as King David Kalakaua's 1881 visit to Yokohama, and the events that followed, including the study abroad program sending Hawaiian youth to Japan for the first time as part of a globalized education program; and the arrival of Japanese immigrants to Hawaii, the tremendous contributions they made, and the personal relationships and caring that took place between people of different ethnic backgrounds. Photo Right: King David Kalakaua.

Nainoa also focused on how the voyage to Japan has brought gifts we didn't expect and couldn't have imagined before it began. He enumerated these gifts and thanked the welcoming crowd for each of them.

One gift was allowing the crews to experience the extraordinary beauty of the islands, forests, and seas of Japan that even someone like himself from the beautiful islands of Hawai'i might envy.

Another gift was the caring for culture, heritage, and ancestry that he witnessed. He was amazed that the crews were not just able to walk on sacred grounds but to sleep in Daisho-in Temple on Miyajama, a temple that had a 1,000 year old history.

He realized that to create such a history, generation after generation had to be committed to protecting and preserving such special places. Photo: At Daisho-in Temple in Miyajima, the crew folded paper cranes to present at the Children's Peace Monument in Hiroshima.

Another gift was the way in which the people of Nagasaki, Hiroshima, and Uwajima were willing to put aside anger and bitterness and to focus on healing; how Nagasaki and Hiroshima had been rebuilt from the devastation of the atomic bombings and were now safer, cleaner, and healthier than other cities in the world. Photo: Sky presenting the crews' paper cranes at the Children's Peace Monument.

How the families of the Ehime Maru tragedy have reached out to Hokule'a in order to create cultural bridges and understanding. For the families, Hokule'a brought the souls of those lost at sea in Hawai'i back home to Uwajima. Photo: The crew presented to the families of Ehime Maru flowers and handmade feather kahili created by Kaleinani Brown, along with wooden stands made by one of the builders of Hawai’iloa, Jerry Ongais. Crew member Kanako Uchida served as translator for Nainoa.

Another gift was the strength and clarity of the people he met who were committed to world peace: Those from Iwaijima who presented Captain Baybayan with a flame from the atomic bombing in order to quench it, symbolically putting out the flames of war. Photo: Captain Chad Baybayan received the flame of war to douse from the crew from Iwaijima.

And those in Uwajima who presented Nainoa with a miniature of the Taihei temple bell of peace to ring, the same kind of replicas given to Khruschev and J.F. Kennedy at the height of the Cold War in order to encourage them to settle their disputes peacefully. Photo: Miniature of the Uwajima Peace Bell in Nainoa's hands. Photo by Monte Costa.

Another gift was the generosity, kindness, and aloha for the crews at each stop. Crew members spoke about people taking time out of the day to guide the crew to places they needed to get to. Crew member Nanea Baird focused on two memorable people, both in their 80s: a fisherman of Miyajima who met the crew on his home island and went out and caught 27 fish to feed the crew at the welcome party in Hiroshima. PhotoThe Miyajima fisherman with crew member Maka.

And a carpenter on Oshima who fashioned pepeiao ("ears" to hold tricing lines) for the canoe so that the crew could raise the crab claw sails. Photo: Fujii-san, the 80 year old carpenter who contributed pepeiao to Hokule'a; with Nainoa. Photo by Miyazaki Masako.

Another gift was the children, exemplified by the performers at the various welcoming ceremonies. Nainoa was inspired by the dignity and pride the youth expressed in their performances and hoped that all children could be nurtured and taught to be as strong, clear, and disciplined in their chosen paths as these children were. Photo: Taiko performers at Yokohama. Photo by Na'alehu Anthony.

Another gift was the enabling of more hopes and dreams. The voyage to Japan took Hokule'a "outside of the boundary of our culture," and there was some uncertainty before the voyage about what this new experience would be like and how it would turn out. Photo: Ka'iu Kimura and Ka'iu Murphy with a new friend.

Nainoa was delighted to find that there were core values that were shared between Hawai'i and Japan, and that the crews were welcomed warmly wherever they went; and they were able to both teach about their voyaging traditions and learn about the traditions of others. Photo: Captain/Navigator Chadd Paishon and Asian Pacific Leadership student and translator Kyoko Ikeda.

The Japan experience has led him to believe that Hokule'a would continue to sail and revisit places it has been to to reaffirm old friendships and explore new places in order to build bridges and spread the values the canoe has come to symbolize--caring for and protecting the environment, perpetuating culture and traditions, caring for children, honoring elders and ancestry, healing what has been torn apart, promoting world peace. Photo: Hokule'a's Ki'i of Knowledge with a lei of paper cranes representing a hope for world peace.

Walking among the frenetic rush hour pedestrian and auto traffic of the massive, high-rise, high-tech, futuristic development of Minato Mirai 21 in Yokohama, where Hokule'a is anchored and where the environment is modern and artificial, all concrete, steel and glass, you can understand the appeal of Hokule'a to people, perhaps a minority, who long for a connection to cultural traditions and nature. A resident from Japan wrote to PVS: "I went to Yokohama on June 11 and 13 to see Hokule'a. I took my kids with me on Monday. I think there're a few more important things than going to school in our lives and to see Hokule'a is one of them. It was so fantastic to get on board, see inside, listen to the lecture from Takuji, imagine how's the voyage by canoe. My kids will never forget that day. I want to tell you that I really appreciate your Hokule'a 's voyage. It brought us countless seeds of dreams and hopes. We will grow them bigger and stronger. Thank you so much."Photo: Minato Mirai 21, a futuristic new development in the port of Yokohama.

At one of the press conferences, asked what he thought about GPS in relationship to star navigation, Nainoa said emphatically, "I reject GPS. It diminishes our lives and disconnects us from nature. Nature provides us everything we need. GPS is a box with no connection to nature, only numbers." Photo: Taku Araki and Pomai Bertelmann, students of star-navigation.

2007 Voyage to Japan
Map of Ku Holo La Komohana
2007 Sail Dates and Maps of Stops (Final: June 12).

6/08 HST (6/09 JST) Hokule'a and Kama Hele arrive in Yokohama

Hokule'a and Kama Hele arrived in Yokohama, at Pukari Sanbashi pier, at 11 a.m., exactly on time for the welcome ceremony. As the canoe approached the dock, Captain Blankenfeld cut the tow and sailed her into the dock in light winds. Regarding the precise arrival, Blankenfeld smiled and said that he was learning from the Japanese about arriving and departing on-time. After the stormy night coming around Ashizuri Cape, the vessels were blessed with good weather for ocean travel.

Hokule'a and Kama Hele were escorted into Tokyo Bay by eight vessels of supporters, as well as the Janmar boat and the official boat from the port of Yokohama. Two news helicopters buzzed overhead.

Hundreds of people lined the area around Pukarisanbashi pier to greet Hokule'a, including official greeters from the Port of Yokohama and a contingent of the Royal Order of Kamehameha, arrayed in their dark suits and red and yellow capes.

The Royal Order was represented on the canoe by Leighton Tseu who chanted and spoke of the connection between Hokule'a's arrival and the arrival of King David Kalakaua in 1881; Tseu also said that Hokule'a's visit was not just about the past but about the future, and he looked forward to a deeper relationship between Hawai'i and Japan. Kaniela Akaka, who joined the canoe as protocol officer for PVS, offered a chant as well. On the dock to welcome the crews with a chant in return was Kumu Keli’i Taua, with Halau Keala o Kamaile (affliliated with Keali'i Reischel); Loui Kaninau-Cabebe with the halau formed by Tiger Espere under Misa Nakatomi; Sandii and World Peace, who also performed a special chant/dance to Hokule'a at the welcome ceremony the next day. [For Photos of the Yokohama welcome, see the posting of Weblog URLs courtesy of Kato Kosei.]

Hokule'a and Kama Hele began the journey from Muroto to Yokohama by crossing the Kii Strait. Shipping and boating traffic was lighter than we expected. A pod of whales appeared during the crossing.

As we rounded Cape Shiono on Honshu, pilot Kazu Nishimura took us under the bridge connecting Kushimoto (a fishing town) and an offshore island. Just after the bridge, we passed a fishing boat towing an large aquaculture cage.

Just past Kushimoto we could see Hashigui Iwa ("Bridge Post Rocks"), an impressive row of rock columns jutting up near shore like the remnants of a giant bridge. (See Voyage Photos, Transit, Uwajima-Yokohama).

By the afternoon of the next day, we were passing Cape Iro and entering the Sea of Sagami,where we sighted the two volcanic islands of Izu-Oshima and Toshima. At this entrance to Tokyo Bay, we encountered more ships and boats than we saw earlier in the Kii Strait, with dozens moving in and out of view in all directions, including giant tankers and cargo ships and sleek, fast fishing boats. The crew was amazed at the numbers and kinds of vessels we saw in the waters of this maritime nation. A couple of fishing boats changed course to buzz by us to get a closer look at the first Hawaiian voyaging canoe ever to sail into these waters. A couple of pods of dolphins appeared, along with piles of seabirds (shearwaters?)

The crew looked for Mt. Fuji all afternoon, but a haze over the island, perhaps a combination of clouds, smog, and dust from the Gobi desert, reduced visibility, and only the coastal mountains could be seen, fading into the distance in the haze.

As we arrived in the Sea of Sagami two days before the welcome ceremony at Yokohama, we pulled into Miura, a small fishing town at the tip of Miura Peninsula.

The next day we traveled north to Kamakura, in Sagami Bay, in honor of big-wave rider, fisherman, and cultural expert Tiger Espere, who spent time in Kamakura teaching Hawaiian culture and verifying “the ancestral connection between Japan's pre-Buddhist settlers and native Hawaiians” (a mission given to him by Tahitian elders). He established the Japan-Hawaiian Voyaging Society and was planning to build a voyaging canoe to reconnect the two cultures. Photo Right: Tiger/Honolulu Advertiser photo).

On board Hokule'a for the visit to Kamakura was Loui Kaninau-Cabebe, Tiger's brother who is carrying on with Tiger's dream of building a voyaging canoe for Japan. Photo Left: Loui riding into Kamakura on Hokule'a.

Hokule'a and Kamahele anchored off Shichirigahama beach, one of the beaches along the coast called Shonan, in Kamakura. The vessels were greeted by a couple of jet skis (introduced by Brian Keaulana), about fifty or sixty surfers and paddle boarders, and six outrigger canoes. Loui chanted from the canoe, and a halau, formed by Tiger and under the direction of Misa Nakatomi, chanted and danced on shore along with a hundred or so well-wishers. It was Tiger's dream that one day Hokule'a would visit Kamakura and inspire the people there to build a voyaging canoe. For Tiger, Loui explained, a canoe was not just a physical artifact, but a spiritual way.

The celebration in Tiger's honor was blessed by warm, sunny weather; most of the crew took advantage of this time to jump in for a swim or a paddle with the locals. The water was a little chillier than in Hawai'i, but refreshing. Photo Left: Tiger steering Hokule'a across the Kaiwi Channel, Moloka'i to O'ahu; Hawai'iloa sailing in the background. [For Photos of the visit to Kamakura see the Weblog URLs provided by Kato Kosei.]

Before leaving for Yokohama the next day, the crew was joined by Nainoa Thompson, Kaniela Akaka, James Hugho, Sam Monaghan, Kentaro Matsuo (a friend of Taku and a canoe paddler), and Saki Uchida, representing the youth of Japan.

Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture

The final stop on Hokule'a's 2007 Voyage to Japan is Yokohama, located on the west side of Tokyo Bay, just south of Tokyo. Yokohama, the capital of Kanagawa prefecture, is Japan's second largest city (3.5 million people), after Tokyo (12.2 million people). It was a small fishing village until Japan was forced open for commerce with the West in 1854 by a fleet of American warships under Commodore Perry. The port opened in 1859 and became the base of foreign trade with Japan.

Hokule'a's voyage to Japan celebrates over 125 years of historical connections and intercultural exchanges between Hawai'i and Japan since King David Kalakaua sailed from San Francisco to Yokohama in 1881 on his round-the-world tour and met with Emperor Meiji in Tokyo. For photos of the king and emperor and information about the king's political mission and what followed, see King Kalakaua's Visit with Emperor Meiji, Yokohama-Tokyo, 1881 in the photo gallery and Kalakaua's 1881 Journey to Japan at the PVS website.

On the Schedule in Yokohama: Welcome ceremony, reception party with crewmembers, lectures by crewmembers, canoe tours, school visits, and workshops. On Saturday, June 16th (Friday, Hawai’i time), a two-hour final event will be held involving Governor Linda Lingle, Amy Hanaiali’i Gilliom, Pukalani Hula Hale and Mi’ilani Cooper’s halau. Maui hālau Pukalani Hula Hale performing hula of the Kalākaua period. The late Kumu Hula Nina Boyd Maxwell, the founder of the hālau, "is a product of Master Kumu Hula Emma Sharpe who was a trusted student of Kauhai Likua a dancer on King Kalākaua’s court."

A special event in Hokule'a's stay in Yokohama was a courtesy visit to Princess Takamado of the Imperial family by a contingent from PVS: Bruce Blankenfeld, Leighton Tseu, Ka'iulani Murphy, Mahealani Pai, and Nainoa Thompson. The princess is interested in star-navigation. The visit was scheduled for half an hour but lasted for an hour and a half. Photo by Na'alehu Anthony.

Information on Yokohama: 1. Yokohama’s Hokule’a Visit website; 2. Yokohama City website; 3. Kanagawa Prefecture website; 4. Kanagawa Prefecture JNTO website. Current Weather, with 5-day Forecast (Weather Underground): Yokohama.

Mahalo Nui Loa: Mahalo Nui Loa to all who provided the stories and photos for this weblog, both crew members and people who were touched by Hokule'a, Alingano Maisu, and Kama Hele at the numerous stops; and those who posted encouraging comments to the crews. This has been the most comprehensive effort to document a voyage and to do educational outreach in the history of PVS. Special thanks to Michael Shintani and Bernie Kilonsky of SOEST for updating the maps of the voyage; Sam Low for the great photographs and stories of Mau, Satawal, and the pwo ceremony that initiated five Hawaiian navigators into the ranks of Micronesian navigation; Kato Kosei, who translated the weblog into Japanese for Aloha Street magazine and provided links to Japanese weblogs where photos of the voyage were posted; Linda Fujikawa and her students at Kapi'olani Community College who also provided translations into Japanese; the East-West Center Asian Pacific Leadership Team (Nick Barker and students Ivee Cruz, Linda Furuto, Kyoko Ikeda, Christina Kwauk, and Paulina Yourupi) who mananged the educational components of the weblog; Mary Hattori of Kapi'olani Community College who suggested the weblog for this voyage and donated the site at Squarespace.com; and Ann Bell, who coordinated satellite phone calls and classrooms visits by crew, in Hawai'i and across the Pacific to Micronesia and Japan.