​A Tribute to Akiko Masuda

May 29, 2019. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Hansen.

This tribute was presented to Akiko Masuda on May 29, 2019, by District 1 Council Representative, Valerie Poindexter, as well as Mayor Harry Kim and State Representative Mark Nakashima.

Left to Right: Council Representative Valerie Poindexter, State Representative Mark Nakashima, Akiko Masuda, and Mayor Harry Kim, May 29, 2019. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Hansen.

Akiko is a blessing to the Wailea-Hakalau community and the island of Hawai`i. She is steadfast in her commitment to honoring the ancestors and our kupuna; demonstrating the power of giving, gratitude and respect; and sharing both Hawaiian and plantation culture and values with newcomers. Her generosity and love for the people and the aina is evident in all she does.  She listens then acts, leading by example with her spirit of Aloha, humility and integrity. She is rooted to Akua and is of service to all man/womankind. 
 
Witness her focus and style in demonstrating Hawaiian and plantation values of inherited stewardship responsibility for the land and culture, respect for our kupuna, taking care of each other, and gratitude:

• In 1991, Akiko Masuda, Oahu dancer and dance instructor by way of Farrington High School and UC Berkeley, bought the Motonaga Garage in Wailea, which had been in business from 1935 to 1985. To get acquainted with her neighbors, most of whom were kupuna of Japanese and Okinawan descent, Akiko volunteered to do yardwork for them for three hours per week. Over the years, she applied what she had learned from them to preserve both the culture and the physical environment.

 

• Akiko transformed the Motonaga Garage and adjacent properties into Akiko's Buddhist Bed & Breakfast, opening in 1996-1997. The rustic premises appealed to tourists trying to escape from the modern, upscale B&Bs. Now, 22 years later, Akiko has hosted more than a thousand guests from around the world, offering her unique brand of Aloha. She has had a profound impact on many who've stayed there.

 

• In 1998, having learned about mochi pounding from Wailea kupuna, Akiko strengthened and expanded the tradition, starting with a small neighborhood gathering of 23 people, mostly neighbors. Mochi Pounding at Akiko’s has grown and now welcomes the general public. Nearly 1,000 people attended last year. Everyone takes their turn at pounding the delicious sticky rice for good luck. New Year’s crafts, food vendors, fortune telling, massage, I Ching readings, floral arrangements, plantation stories, Okinawan taiko drumming, Hawaiian entertainment & more. Mochi pounding at Akiko’s is a great cultural mix of everything that makes Hawaii so special.

 

• Akiko Masuda arrived in Wailea to witness the final stages of the demise of the sugar industry, the sell-off of sugar cane lands, and a major demographic shift as newcomers purchased these lands. She worried that the influx of newcomers would result in demolition of the village, displacement of old-timers and the proliferation of inappropriate mansions or "gentlemen's farms". In response, in 2002, she established the Wailea Village Historic Preservation Community, a 501(c)3 nonprofit trust with a volunteer board of directors. The goal is to preserve and renovate old structures, create affordable housing and employment opportunities, and sponsor events that keep the plantation culture alive.  

 

• In 2009, a Ninole farmer started FoodShare at the Hakalau Veterans Park. Akiko promoted and encouraged the effort in support of the farmers, fueling its growth. For many years she sent out a weekly email that included a prayer of gratitude for the farmers, the place, and the community. Here’s one example.​

We give GRATITUDE
for the opportunity to gather
once a week as a
FoodSHARE COMMUNITY!!!
We laugh, smile, share,
Trade, buy, sing, play, talk story
The faces change, the numbers change.
Some are regulars, some are new.
 We welcome all with aloha.
We share food that our farmers have grown.
 
MAHALO MAHALO!
 
We live in deep joy and awe.
We breathe in the energy and the air
of this precious place, Hamakua.
 
May we be worthy stewards,
Living in deep respect and gratitude.
MAHALO Ke Akua
For all life

• Since 2012, Akiko and Miyo Harumi provided the inspiration and leadership to plan, prepare and serve a luncheon three times per month attended by 30-50 grateful kupuna who gather at the Hakalau Jodo Mission. Senior Luncheons at the Hakalau Jodo Mission are an EXPERIENCE! Seniors gather to tell stories, sing, exercise, laugh and eat a wonderful lunch. Yet another way Akiko perpetuates the culture and demonstrates respect for our kupuna.
  

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• With the vision of creating the Hakalau Learning Center and maintaining the old buildings, Akiko assembled a crew of volunteers and began cleaning the grounds of Hakalau School in 2015. They continue their labors on the second Sunday of each month. The spirit of all who participate is a blessing for the community. Some of Wailea-Hakalau neighbors and elders cannot come help work so they donate money. Some of the Thai community cannot come so they too donate money for food or send food or hire someone to work in their place. The devotion to the vision and to the community is humbling. Prayers continue for everyone’s good health – mind & body, for committed united belief in the vision of the Hakalau Learning Center, and deep gratitude that the community is blessed to live and work here & to grow strong together.

 

• In 2016 Akiko honored the ancestors by initiating a program of cemetery stewardship, a community commitment to those who came before us. Her vision is that this monthly effort will be replicated in communities across the state, honoring those who came before us.  With Akiko as their guide, volunteers work and give attention to the ancestors with respect and gratitude.

• Over the years, Akiko Masuda has nurtured culture and the arts. She opened the Motonaga Garage Gallery for artists to show their work and for performances of local, national, and international musicians and storytellers. The Motonaga Garage Gallery represents her way of weaving Wailea’s past and present to build a future that honors the spirit and the industry of the ancestors who made this place and provides a sustainable vision for the future that is created from that past, and not in spite of it. She also supports the artists and craftspeople in Wailea-Hakalau by helping to promote the annual Hakalau Open Studios when people come from all over the island to discover how the village continues to be productive. No longer in sugar, but in the arts. Photographers, videographers and filmmakers flock to Wailea and to Akiko’s gifts of sharing culture and values. Recent productions of note are “Running for Grace” and “August at Akiko’s” which was shown on May 22, 2019 at the Lincoln Center in New York City.

​Her way of living, working, being a community member offers a model for an environmentally, culturally, historically, and ethically sustainable Hawai`i.  She is a model for living in reverence, respect, joy, and generosity—inviting all who come to Wailea to experience living the Aloha that sustained and inspired those who came before.