Isaac (middle, standing) and his younger brother James (middle,seated), along with Hawaiian Ambassador to Japan John Kapena (seated, right), in San Francisco, as they prepare to depart for Japan, 1882.
Isaac and James Haku'ole Harbottle were the first Native Hawaiians to visit Japan after the king, along with a small entourage, traveled there the previous year . Brothers, the Harbottles journeyed to Japan in 1882, the year after King Kalakaua's meeting with the Meiji Emperor, and studied Japanese language in Tokyo. After returning to Hawaii, the brothers established worker assistance programs for Japanese immigrants to the islands.
References
- Matt Matsuda, Pacific Worlds, Cambridge University Press (2012), 246-247.