Changes

==Today==

==Today==

Today, Hawaii is home to a great number of Okinawan groups and associations, and cultural activities and events. The University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) is the only university in the US to boast a dedicated Center for Okinawan Studies, and offers courses in [[Okinawan language]], [[Ryukyu odori|Ryukyuan dance]], and classical Okinawan ''[[sanshin]]'' music. The Manoa-based East-West Center, which has a close relationship with the university but is a separate institution unto itself, has strong relationships with Okinawa in a variety of ways, listing Okinawa specifically (and separately from Japan) as one of the regions in which it engages; among the Center's various activities, it offers extensive fellowships specifically for Okinawan students to come study at UHM. Community organizations such as HUOA, meanwhile, sponsor scholarships for students traveling in the other direction, i.e. for Okinawan-American students from Hawaii to study at the [[University of the Ryukyus]].

Today, Hawaii is home to a great number of Okinawan groups and associations, and cultural activities and events. The State of Hawaii and Okinawa prefecture became "sister states" in 1985, and the Hawaii Okinawa Center opened in 1990.<ref> - gallery labels at Toyama Kyuzo Memorial Hall, Kin Village.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/46559092314/sizes/k/]</ref>

 

The University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) is the only university in the US to boast a dedicated Center for Okinawan Studies, and offers courses in [[Okinawan language]], [[Ryukyu odori|Ryukyuan dance]], and classical Okinawan ''[[sanshin]]'' music. The Manoa-based East-West Center, which has a close relationship with the university but is a separate institution unto itself, has strong relationships with Okinawa in a variety of ways, listing Okinawa specifically (and separately from Japan) as one of the regions in which it engages; among the Center's various activities, it offers extensive fellowships specifically for Okinawan students to come study at UHM. Community organizations such as HUOA, meanwhile, sponsor scholarships for students traveling in the other direction, i.e. for Okinawan-American students from Hawaii to study at the [[University of the Ryukyus]].

The Hawaii United Okinawa Association and Hui O Laulima, along with other groups, organize a three-day Okinawa Festival every year. In its 32nd iteration as of 2014, the festival, held in recent years in Honolulu's Kapiolani Park, features special guest performers & MCs from Okinawa, and performances by Okinawan music and dance groups from throughout the State of Hawaii, including ''sanshin'', ''[[taiko]]'', [[lion dance]], and hula. Members of the various associations prepare and sell ''[[andagi]]'' and other Okinawan foods, and a number of other tents sell a variety of Okinawan goods. This typically takes place the last weekend of August, or the first weekend of September. A number of other annual festivals are celebrated quite largely as well, with Okinawan Lunar New Year (typically in February, at the same time as Chinese New Year) seeing tens of separate dinners or parties in honor of the occasion. Between the Okinawan and Japanese communities, [[Bon odori|Bon dances]] fill up the summer, with one society or association or another holding one nearly every week.

The Hawaii United Okinawa Association and Hui O Laulima, along with other groups, organize a three-day Okinawa Festival every year. In its 32nd iteration as of 2014, the festival, held in recent years in Honolulu's Kapiolani Park, features special guest performers & MCs from Okinawa, and performances by Okinawan music and dance groups from throughout the State of Hawaii, including ''sanshin'', ''[[taiko]]'', [[lion dance]], and hula. Members of the various associations prepare and sell ''[[andagi]]'' and other Okinawan foods, and a number of other tents sell a variety of Okinawan goods. This typically takes place the last weekend of August, or the first weekend of September. A number of other annual festivals are celebrated quite largely as well, with Okinawan Lunar New Year (typically in February, at the same time as Chinese New Year) seeing tens of separate dinners or parties in honor of the occasion. Between the Okinawan and Japanese communities, [[Bon odori|Bon dances]] fill up the summer, with one society or association or another holding one nearly every week.