Trending
Two and a half years ago in this column, I lamented the impending demise of KIKU-TV. The little station which served Hawaii's Asian-American community for over 40 years was being converted to a 24-hour shopping channel. In the weeks following the official announcement, General Manager Phyllis Kihara was bombarded with calls and emails from across the state, expressing disbelief and dismay.
KIKU's LinkedIn profile at the time read, "Hawaii is the only Asian-majority state in the nation. Filipino and Japanese comprise the two largest segments of Hawaii's population. KIKU provides news and entertainment that keeps generations of Hawaii's people connected with their culture and background." Many of us felt we were losing a member of our family.
Eight months later, Ms. Kihara sent an astonishing mass email: "At some point or another, each of you reached out to me to share your thoughts about KIKU's program change... I wanted to reach out to you to let you know that KIKU is coming back. The owner of KITV is purchasing KIKU and plans to restore Japanese and Filipino programming to the station when the sale is finalized."
Sure enough, thanks to comedian-turned-media-mogul Byron Allen, my mother has been enjoying her Japanese sitcoms and samurai dramas nightly, since Jan. 31, 2021.
But now, two other beloved members of our local ethnic media are bidding us sayonara. And this time, I fear, the farewell is final.
Both the Hawaii Herald and the Hawaii Hochi will publish their final issues in the next week or so. Hawaii Herald editor, Kristen Nemoto Jay, shared the sad news in the current edition of the twice-monthly newspaper, announcing that the Herald's Dec. 1 issue would be its last. The final edition of the Hawaii Hochi will be printed on Dec. 7, exactly 111 years after its inaugural issue.
Founded in 1912 by Frederick Kinzaburo Makino, the Hawaii Hochi served the Japanese immigrant community and was written entirely in their native tongue. Makino had served nearly a year in prison for his role in organizing a 1909 sugar plantation strike. Citing a need for a "non-party, independent" perspective on continuing labor disputes and other issues, he eventually succeeded in establishing a primary news outlet for Hawaii's Japanese community, covering political and civil rights matters. During World War II, due to anti-Japanese sentiment, the Hochi was renamed the Hawaii Herald, but returned to its original title in 1952. Makino died the following year.
In 1969, the Hochi launched the Hawaii Herald as an English-only sister paper, but it was discontinued after four years. The Herald we know today was established in 1980 and has expanded to include an online version.
As a child, I used to leaf through my grandfather's Hawaii Hochi, fascinated by the thousands of Japanese characters which looked like cryptography to me. I couldn't decipher a single word, but I appreciated the graceful geometry of the kanji.
I didn't start reading the Hawaii Herald until I was in my 40s, helping my mother and aunt care for my elderly uncle. He was a longtime subscriber, and often insisted I read some of the stories. Years later, I was surprised and flattered when writer Eileen Chao (also a former Maui News reporter) called to say that she had been assigned to interview me for the Herald's annual Maui County issue.
"The Many Faces of Maui's 'Tita' -- Kathy Collins" was the cover story of that October 2015 issue. Several years later, I was granted the honor of writing the Maui issue cover stories; a 2020 profile of Nisei Veterans Memorial Center Executive Director Deidre Tegarden, and a feature on the Japanese Cultural Society's restoration on the Kepaniwai Heritage Gardens teahouse in 2021.
I've subscribed to the online edition since then, and have enjoyed and appreciated the articles, especially the features on members of our Japanese-American community.
In her Herald commentary, Kristen quoted former editor Jodie Chiemi Ching, who wrote in the paper's 40th anniversary edition, "We must continue to document their (our Issei, Nisei, and Sansei) lives and lessons, so that future generations can learn from the past and face the future with gambaru (perseverance)."
I know I join many local Japanese Americans in expressing my deep gratitude for all who contributed to both the Hawaii Hochi and Hawaii Herald over the years. And I hope to, at least occasionally, continue to share the JA experience and perspective in this space.
* Kathy Collins is a radio personality (The Buzz 107.5 FM and KEWE 97.9 FM/1240 AM), storyteller, actress, emcee and freelance writer whose "Sharing Mana'o" column appears every other Wednesday. Her email address is kcmaui913@gmail.com.