Women’s History Month: Japanese Women in Hawaiʻi

March is designated as Women’s History Month to honor women’s contributions in U.S. history. Also celebrated in March is Hina Matsuri (Girl’s Day), dedicated to the health and well-being of young girls and to peace, beauty, and happiness. Japanese families in Hawaiʻi often celebrate the special day by eating mochi and displaying dolls.

Between 1885 and 1924 nearly 213,800 Japanese immigrants moved to Hawaiʻi, the largest immigrant group to arrive in the Islands. Most had been recruited for plantation work. The employment of Japanese and other foreign workers dramatically changed the Islands’ demographics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Japanese women in Hawaiʻi often assumed traditional roles as parents and domestic workers, but also took on other occupations as agricultural laborers, teachers, nurses, and business owners. The thousands of photographs preserved by the Lyman Museum document many aspects of local history. To see even more, the Archives is open for research by appointment. Learn more at https://lymanmuseum.org/archives/research-collection/.

A group of Japanese women, men, and children in the Honolulu immigration compound, 1886. At their height in 1920, Japanese immigrants constituted 43% of Hawaiʻi’s population. Between 1869 and 1885 Japan barred emigration to Hawaiʻi in fear that poor Japanese laborers could be damage the reputation of the Japanese race. In 1881 King David Kalākaua visited Japan to strengthen relations between the two nations. Kalākaua negotiated a plan for labor and Japan lifted the ban on immigration. The first 153 Japanese contract laborers arrived in Hawaiʻi on February 8, 1885, to work on sugar and pineapple plantations. Photograph by Dr. Eduard Christian Arning (1855 – 1936). Arning was an English-German dermatologist and microbiologist from Manchester, England. From 1884 to 1886, he researched leprosy in the Hawaiian Islands.
Japanese woman on lānai (porch) of plantation-style hale (house), no date.
“Japanese Cane Workers,” no date. Four Japanese women are dressed for cane field work. They are wearing long sleeved blouses, long skirts, and their legs are covered. They wear brimmed hats with a cloth under them to protect their heads and necks from the sun. Two of the women are holding cane knives and another is holding a fox terrier on a leash.
“Mrs. Tadaichi Shintaku. Mr. & Mrs. L. C. Lyman’s Dining room,” ca. 1925. The photograph shows Akino Shintaku (1906-1990) in a kimono with a tray. Mrs. Shintaku may have done domestic work for the Lyman family. The Shintaku family lived on the grounds of Hilo Boarding School. Akino’s husband, Tadaichi Shintaku, worked as a school carpenter. The couple had four children. At the time, Levi C. Lyman served as principal and his wife, Nettie, worked as a teacher for the school.
A group of young women are giving lei to some 442nd Regiment inductees before a swearing-in ceremony in Hilo Armory. The women left behind often took on new jobs outside the home. The 442nd was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment, including the 100th Infantry Battalion, is best known as the most-decorated in U.S. military history, and as a fighting unit composed almost entirely of second-generation American soldiers of Japanese ancestry (Nisei). Beginning in 1944, the regiment fought primarily in Italy, southern France, and Germany.

Chieko Tanaka (1909-1978) is pictured in this 1957 photograph labeled “Convention Committee.” Left to Right: F. Yamanaka, M. Wilson, M. Marcallino, E. Kaaua, S. Chang, H. Ishikawa, C. Kanuha, J. Wung, I. Clark, Chieko Tanaka, N. Morimoto, and E. Graham. Chieko Tanaka worked as a nurse at Kohala Hospital and as a longtime registered nurse at Hilo Hospital. Her parents were Kenichi and Itsuno Tanaka. Miss Tanaka was a member of the Honpa Hongwanji Hilo Betsuin, a Buddhist temple.

Elsie Shinohara (1909-2007) operated Elsie’s Fountain, a local diner on Mamo Street in Hilo. The photograph shows four people standing behind a buffet table in the Shinohara family home at 1127 Kinoʻole Street in Hilo, Hawaiʻi on June 27, 1963. Left to right: Harry Tachibana, James M. Shinohara, Bessie Umeno Miyagi, and Elsie Shinohara. The photographer John Howard Pierce visited Elsie’s diner for coffee and crossword puzzles every afternoon.
Patsy Matsu Mink (1927 –2002) worked as an attorney and politician. Mink was born into the Takemoto family at the sugar plantation camp, Hāmākua Poko, near Pāʻia, on Maui. Citizens first elected her to public office in 1956 where she served as a Representative in the Territorial House of Representatives. She served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1965 to 1977, and then again from 1990 to 2002, for a total of 24 years. She was the first woman of color, and the first Asian American woman, elected to the U.S. Congress, and is recalled for her work on legislation advancing women’s rights and education. She often spoke about women in politics. She supported the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. She received many awards, including the honor of “Nisei of the Biennium” by the Japanese American Citizens League in 1966.
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