O-Bon is a belief that the souls of the departed return to be with the living. The O-Bon festivals symbolize the joy of the living to welcome the souls back. O-Bon is a living tradition in Hawaii and has become a part of the Hawaiian cultural heritage growing and incorporating many nationalities and cultures. James Toshiichi Kunichika has dedicated over 70 years of his life toward making a significant contribution to the perpetuation of this tradition.

James was born in Koolau, Kauai, on January 1, 1915, the eldest in a family of 7 children. He started working from a very early age to help support his family. He was always working hard and during the summer months he also celebrated the O-Bon season. Admiring the singers in the yagura, he resolved to learn the O-Bon musical tradition by listening and observing them. His mother came from Iwakuni in the Yamaguchi prefecture so he learned the Iwakuni ondo by listening to it on his family's hand cranked record player. By the time he was 18, although still perfecting his style of singing, he was already performing.

When he moved to Honolulu, he was asked to join a bon dance group to sing his Iwakuni ondo at many bon odori festivals. This continued uninterrupted until the outbreak of World War II, when the O-Bon celebrations were suspended. When the celebrations resumed, every Friday and Saturday during the O-Bon season, James was again singing in the yagura, rarely missing a performance.

In 1951, both James and Katherine, his wife of 60 years, became charter members of the Iwakuni Odori Aikokai. For more than 50 years, their continued participation in the O-Bon celebrations has been their main priority during the summer months. They may attend other events but will always leave in time to make his scheduled performance in the yagura.

The Iwakuni Odori Aikokai with James as the main singer has performed almost every summer at the Palolo, Higashi, Honpa Hongwanjis, the Shinshu Kyokai, Shingon, Tendai and Soto Missions, the Hawaii Okinawa Center, and at many other temples. He has sung at many festivals and cultural events like the United Okinawan Association Festival, the City and County Hoolaulea, at the Waipahu Cultural Park, the University of Hawaii, and the Hawaiian Regent Hotel. In 1996, the Iwakuni Odori Aikokai received a certificate from the City and County of Honolulu honoring them for outstanding contributions to cultural preservation and heritage.

James and the Iwakuni Odori Aikokai have been performing at the Pan Pacific Festival sponsored by Kintetsu International Express for over 20 years. He has performed on Molokai and Kauai, in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. He came full circle in 1999 with his live performance of the Iwakuni Ondo in Iwakuni, Japan where there are only recordings of the ondo. He was recognized and honored by the mayor and legislature for his contribution to the perpetuation of the Iwakuni cultural heritage.

James has been the subject of many interviews with Japanese nationals, University of Hawaii students, and journalists all interested in preserving Japanese culture. One of the interviews was input to the "Japanese Bon Dance in Hawaii" published in 1982. He has been included in the "Musics of Hawaii" state education programs which is available in Hawaii public libraries and schools. Several articles have been published including "Singer keeps history alive" in the Honolulu Advertiser, September 10, 2000 and "Bon dance beat hasn't left 'best' singer, 87", front page of The Honolulu Advertiser, June 28, 2002. There has been a resurgence of interest in the O-Bon festivals and the Iwakuni Odori Aikokai who had about 30 members in 1982 now has well over 200.

James will teach anyone who is interested in learning by giving them tapes of his ondo singing as well as copies of the ondo lyrics. He continues to teach in his home and two of his students are currently carrying on the tradition by performing with him in the yagura. There is a compilation CD of multi-cultural folk songs with James as one of the lead singers available at the Waipahu Cultural Park. His audio tapes can be found in the Bishop Museum, the University of Hawaii, the State of Hawaii Culture and Arts Foundation, the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institute.

On warm summer weekends, you can still hear his 88 years young voice singing of life, of loss, of honor and of duty. His songs memorialize times past, brave men, and dedicated women. You feel the loss, the sorrow and joy conveyed in his music. His chanting over the drum beats makes irresistible the desire to get up and dance, to once again join in the O-Bon celebration.

By Caroline Miyata