Bon Dance Panel 8 - Iwakuni Ondo Aiko Kai and James Kunichika

In the 1920s, an Iwakuni Ondo group was formed. They obtained a taiko drum and other implements and started practicing for public performances. Such a group played an important part in having the Iwakuni Ondo survive in Hawai’i.

In 1951, popular Honolulu bon dance singer James Kunichika (1915–2012) formed the Iwakuni Odori Aiko Kai fan club together with taiko drummer Goichi Fukunaga. (Kunichika was born on Kauai and moved to Honolulu. Iwakuni was his mother's hometown.) At the time, it was Oahu's only official fan club for the Iwakuni Ondo. It was composed only of Yamaguchi Prefecture immigrant descendants. From the 1980s, their membership increased dramatically. By 2000, they had over 200 members. The Honolulu mayor and Lieutenant Governor at the time were also members.

The Iwakuni Ondo's lead singer has to memorize long Japanese lyrics lasting 10 to 15 min. So it was important to train the younger generations. By the mid-1990s, Japanese-speaking nikkei in Hawai’i were almost gone and Kunichika was practically the only bon dance lead singer on Oahu who could sing in Japanese.

Kunichika made efforts to train the non-Japanese-speaking sansei as successor singers. He also worked hard to perpetuate and sustain the Iwakuni Ondo on the neighbor islands.

For his efforts and accomplishments, he received numerous awards including the Living Treasure Award from the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai’i and the 2003 Pan-Pacific Festival Silversword Award.

Panel photos: Top is Iwakuni Ondo Aikokai soon after it was formed. Bottom is Kunichika (second from left) at home teaching Iwakuni Ondo to a few younger people.