July Events: Okinawan Prisoners of War

Honouliuli was comprised mostly of prisoners of war, and the largest ethnic group to make up those POWs were Okinawans, an indigenous Pacific island people whose land was colonized by Japan in the late 1800s. However, the civilian incarcerated side of the camp held Okinawan Americans as well.

During the war, Japan conscripted Okinawan men and children into their Imperial Army, leading to their capture in lost battles in the Pacific. Many of these prisoners of war were brought to Oʻahu's Sand Island for processing, then sent off to POW camps across the continent and Hawaiian Islands. Several hundred were held at Honouliuli when it opened.

The month of July honors the Okinawans who were forced to fight for Japan and then imprisoned across the ocean in a strange land. Our speakers are experts on the history of Okinawans in Hawaiʻi, their intersected identity between Hawaiʻi and Japan, and the effects that WWII had on the Okinawan people residing in the Islands.

The year 2025 also marks the 125th anniversary of when Okinawans first came to Hawai‘i. The Hawai‘i United Okinawan Association is also hosting a yearlong celebration to mark this major milestone. Check out 125 Years of Okinawan Immigration to Hawai‘i and Emigration to the World to learn more.

Please Note:

Nearly all of our Speaker Series events will be virtual.

Event details will be posted closer to the month in which they take place. Please check back for updates to the calendar and event pages.

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Speaker: Kaori Akiyama

Osaka University

Date and Time: July 2025, exact date and time TBD.

Discussion Summary: Life in Honouliuli for Okinawan POWs: Clues Revealed in Documents, Oral Histories and Memoirs

Okinawan POWs were the last group among four major ethnic groups of POWs to arrive in Hawaiʻi during and immediately following WWII. Although the exact reason for their forced transport to Hawaiʻi from the battleground of Okinawa is unclear, this presentation will examine clues that reveal details of their lives in Honouliuli based on US military documents, interviews and their memoirs in Japanese.

Biography: Kaori Akiyama is an Assistant Professor at the Division of Japanese Studies in the Graduate School of Humanities at Osaka University. After studying at the University of Hawaiʻi, she received her Ph.D. in Japanese History from The Graduate University for Advanced Studies [SOKENDAI] in 2018. She is the author of "The History of Japanese Internment in Hawaiʻi: Changes in the Camps and Camp Life during the Pacific War" (2020, in Japanese). Her areas of study are the history of Japanese in Hawaiʻi and Okinawan Prisoners of War during WWII and the study of cultures and representation.

Speaker: Brandon Marc Higa

University of Hawaiʻi Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law and Kapi‘olani Community College

Date and Time: July 2025, exact date and time TBD.

Discussion Summary: Higa’s research on the legal status of Okinawan prisoners of war during World War II provides critical insights into the broader historical and legal framework of civilian internment and military detention policies in the Pacific. Okinawans, many of whom were forcibly conscripted by the Japanese military or caught in the crossfire of the Battle of Okinawa, occupied a complex legal position under international law as both subjects of the Japanese Empire and an indigenous people with distinct historical ties to the Ryukyu Kingdom. His work examines how these legal ambiguities influenced the treatment of Okinawan POWs and how their experiences parallel those of Japanese Americans and other detainees interned at Honouliuli and similar camps in the United States. By drawing connections between the wartime internment of civilians and the evolving legal frameworks governing military occupation, Higa’s research contributes to understanding Honouliuli’s role as a site of remembrance and historical reflection on civil liberties, war, and indigenous identity.

Biography: Brandon Marc Higa is a lecturer in law and licensed attorney with a doctor of juridical sciences (S.J.D.) and juris doctor (J.D.) degrees from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law. Higa received a NSEP Boren Fellowship to complete post-graduate research at Stanford University’s Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama, Japan. His undergraduate study abroad experience includes exchanges to Waseda University (Tōkyō, Japan) as a Freeman - ASIA awardee and Kyung Hee University (Seoul, South Korea) through the Critical Language Scholarship while completing dual bachelors and master's degrees in international relations at the University of Southern California.

Honouliuli Pop-Up Exhibit: Kapolei Public Library

Kapolei Public Library

Date: All of July, 2025, Kapolei Public Library, 1020 Manawai St, Kapolei, HI 96707, open during library hours.

About the Event: For the entire month of July, the Kapolei Public Library will be the home of Honouliuli National Historic Site's traveling exhibit. Visit the library to read up on the history of Honouliuli and what work has been done on the site since its discovery. Also featured in this exhibit will be books related to Honouliuli. For a comprehensive list of literature related to Honouliuli and Japanese American incarceration, please check out our Recommended Reading List.

Honouliuli Monthly Bookstore Educational Item

Pearl Harbor National Memorial Gift Shop

Date and Location: July 2025, 1 Arizona Memorial Place, Honolulu, HI, 96818

About the Event: The Honouliuli National Historic Site bookstore is located in the Pearl Harbor National Memorial bookstore. The bookstore, which carries items beyond just books, provides visitors with a range of interpretive and educational materials about Honouliuli. The income generated from these items supports important historic preservation, ongoing research, visitor interpretation, natural and cultural resources management, and educational programs at the park.

To find other ways to help support the park, explore the drop down menu under the Get Involved section of the navigation banner.