Governor's Coordinating Committee on the 1985 Japanese 100th Anniversary Celebration

Corporate body

Governor's Coordinating Committee on the 1985 Japanese 100th Anniversary Celebration

1983-1987

The Governor's Coordinating Committee for the 1985 Japanese 100th Anniversary Celebration existed from 1984 to 1986. It performed its coordination function by acting as a clearinghouse to review, approve and schedule activities conducted in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 1885 arrival of the first Japanese "Kanyaku Imin," or government contract laborers, in Hawaii. The bulk of the records deal with project proposals reviewed by the committee. Information about the committee is detailed in the minutes of their meetings, and summarized in the Final Report.

Established: By Governor George R. Ariyoshi in March, 1984. A memo in the records dated March 13, 1984 lists the objectives of the committee as well as its membership, by name and/or affiliation. Prospective members were invited to join the committee by letters from the Governor dated March 19, 1984. The initial meeting of the committee was held on March 27, 1984.

• Coordinated activities of all organizations interested in celebrating the 1985 100th anniversary of Japanese immigration;
• Served as a clearinghouse to prevent duplicative or conflicting activities;
• Encouraged celebratory events throughout the entire year of 1985;
• Maintained a central calendar of planned activities and disseminated this information to news media and other interested parties;
• Served as the official liaison of the Governor with governmental agencies, civic organizations and private companies; and
• Coordinated fundraising activities in support of anniversary celebration events.

The committee met more than 20 times during its existence. These meetings consistently focused on achievement of three objectives: to minimize costly and time-consuming duplication among the many social, cultural and business organizations planning to conduct celebratory activities; to coordinate contribution and distribution of human and financial resources; and to promote the idea that celebratory activities be organized and administered in a manner meaningful to Japanese as well as to other ethnic groups in the community. Early on, the committee formulated a statement of objectives of the centennial celebration to help guide participating organizations in planning their events as well as to guide the committee in its coordination function. These objectives are listed in their Final Report. The principle means by which the committee carried out its coordination function were publication of its Calendar of Events, and granting approval for use of the centennial logo for activities which were deemed to meet the purposes of the celebration. Both of these means required that the committee first review project plans submitted by participants and resolve any issues of timing, funding, relevance and propriety. The committee became involved with numerous projects, from events such as the official opening and closing ceremonies, through establishment at the East-West Center of the Hawaii Imin International Conference Center and a project to collect oral histories of elderly Japanese, to items such as the sale of souvenir T-shirts and placing the centennial logo on beer labels. A list of approved events and projects is in the Final Report. The committee's financial responsibilities were limited, because projects were required to be self-supporting. However, the committee did have to administer $100,000 appropriated by the Legislature, and in excess of $220,000 in donations.

Disestablished: Upon publication of its final report in December, 1986.

An independent committee chaired by Governor George R. Ariyoshi. The vice chair was Mr. Hideto Kono of the Tax Review Commission, and formerly Head of the Department of Planning and Economic Development. The Executive Secretary was Mr. Thomas Sakata, Head of the Hawaii International Services Agency of the Department of Planning and Economic Development. Dr. Franklin Odo, Director of the Ethnic Studies Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, was the Historical Advisor. There were 46 other members, from diverse private sector organizations, such as the Honolulu Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Kahala Hilton Hotel and the Nuuanu Congregational Church. The membership also included the mayors of the four counties and their representatives. Staff support was provided by four members of the Hawaii International Services Agency. The committee created eleven subcommittees as follows: Beiju Oral History Project; Centennial Proclamation and Recognition Day Luncheon; Conference on Values and Tracing Your Japanese Ancestry; Culture; Financial Procedures; Kansha In Appreciation/Closing Program; Kanze Noh in Hawaii; Logo and Project Recognition Review; A Million Trees of Aloha; and Public Information.

2001-12-31, Prepared by Allen H. Hoof.

20201-06-28, Carol Kellett: entered into AtoM.