This book provides new insights into Japanese lives in Hawai‘i by offering an alternative chronological history unique to fishing communities. In Japan, fishermen and their families constantly traveled to various parts of the nation and beyond since ancient times. Their advancement to Hawaiian waters since the late nineteenth century quickly pushed aside native fishermen and established themselves by dominating the local fishing industry. Even when outbreak of the Pacific War crippled Japanese fishing activities, those of the fishing industry paved the way for the post-war revival under the mi ... More

This book provides new insights into Japanese lives in Hawai‘i by offering an alternative chronological history unique to fishing communities. In Japan, fishermen and their families constantly traveled to various parts of the nation and beyond since ancient times. Their advancement to Hawaiian waters since the late nineteenth century quickly pushed aside native fishermen and established themselves by dominating the local fishing industry. Even when outbreak of the Pacific War crippled Japanese fishing activities, those of the fishing industry paved the way for the post-war revival under the military rule. After the war, the Japanese fishermen returned to Hawaiian waters and reconstructed the industry. Starting in the 1960s, fishermen from Okinawa began to come to Hawai‘i and supplemented the ranks of retiring Japanese fishermen. From the late twentieth century on, many fishermen with various ethnic backgrounds have replaced their Japanese and Okinawan counterparts, although the Japanese influence on the local fisheries industry remains noticeable even today.