this is my lovely grand aunty. her name is Hisae Okamura. can you believe she’s 93 years old? oh my gosh!! she was so genki and energetic. so cute and so lovable. and she looked so like my grandpa fukunaga. aunty speaks perfect english because she graduated from mckinley high school on oahu. she moved back to japan in 1941, which was 1 year before the war started. she was here and her younger brother and sisters were in hawaii when america and japan were bombing each other. gosh, that must have been hard.
we talked, we ate sushi, we took photos, and we had a great time yesterday. i learned where and why my great grandparents came to hawaii. it was that generation that paved the way for all us japanese americans living our dreams. in my 2nd year in college, i read a book called “Okagesama de” which means “I am I because of you.” and it was about the 1st and 2nd generation of japanese living in hawaii. if it wasn’t for my grand parents and great grand parents, i wouldn’t be here today. neither would a lot of my japanese american friends living in hawaii..
this is the family koseki, or family register. this is 3 generations of the fukunaga family dating back to the 1800’s. as soon as i get it translated, i will finally be able to pin point where my ancestors are from. can’t wait…
when aunty was explaining to me the history of our family, i wanted to hear more and more. i can’t wait to sit down with her again. gosh, i’m so happy!!! aunty hisae, thank you for the amazing stories and information. and thank you for the sushi too. it was so good!!! see you again..
*now, i’m going to set off to find our more about my other side of the family. i’m nervous again….
