Huaka'i to Seicho-no-ie
By Raina Ouye | History Major
Two small groups of UH Hilo students visited Seicho-no-ie and met the members of the organization and had the opportunity to beautify the gardens.
Learning about Japanese immigrants at the Seicho No Ie church was interesting and exciting. The volunteers at the Seicho No Ie taught a lot about the Japanese immigrating to Hawaiʻi and the things they brought, like saimin and musubi. The volunteers at Seicho No Ie also told me they brought over the Japanese rock, paper, and scissors game, and today, everybody uses the word Jan-ken Pon to play it. The Seicho No Ie gave the students and me calenders and mochi for us to take home and eat. They also let the students and I help to clean up their garden in the back. The Seicho No Ie taught us to experience what it was like to work in the field and garden but give back to the community.
The one thing I learned while helping out with the garden at Seicho No Ie was cutting off the dead leaves from the stems and making the flowers and bushes look nice. A trip to the Seicho No Ie church was an excellent experience for me. At first, when I arrived at the Seicho No Ie church, I thought that working in the garden was hard, but the volunteers taught me how to use some gardening tools and help out with gardening. I hope that I will go to the church again to tend to the garden and learn more about Japanese immigrants.
