General | Page 232 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

October 24, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Decolonization Act

The United Nations was formed, in part, to win a war (WWII.)

Representatives of 26 countries fighting the German, Italian and Japanese Axis, decided to affirm their support by signing the Declaration of the United Nations.

This document pledged the signatory governments to the maximum war effort and bound them against making a separate peace. (UN)

In part, the Declaration states, “Being convinced that complete victory over their enemies is essential to defend life, liberty, independence and religious freedom, and to preserve human rights and justice in their own lands as well as in other lands, and that they are now engaged in a common struggle against savage and brutal forces seeking to subjugate the world.”

“Each Government pledges itself to employ its full resources, military and economic, against those members of the Tripartite Pact (Germany, Italy and Japan) and its adherents with which such government is at war.” (Declaration by UN)

But the UN does not intervene in the members’ domestic issues. “Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state …”

“… or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter VII.” (UN Charter, Chapter 1, Article 2)

The Charter of the United Nations was signed on June 26, 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization.

The United Nations officially came into existence on October 24, 1945, when the Charter was ratified by China, France, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, United States and by a majority of other signatories. (UN)

Some have cited the United Nations and its ‘Non-Self-Governing Territory’ listing and process as the means to Hawaiian self-determination.

One even suggested that “In 1954 the UN tendered independence to Hawai‘i under the Decolonization Act”. But searching the UN documents did not verify this; and repeated requests for documentation from the one who made the statement were denied (so that scenario appears not likely.)

“Members of the United Nations which have or assume responsibilities for the administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government recognize the principle that the interests of the inhabitants of these territories are paramount …”

“… and accept as a sacred trust the obligation to promote to the utmost, within the system of international peace and security established by the present Charter, the well-being of the inhabitants of these territories”.

Members commit “to transmit regularly to the Secretary-General for information purposes, subject to such limitation as security and constitutional considerations may require, statistical and other information of a technical nature relating to economic, social and educational conditions in the territories for which they are respectively responsible other than those territories to which Chapters XII and XIII apply.”

In 1946, the eight Administering Powers (Australia, Belgium. Denmark, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States) submitted a total of 74 countries to be listed as Non-Self-Governing Territories under Chapter XI of the Charter.

These territories under Chapter XI were administered by the Allied powers before the war, and do not include the countries ruled by the Axis powers (German, Italy and Japan) before the war. Those territories fell under what was called a “Trusteeship,” and listed under Articles XII and XIII of the Charter.

Listed as non-self-governing territories under the jurisdiction of the United States were Hawai‘i, Alaska, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

According to UN General Assembly Resolution 1541 (XV), a non-self-governing territory “can be said to have reached a full measure of self-government by: (a) Emergence as a sovereign independent State; (b) Free association with an independent State; or (c) Integration with an independent State.”

By the end of World War II, the political status of many countries remained unresolved. An important factor in the creation of the United Nations in 1945 was to determine what was going to happen to the territories which had been acquired by the larger powers – and some smaller powers. This was the beginning of the era of decolonization. (Corbin)

Over time, some UN member countries notified the UN of changes in status of Non-Self-Governing territories under their control. Sometimes, these territories obtained independent status; sometimes, they achieved integration with another country. (Corbin)

UN records note that Martinique and Guadeloupe had ‘Change of Status’ in 1947 and were removed from the UN listing. (UN) First sighted by Columbus on his initial expedition in 1493, Martinique played host to its first European “tourists” in 1502 when Columbus landed there during his fourth voyage.

Dubbed Martinique by Columbus, the island was inhabited by Carib Indians who had driven away the Arawaks who, like themselves, had come to the island from South America.

Martinique and Guadeloupe were claimed by France in 1635 and officially annexed in 1674. In 1946, Martinique became a Department of France and in 1974 a Region of France, its current status. (Martinique, Minahan)

“In the period from 1953-1969, the General Assembly, having examined the information transmitted in accordance with resolution 222 (III), approved the cessation of information on six territories.”

“In the order of the decisions taken, they were, under resolution 748 (VIII) of 27 November 1953, Puerto Rico, which became a Commonwealth associated with the United States …”

“… under resolution 849 (IX) of 22 November 1954, Greenland, which was integrated with Denmark; under resolution 945 (X) of 15 December 1955, Netherlands Antilles (originally listed as Curacao) and Surinam, which became self-governing parts of the Netherlands …”

“… and, under resolution 1469 (XIV) of 12 December 1959, Alaska and Hawai‘i, which were integrated with the United States. (UN)

With respect to Hawai‘i, “The General Assembly … Having received from the Government of the United States of America communications dated 2 June 1959 and 17 September 1959 informing the Secretary-General that Alaska and Hawai‘i, respectively …”

“… have, as a result of their admission into the United States as the forty-ninth and fiftieth States, attained a full measure of self-government and that, as a consequence of this change in their constitutional status, the United States Government would cease to transmit information under Article 73 (e) of the Charter in respect of Alaska and Hawaii”.

“Bearing in mind the competence of the General Assembly to decide whether a Non-Self-Governing Territory has or has not attained a full measure of self-government as referred to in Chapter XI of the Charter …”

“… Considers that, owing to the circumstances mentioned above, the declaration regarding Non-Self-Governing Territories and the provisions established under it in Chapter XI of the Charter can no longer be applied to Alaska and Hawaii…”

“… Considers it appropriate that the transmission of information in respect of Alaska and Hawaii under Article 73 (e) of the Charter should cease.” (UN Resolution 1469 (XIV))

The UN General Assembly concluded that since Hawai‘i joined the United States as a state in 1959 it was no longer designed as a Non-Self-Governing Territory.

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October 22, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

‘We are learning the Star Spangled Banner’

The first commercially-viable sugar plantation, Ladd and Co., was started at Kōloa on Kaua‘i in 1835. It was to change the face of Hawai‘i forever, launching an entire economy, lifestyle and practice of mono-cropping that lasted for well over a century.

Hawaiʻi had the basic natural resources needed to grow sugar: land, sun and water. Hawai‘i’s economy turned toward sugar in the decades between 1860 and 1880; these twenty years were pivotal in building the plantation system.

A century after Captain James Cook’s arrival in Hawaiʻi, sugar plantations started to dominate the landscape. However, a shortage of laborers to work in the growing (in size and number) sugar plantations became a challenge. The only answer was imported labor.

Starting in the 1850s, when the Hawaiian Legislature passed “An Act for the Governance of Masters and Servants,” a section of which provided the legal basis for contract-labor system, labor shortages were eased by bringing in contract workers from Asia, Europe and North America.

There were three big waves of workforce immigration: Chinese 1852; Japanese 1885 and Filipinos 1905; several smaller, but substantial, migrations also occurred: Portuguese 1877; Norwegians 1880; Germans 1881; Puerto Ricans 1900; Koreans 1902 and Spanish 1907.

Then, in May 1909 on Oʻahu, 5,000 Japanese plantation workers went out on strike.

The serious problems involved in the plantation labor situation continued to occupy the center of attention of those interested in the welfare of the sugar industry in Hawaiʻi. (American Sugar Industry and Beet Sugar Gazette, February 24, 1911)

An opportunity soon presented itself in the person of a Russian national, AV Perelestrous, who came to Honolulu for medical treatment and rest on Waikiki and saw a good opening for business.

He introduced himself to the secretary of the Territory of Hawaiʻi and the Territorial board of immigration as a major railway contractor in Manchuria and offered his services in delivering Russian workers to local sugar cane plantations. (Khisamutdinov)

“The efforts to obtain Russian immigration were in the final results rather disastrous both in the object sought and financially. … the board of immigration was given to understand that the Russian Government would not look with disfavor upon an attempt to recruit from that quarter.”

“(I)t was decided to introduce approximately 50-families as a trial lot, and Mr ALC (‘Jack’) Atkinson (US District Attorney) was chosen to proceed to Harbin, accompanied by Mr AW Perelestrous, who some time previous had represented himself … as a Russian contractor familiar with the conditions in Manchuria. Mr Atkinson departed August 30, 1909, accompanied by Mr Perelestrous”. (US House Committee on Immigration, 1921)

The recruiting took place in Harbin, Manchuria, on the Siberian border, the center of the Chinese Eastern Railroad, where Atkinson opened his office. That way it was easier to draw up exit papers: emigrants left through the port of Dalny, where there was no Russian customs post. (Khisamutdinov)

They returned to the Islands on October 22, 1909 “with 108 men, 67 women, and 79 children, a total of 255. These people were to all appearances, both physically and otherwise (so far as could be determined by the board,) the most desirable lot of immigrants ever introduced.” (US House Committee on Immigration, 1921)

“The Russians are a clean, sturdy, fine appearing lot of people, apparently with the willingness to work and certainly with the physical strength to do so. They are peasants, the older men and women uneducated. This was to have been expected. The children, however, are” bright, active and healthy, such as should grow up to be helpful citizens with the advantages they will have in this country.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, October 22, 1909)

“They accepted such employment as was offered them and so highly were they spoken of by their employers that, in November of the same year the board decided to introduce some three or four hundred additional families of the same class.” (US House Committee on Immigration, 1921)

“The liner Siberia, which arrived here yesterday from the orient, landed 212 Russian immigrants at Honolulu. There were men, women and children in the party. In Russia the men had been working long hours for a monthly wage of 5 rubles and were enchanted at the prospect of a free life on the sugar plantations. That they have no intention of returning”.

“At the request of some of the passengers, one of the ship’s officers requested the Russians to sing the Russian national hymn. The quartermaster who carried the message returned shaking his head. … (They effectively told him) ‘To hell with Russia; we are learning the ‘Star Spangled Banner.’”

“After landing at Honolulu every Russian tore up his passport and threw the scraps into the Pacific ocean.” (San Francisco Call, October 29, 1910)

Later shipments weren’t as enthusiastic. “Diphtheria broke out in quarantine. Bottled up, bored, hearing stories of real plantation life, they balked. … Most new recruits refused to sign up for jobs … Saying they’d rather starve than work on plantations, the immigrants exited quarantine April 4th, many of them following the Spaniards to California.” (Elks)

Later shipments met with similar resistance; Russians refused to accept the working and living conditions. As soon as steamers with settlers began approaching the shore, shouts were heard: “Don’t go to the plantations! Better drown in the sea than go there and work!” (Khisamutdinov)

The total number of Russians introduced into the Territory amounted to 1,799, at a total cost of $139,021.59, exclusive of the quarantine expenses here of $17,735.79. Of the number introduced, only a little more than 60 per cent accepted plantation employment. (US House Committee on Immigration, 1921)

On March 21, 1910, Russian emigrants went on strike. The authorities suggested that they should elect representatives who would tour the plantations and familiarize themselves with working and living conditions there. But they refused to do so because they no longer believed any promises.

The magazine In Foreign Parts (Russians in America and Australia) wrote this about Hawaii: “At first our workers suffered numerous hardships on the Hawaiian Islands, but gradually they began to adapt.”

“Some emigrated to America, some found jobs in accordance with their skills, some bought farms of their own on time, while the majority for the time being accepted their fate and were working.” (Khisamutdinov) Complaints were spread about the misinformation given while recruiting in Russia.

On January 12, 1912, members of the Russian staff assisting in the emigration were arrested and sent to prison. This was the end of the Russian resettlement to Hawaiʻi. (Khisamutdinov)

The image shows a front page photo showing the arrival of Russian immigrants; it is labeled ‘Hawaiʻi’s New Citizens’ from the Pacific Commercial Advertiser. (October 22, 1909)

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Russian Collection, Hamilton_Library, University of Hawaii at Manoa

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Russian_Collection, Hamilton Library, University of Hawaii at Manoa

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Russian Collection, Hamilton Library, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Russian Collection, Hamilton Library, University of Hawaii at_Manoa

Russian Collection, Hamilton Library, University of Hawaii_at Manoa

Russian Collection, Hamilton Library, University of Hawaii_at_Manoa

October 21, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

John Silver

It was “the war to end all wars.”

On the Western Front the Allied Powers hoped wireless radio and telephones would keep its rear-echelon commanders in touch with their front line troops.

But when the shelling started these lines of communication were all too easily broken or intercepted, and carefully laid plans could quickly descend into chaos. (BBC)

Homing pigeons were used in World War I to deliver messages when other means such as telephones, telegraph, radio or dispatch riders were unavailable. They proved their value carrying messages from front line outposts to pigeon lofts at command centers, which they returned to by instinct and training. (Croseri)

The US Army first tried using pigeons in the 1870s during the Indian wars in the Dakotas. The experiment was a failure, on account of the large numbers of hawks that kept killing the birds, but by World War I, pigeons had become an invaluable military asset. Some birds even carried cameras that snapped photographs of enemy positions.

Even in World War II, when radios and walkie-talkies were available, pigeons were used as an emergency means of communication. Paratroopers in the invasion of Normandy carried pigeons with them when they jumped deep behind German lines, in order to maintain radio silence. (AP; Devil’s Lake Journal)

At the start of the First World War, the United States received the pigeons as a donation from Great Britain bird breeders. Then, it was up to the American Soldiers to train them for their jobs. (Armed Forces Museum)

Carrier Pigeons, used to carry communications during World War I, proved to be instrumental in the war. Because advanced telecommunications had yet to be developed, the carrier pigeon was often used by both sides, not only for critical dispatches, but also often sent from the front line carrying status report messages back to the main headquarters.

The messages could then be relayed to the proper military authorities. In all, it is estimated that more than 100,000 carrier pigeons were used by both sides during the war. They are recorded as having a 95% success rate in navigating successfully to their intended destination. (Armed Forces Museum)

One pigeon was hatched in January 1918 in a dugout just behind the lines in France. During the Meuse-Argonne offensive, he was one of the most active pigeons in the Army, and his barrage-dodging skill was apparent in many exciting flights from the front line trenches to divisional pigeon lofts.

On October 21, 1918, at 2:35 p.m., this pigeon was released at Grandpre from a front line dugout in the Meuse-Argonne drive with an important message for headquarters at Rampont, 25 miles away. The enemy had laid down a furious bombardment prior to an attack.

Through this fire, the pigeon circled, gained his bearings and flew toward Rampont. Men in the trenches saw a shell explode near the pigeon. The concussion tossed him upward and then plunged him downward.

Struggling, he regained his altitude and continued on his course. Arriving at Rampont 25 minutes later, the bird was a terrible sight. A bullet had ripped his breast, bits of shrapnel ripped his tiny body, and his right leg was missing. The message tube, intact, was hanging by the ligaments of the torn leg.

Weeks of nursing restored his health but could not give back the leg he lost on the battlefield. The pigeon became a war hero and earned the name “John Silver,” after the one-legged pirate in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

He was retired from active service and in 1921 was assigned as a mascot to the 11th Signal Company, US Army Signal Corps, Schofield Barracks, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. John Silver died December 6, 1935, at the age of 17 years and 11 months.

Thereafter, on each Organization Day of the 11th Signal Company, the name John Silver was added to the roll-call. When his name was called, the senior non-commissioned officer present responded, “Died of wounds received in battle in the service of his country.” The Army Signal Corps presented John Silver to the museum on December 19, 1935.

Since at least the mid-1930s, many people have called this one-legged pigeon ‘Stumpy’ John Silver. The ‘Stumpy’ nickname, however, has been a matter of contention.

The Signal Company commander of the Hawaiian Division at Schofield Barracks (John Silver’s commanding officer at the time the bird died) felt it was disrespectful and is reported to have said in 1961 that anyone who called the bird “Stumpy” would have been summarily thrown out of the area.

Nonetheless, a 1937 Signal Corps Headquarters document states that “’Stumpy’ John Silver” was on display at the Army Aeronautical Museum, Wright Field, Ohio, which later became the National Museum of the US Air Force. (Air Force)

When the Army disbanded the Pigeon Service in 1957, the last 1,000 birds at Fort Monmouth were offered for sale to the general public. The more famous birds were parceled out to zoos.

Hundreds of veterans and pigeon-racing enthusiasts descended on the fort in hopes of getting at least a few of the pigeons. A newspaper account says there was an overflow crowd of about 200 people who couldn’t get in. (AP; Devil’s Lake Journal)

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October 20, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Socker

In France, they call it football; in Latin America and Spain they call it fútbol. The Germans use a slight variation: Fußball or fooseball.

But in the United States, the game played almost exclusively with hands is called football, and the game played almost exclusively with feet is called soccer. (NPR)

When it got its start in the Islands, it was called ‘Socker.’

“There will probably be a good deal of football played here this fall both under the Association and inter-collegiate codes. The former game especially promises to become very popular here …”

“… as both the Honolulu Cricket Club and ʻIolani College intend organizing ‘socker’ teams.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, September 1, 1900)

“The meeting to be held to-day at Punahou under the auspices of the Young Men’s Christian Association will marl an epoch on the history of athletics in these Islands. …”

“Next week, full attention will again be given to the game and it is expected that the first match will played next Saturday at Makiki … The first game, however, will be little more than a ‘dress rehearsal’ and great importance will not be attached to the result.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, October 13, 1900)

“The ʻIolani College Association Football Club plays its first match of the season this afternoon on the cricket ground at Makiki at 4 o’clock. … Today’s game will be the first time the full eleven has worked together and the complete combination is to be tested.”

”As the season advances it is confidently expected that many players – both old and new – will be attracted to the ‘Socker’ standard, as the game is quickly acquired and is far more suitable to the climate than other games of so-called football.”

“As a matter of fact, Association is the only game which has any right to the term ‘football,’ the other developments have long made the appellation a misnomer.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, October 20, 1900)

By December, Honolulu had a three-team league of association football clubs consisting of ʻIolani, Scotland and England. The first league championship was played at Makiki in January 1901, Scotland won the round-robin competition. (Cisco)

Both soccer and American football come from the same set of precursor sports, which became popular in upper-class English schools in the early 19th century and spread across the Atlantic.

The history of football goes back hundreds of years, but the modern variety can be traced to the English boarding-school athletics craze.

All these games involved advancing a ball through an opponent’s territory and scoring at the far end, but the rules varied from place to place.

Every school played its own version of ‘football,’ which led to confusion when players from one school met players from another.

As the game spread, there were numerous attempts to devise a set of rules that everyone could follow. These tended to be hampered by acrimony between the schools and by anxiety about the fate of English masculinity.

At least one impassioned advocate asserted that if English players were not allowed to hack one another in the shins, they might as well surrender to the French.

Finally, in October 1863, a group of representatives from 11 old boys’ clubs convened at the Freemasons’ Tavern in London to iron out a compromise. Calling themselves the Football Association, they held meetings for two months, then published The Book of Rules of Association Football, by a Group of Former English Public School Men.

At the final meeting, however, the representative from Blackheath dramatically withdrew when the group voted to disallow shin-hacking and carrying the ball, longstanding traditions of the game as played at the Rugby School. Thus, English football split into two codes, with one heading to rugby.

Ultimately, the version adopted as standard in the United Kingdom came to be known as association football, while another set of rules won out in the United States. The Americans took to calling their gridiron variety football.

The gridiron style that now holds sway in America evolved in the later 19th century, from versions of rugby and association football that had been imported to the US from Britain. For many years, the gridiron game was only one of many forms of football played in America

Around the world, the Football Association’s version of the game continued to be called association football to distinguish it from the rest. In the 1880s, popular British slang took the ‘soc’ from ‘association’ and turned it into soccer.

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, soccer, football, and soccer football were used more or less interchangeably throughout the English-speaking world.

After a while, however, football began to prevail in countries where the Football Association’s rules were most popular, while soccer rose to the fore in countries (the United States, Canada, Australia) where a different version of the game predominated.

The current United States Soccer Federation was founded in 1913 as the United States of America Foot Ball Association. It was renamed the United States Soccer Football Association in 1945. The organization finally dropped the word football from its name in 1974. (Phillips; Slate)

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October 19, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Butterfish

For folks in Hawai‘i, butterfish is not simply a species of fish; it’s a preparation of fish. Hawaiian butterfish is miso-marinated black cod. Black cod is not really a cod; it’s a black-skinned (thus the name) sablefish (that kind of looks like cod.)

(There is an Atlantic ‘butterfish’ (wild-caught off the US from Maine to South Carolina) but it is smaller than the sablefish; in the UK, butterfish is a small eel-like fish – both of these are not what folks in Hawai‘i refer to as butterfish.)

Whoa, let’s look back …

Sablefish occur in the North Pacific, the Bering Sea and adjacent waters from Hokkaido, Japan to Baja, California, with greatest abundance in the Gulf of Alaska. Adult fish are found in depths between 1,200 to 3,000-feet. (NOAA)

Fishing methods include hook and line (and lately long-line fishing (where hundreds or thousands of baited hooks branching from a single line are used) is the predominant landing method,) pot and trawler. Sablefish are targeted through sets along the ocean bottom, the preferred sablefish habitat. (NOAA)

Early Island reference to the fish was made in Honolulu’s Saturday Press, January 5, 1884, “A new food fish called black cod has been discovered. It is caught off Queen Charlotte’s Island (British Columbia) in deep water and the supply is said to be inexhaustible.”

Later, an AP story from Seattle noted, “Black cod, formerly a neglected fish, became popular immediately upon its indorsement by the United States bureau of fisheries under the new name of sablefish, and doubled in price.” (Honolulu Star Bulletin, June 13, 1917)

For some, butterfish is simply the black cod/sablefish, prepared however. Some even warn of the escolar (walu,) another very rich fish (and often labeled as ‘butterfish’) – apparently, it is so oily it causes gastric difficulties.

But, generally, when you think of Hawaiian butterfish, many look forward to the miso-marinated black cod/sablefish.

Misoyaki (charred miso) style includes miso-marinated, then fired over a grill or pan seared. (Actually the misoyaki marinade will also work on salmon, ahi and other firm fish – even chicken or beef.)

In 1868, the first 153-Japanese immigrants arrived in Honolulu on board the 3-masted sailing ship Scioto (Saioto-go.) They brought with them miso and shoyu.

This was Meiji 1 – the first year of the Meiji period, a period of awakening, expansion, and opening to the outside world after 268 years of peaceful isolation during the Edo (Tokugawa) period.

During the 1880s, more Japanese came to work in the sugar fields; they introduced sake and soyfoods to Hawaii. (Soyinfo Center)

Soybeans originate from China. In 2853 BC, Emperor Sheng-Nung of China named five sacred plants – soybeans, rice, wheat, barley and millet.

Soybean plants were domesticated between 17th and 11th century BC in the eastern half of China, where they were cultivated into a food crop.

From about the first century to the Age of Discovery (15-16th century), soybeans were introduced into several countries such as Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Burma, Nepal and India. (The terms so-ya, soya and soy have never existed in Japanese or Chinese.)

It started coming to Hawai‘i. In 1893, a report of Japan’s Department of Agriculture and Commerce noted Exports (Class 22) include “Soy. The total value of the latest export is 41,029 yen, and chiefly exported to Hawai‘i.”

Hawai‘i Agricultural Experiment Station, Annual Report (1908) notes, “Several varieties of soy beans have been grown for use as fodder, green manuring, and human food, particularly in the Japanese product, Miso. The yields have been very encouraging.”

“About 500 tons of soy beans are annually imported from Japan, and the demand is increasing. The beans are sold in Honolulu for $3 per 100 pounds. The market can easily be supplied by home production.”

Miso, or ‘fermented soybean paste,’ is one of East Asia’s most important soyfoods. Miso is an all-purpose high-protein seasoning, which has no counterpart among Western foods or seasonings. Made from soybeans, rice or barley, and salt, its smooth or chunky texture resembles that of soft peanut butter.

A Federal Court (Judge Dole) ruling noted, “miso is a manufactured article. It is not preserved (soy) beans, as counsel for the government contends. It is made from rice and beans, and rice is the component part of chief value.”

“Miso is a new and completed commercial article, known and recognized in the trade by a specific and distinctive name other than the names of either of the materials of which it is composed.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, April 7, 1910)

At some time, someone combined the miso with the fish and the Hawaiian butterfish was born. (Lots of information here is from Soyinfo Center, Scott and Hawaii Magazine.)

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