Okinawan Cubans to Mark Immigration Centennial
Monday, Sept. 10, 2007

WASHINGTON.—This year marks the 100th year anniversary when Masaru Miyagi, the first known Okinawan immigrant arrived in Cuba. To honor this milestone, the Nikkei Society of the Island of Youth and the Okinawa Kenjinkai are hosting a three-day commemoration on La Isla de la Juvenetud (the Island of Youth), which lies southwest of the mainland, from Oct. 25 through 27.  While the organizations invite Nikkei from around the world to attend, they strong encourage Okinawans from the United States to participate.

“This is a step in recognizing the implications and challenges brought to us as a result of the Okinawan Diaspora,” said Akiko Kakazu, delegation organizer for the event, “With this invitation from the Cuba Okinawa Kenjinkai, it will be the next step in opening dialogue between Okinawans in Cuba and America.”

The delegation will visit the Presidio Modelo, the prison where Japanese men were confined for three years during World War II by the Cuban government. Other visits will include a local Nikkei cemetery and mausoleum where “Ireisai,”ceremonies honoring ancestors, will be performed. Most importantly, however, organizers of the event hope it will unite Okinawan Cubans with Okinawans around the world and restore their identity, which has been lost due to the isolation of the Cuban Nikkei community.

According to data collected in 2006, there are 215 Cuban Okinawans living in Cuba. A majority of the community live on the Isla de La Juventud. They are descendants, some being fifth generation Okinawans, of the 195 Issei who immigrated to Cuba from 1920 through 1940 to work in the sugarcane and agriculture industries.

“We are naming the American delegation, ‘Chode Without Borders,’ because we hope this will mark the beginning of our ‘chode-hood’ (brother/sisterhood) with our neighbor, Cuba and other immigrant nations in Latin America,” explained Kakazu,
“This will surely be a historical moment in Okinawan migration history.”
For more information, email Akiko Kakazu at: akanabah@earthlink.net