Month: June 2017

Katsu Goto’s incredible true story, a powerful saga of hope and inspiration arising from tragedy, is the subject of a remarkable new documentary about a poignant chapter in Hawai‘i’s history. Today, more than 130 years after Goto arrived in the Islands to work on a sugar plantation, his story is being given new life by filmmakers Patsy Iwasaki and Danny Miller. Their program at the Lyman Museum in March was so popular that folks asked for a reprise, which is being presented with additional film footage and historical information. Iwasaki and Miller explore the research and making of “Honoka‘a Hero: The Story of Katsu Goto”—a film spanning his life from plantation laborer, to successful businessman and labor rights advocate, to his tragic lynching in Honoka‘a town in 1889. The documentary features historical reenactments by students from UH-Hilo’s Performing Arts Department and its Chair, Dr. Jackie Pualani Johnson. Joining the filmmakers is Dr. Erika Hori, a historian who has conducted extensive research on Goto. Learn more about this compelling saga on either of two occasions—Monday evening, June 19, or a matinée on the following Tuesday afternoon, June 20. Free to Lyman Museum members; $3 nonmembers. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for evening public programs. Limited seating; first come, first seated. Additional parking next door at Hilo Union School ON MONDAY EVENING ONLY.

‘The Making of a Documentary: The Story of Katsu Goto’ presentation June 19&20 at Lyman Museum in Hilo

Posted on by baron

Katsu Goto’s incredible true story, a powerful saga of hope and inspiration arising from tragedy, is the subject of a remarkable new documentary about a poignant chapter in Hawai‘i’s history. Learn more about this compelling saga on either of two occasions—Monday evening, June 19, or a matinée on the following Tuesday afternoon, June 20.

“Discovering the Letters of Katsu Goto” presentation in Honokaa Sunday (June 18)

Posted on by baron

Dr. Erika Hori, the foremost expert on Katsu Goto in Japan, will present new information about Goto, based on recently-discovered letters from Goto himself. Her talk, “Ambitious Spirit: Discovering the Letters of Katsu Goto,” will focus on the letters, written by Goto in Yokohama before coming to Hawaii, which provide new information and background on the fascinating character of Goto.