The coronation of the queen of the 66th Chrysanthemum Festival was held Dec. 8 at the Velma McWayne Santos Community Center in Wailuku.

The queen is Erin Tanaka, 15, of Wailuku, a sophomore at Seabury Hall and the daughter of Lori and Kirk Tanaka.

The princesses are:

• Lannie Hisashima, 16, of Haiku, a junior at King Kekaulike High School and the daughter of Kary and Debbie Hisashima.

• Kayleen Lau, 17, of Wailuku, a senior at Kamehameha Schools Maui and the daughter of Jonathan Lau and the late Mariye Sherri Tokunaga Lau.

• Jolee Tanaka, 16, of Wailuku, a junior at Maui High School and the daughter of Joanne and Dutch Tanaka-Akana.

• Kara Nakahashi, 16, of Wailuku, a junior at Baldwin High School and the daughter of Mavis and Frankie Nakahashi.

The queen is the contestant who raises the most money, through ticket sales and donations, for festival sponsor Maui’s Sons and Daughters of the Nisei Veterans (MSDNV). Contestants represent the MSDNV and the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center (NVMC) at various events throughout the year.

The festival was created as the Chrysanthemum Ball, a ballroom-dance affair, by the Maui AJA Veterans Inc. as a way to fund its community service in areas such as youth sports and scholarships. The veterans club was formed as soldiers returned from Europe and the Asia-Pacific areas after World War II.

AJA stands for Americans of Japanese ancestry. Most of the soldiers were nisei, or the second generation of Japanese Americans.

In 2007, the event name was changed to Chrysanthemum Festival to reflect its focus on Japanese culture.

The next year — with the core group of veterans becoming older and less able to do projects such as the festival — Maui AJA Veterans turned over the event to the MSDNV. Maui AJA Veterans Inc. disbanded in 2016.

Festival proceeds fund scholarships and MSDNV’s historical preservation projects, which are done with the NVMC

The feature of the annual event is the coronation and the court’s traditional ballroom dance performance. The contestants and their escorts attended weekly sessions with ballroom dance instructors Jeffrey and Lydia Dela Cruz to prepare for the performance.

Escorts included boys essay winner Rielyn Domingo (Princess Lannie), Xaden Nishimitsu (Princess Kara), Dylan Tajima (Princess Jolee), Kayden Lanakila Choda-Kowalski (Princess Kayleen) and Bryson Uchima (Queen Erin).

Each contestant also has a boy to hold a chochin (Japanese lantern) to light her path as she makes her entrance at the festival, and a flower girl who presents a bouquet after the coronation.

The chochin holders were Dutch Kamaha’o Akana, Isamu Kahai, Brevan Nishimitsu, Noa Haruto Luna Nunokawa and Landon Okamoto. The flower girls were Sophia Linh Kato, Teisha Nishimitsu, Taylor Akiko and Kayla Wada.

The festival also offers exhibits, demonstrations, entertainment and dinner.

Entertainment included classical Japanese dances by students of Matsu Dai Mitsu Yae; Japanese songs sung by Yumi Takedatsu, Deidre Tegarden and the duo Angelica Watanabe and Toni Kaililau-Dizon; and Zenshin Daiko, directed by Anthony Jones.

Cultural activities included the Rev. Shinkai Murakami of Wailuku Hongwanji Mission demonstrating calligraphy, the Mokichi Okada Association presenting mini-flower arrangements, Japanese games provided by the Japanese Cultural Society of Maui and an activity table by the King Kekaulike High School Japanese Club.

The NVMC had an informational table.

MSDNV co-sponsored the 2018 event with the County of Maui.

MSDNV President Leonard Oka and member Gary Nakama chaired the Chrysanthemum Festival Committee.

Japanese cultural values and their effect on the AJAs who fought in World War II are key elements of an annual essay contest for the festival contestants and their escorts. This year’s winners were Queen Erin in the girls category and Domingo in the boys category.

This year’s essay topic was “gaman,” which refers to the acceptance of and the ability to deal with life’s adversities, and about maintaining one’s dignity and honor with diligence and perseverance.

Essays addressed each writer’s understanding of the concept of “gaman,” how it played a role in the lives of nisei men as they entered and fought in World War II, and how it could be a useful value to adopt in the writer’s life.

Cash prizes were awarded to the entrants.

MSDNV President Oka noted that a major purpose of his group and the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center “is to perpetuate the history of our fathers who served so gallantly in World War II.” He noted it is just as important for the sons and daughters group to understand and to pass on the values that were ingrained in these nisei soldiers by their issei, or first generation, parents. The research for and writing of the essays nurtures the participants’ understanding of the nisei soldiers’ story.