Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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Alexander Young Hotel

Alexander Young was born in Blackburn, Scotland, December 14, 1833, the son of Robert and Agnes Young. His father was a contractor. When young, he apprenticed in a mechanical engineering and machinist department.

One of his first jobs included sailing around the Horn in 1860 to Vancouver Island with a shipload of machinery and a contract to build and operate a large sawmill at Alberni.

He left Vancouver Island for the distant “Sandwich Islands,” arriving in Honolulu February 5, 1865; he then formed a partnership with William Lidgate to operate a foundry and machine shop at Hilo, Hawaiʻi, continuing in this business for four years.

Moving to Honolulu, Young bought the interest of Thomas Hughes in the Honolulu Iron Works and continued in this business for 32 years. On his retirement from the iron works he invested in sugar plantation enterprises. He became president of the Waiakea Mill Co.

During the monarchy he served in the House of Nobles, 1889, was a member of the advisory council under the provisional Government and was a Minister of the Interior in President Dole’s cabinet.

With the new century he started a new career, when in 1900 he started construction of the Alexander Young Hotel, fronting Bishop Street and extending the full block between King and Hotel streets in downtown Honolulu.  The 192-room building was completed in 1903.

In 1905, Young acquired the Moana Hotel and later the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (the ‘old’ Royal Hawaiian in downtown Honolulu that was later (1917) purchased for the Army and Navy YMCA.)

The Honolulu businessman whose downtown hotel that bore his name helped him became known as the father of the hotel industry in Hawaiʻi.

“Mr. Young has sought the best money could buy, with the single purpose of attaining the beauty, comfort and convenience which modern architecture can supply, modern thought suggest and modern man can require.” (Evening Bulletin, August 3, 1900)

Extending a block in length and rising six stories in height, the Alexander Young Building was the largest edifice in Honolulu. It dominated the city-scape and was a major landmark in the downtown area.

At the time of its construction it was the foremost hotel in the Pacific and one of the major hotels in America.

The Advertiser noted, “San Francisco with its 400,000 people, has only one caravansary as good and is priding itself on the prospect of one more. Across the bay Oakland, with 100,000 people, has nothing to compare with it; and going East through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas and so on to the western limits of Chicago, no hotel of equal cost and splendor can be found.”

“Between Chicago and Honolulu is a distance of 4,000 miles and a population of over thirty million people, yet but one hotel can be found in all that region which equals in size, modern fittings, and general attractiveness the hotel which bears the name Alexander Young.” (Honolulu Advertiser 1903)

It was four stories in height, six at the two ends, and built of grey granite; there was a roof garden tent where refreshments were served and concerts given.  At either end of this roof garden is a dance pavilion.  (The only major addition to the building was the fifth story placed on the roof garden in 1955.)

The Young Hotel was used by the military in both World Wars. During WW I, the US Army used the second floor. During WW II, the military occupied most of the hotel.   Other notable occupants of the hotel include the 1929 legislature, which maintained its offices there while ʻIolani Palace was refurbished.

In 1964, the hotel was converted to stores and offices.  The landmark (on the National Register of Historic Places) Alexander Young Building was demolished in 1981.

At about the same time, Young formed the von Hamm-Young Company with his son-in-law, Conrad Carl von Hamm and others (an automobile sales, textiles, wholesale sales, machinery and a host of other businesses, and forerunner of The Hawaiʻi Corporation.)  He also started Young Laundry.

Alexander Young died July 2, 1910.  (I have no known genealogical relation to him.)

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‘Ue o Muite Arukou’

On December 10, 1941, Hiroshi Sakamoto welcomed his ninth child into the world with his second wife Iku. Called Hisashi, the alternate kanji reading of his given name was Kyu (pronounced ‘cue’), meaning nine. He was subsequently given the nickname Kyu-chan.

During World War II, Hisashi and his family were forced to evacuate from Kawasaki and headed to his grandparents’ house in Kasama City, Ibaraki Prefecture.

On the way there, they were riding in a vehicle that collided with a train at Tsuchiura Station and fell into a river resulting in a number of fatalities. Fortunately for the Sakamotos, they had transferred to another vehicle shortly before the accident.

Kyu was just 20 months old at the time, but when told about the incident, he believed the God of Kasama Inari Shrine protected his family.

When his parents divorced in 1956, Kyu and two other siblings adopted their mother’s maiden name, Oshima. The older children kept their father’s surname, Sakamoto.

In 1958, 16-year-old Sakamoto joined The Drifters (then known as Sons of Drifters), but ended up quitting after six months due to in-house fighting. One of the main reasons for this was his dissatisfaction with being the second vocalist.

He then joined his classmate in a band called Danny Iida & Paradise King before going solo. The Drifters, meanwhile, went on to become the most famous rock/comedy group in the country and, in 1966, supported The Beatles at the Budokan.  

Kyu became famous for a song.  First released in Japan in 1961, Sakamoto’s seminal track, “Ue o Muite Arukou” was composed by Hachidai Nakamura with lyrics by Rokusuke Ei.

“Ue o Muite Arukou” became a global phenomenon and in 1965 an instrumental version was played over the radio by NASA for astronauts aboard Gemini 7, on what was the 21st crewed spaceflight.

Down the years it has been covered or sampled in various languages by numerous artists including A Taste of Honey, 4 PM, Selena and Avicii on his posthumous album “Tim.” The original has featured in several movies and dramas such as “M*A*S*H,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Mad Men” and the Ghibli Film “From Up on Poppy Hill.”

More than just a one-hit-wonder, Sakamoto continued to have a successful career after “Ue o Muite Arukou” as an actor, presenter and more famously as a singer thanks to tracks such as “Ashita ga Arusa” (“There’s Always Tomorrow”) and “Miagete Goran Yoru no Hoshi o” (“Look up at the Stars at Night”).

Though Sakamoto is most well-known as a singer, he also appeared in numerous films including the movie adaption of Higuchi Ichiyo’s famous novel “Takekurabe,” Seijun Suzuki’s “Subete ga Kurutteru” (“Everything Goes Wrong”) and Yoji Yamada’s “Kyu-chan no Dekkai Yume” (“Kyu-chan’s Big Dream”).

In 1965, he provided the voice for lead character Ted in the animated feature, “Gulliver’s Travels Beyond the Moon.” A young Hayao Miyazaki, working as an in-between artist, impressed Toei with his contribution to the end of the animated production.

Wanting to use his fame to help give back to those less fortunate, Sakamoto did a lot of work for charity during his career. In the 1960s, he held a concert to raise money for the Tokyo Paralympics, which was struggling for funding. He was most passionate about supporting children with disabilities, particularly those who were blind or visually impaired.

In 1979, he released “Soshite Omoide,” Japan’s first song in sign language. At that time, sign language was prohibited at deaf schools so people studied it independently.

Tragically, Sakamoto was killed when Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashed in 1985. He was 43 years old. Due to faulty repairs, the plane crashed into a ridge near Mount Osutaka just over 30 minutes into the journey.

All 15 crew and 505 out of 509 passengers died, for a total of 520 deaths and only 4 survivors. It was one of the worst single airline disasters in history.

Oh, Kyu Sakamoto’s famous song “Ue o Muite Arukou”, we know it as ‘Sukiyaki.’  (They named it such as it is easier to pronounce for Americans, and it is a word that people associate with Japan. Sukiyaki is a kind of Japanese dish and has nothing to do with the song.)

The song topped the US pop charts for three weeks in 1963. It is the only Japanese language song to hit #1 in the US. It sold over 13 million copies internationally.  (ThoughtCo)

Here is Kyu Sakamoto and Ue o Muite Arukou, “Sukiyaki:”

During a stop in Hawai‘i, Sakamoto told reporters, “Songs and laughter have a common language all over the world.  I hope to show American audiences what the Japanese younger generation actually is and to let them know the wonderful meaning of the original title of the sukiyaki song.” (Sakamoto, SB, Aug 14, 1963).

“Ue o Muite Arukou,” is a song about loss that translates across languages and cultures. It’s at once sorrowful and hopeful. The light melody bubbles at the surface and sparks joy in listeners.

Yet the lyrics are more bittersweet and sad. It’s a song about loss, love and alienation. And it perfectly captures the mixed emotions listeners may feel in the wake of a loved one’s death.

Although “Ue o Muite Arukou” is a song that any listener can understand on an emotional level, the tune actually has layers of meaning under the surface. For instance, when you first read the song’s lyrics, they appear to be about a young couple falling out of love.

Kyu Sakamoto sings, “Ue o muite arukou” (I look up as I walk); “Namida ga kobore naiyouni” (So the tears won’t fall); “Omoidasu harunohi” (Remembering those happy spring days); “Hitoribotchi no yoru.” (But tonight I’m all alone.)

But the inspiration for the song’s mournful lyrics wasn’t love or the loss of a loved one at all. Lyricist Rokusuke Ei wrote these words in response to political tension and protests in Japan during the 1950s. 

Although WWII had ended, the US still had a strong military presence in Japan, and many Japanese youth felt alienated by this continued military occupation.

Young people in Japan were protesting against the Japanese government’s security treaty with the US.  Yet despite their efforts, the two governments agreed to the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. (SevenPonds)

Later, the group A Taste of Honey recorded English words to the melody, turning it into a hit for a second time in the 1980s. The English words made popular by A Taste of Honey were not a translation of the Japanese version of the song but probably revived interest in the original Japanese version. (Hawaii Herald) (Lots of information here is from TokyoWeekender.)

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Dreamwood

Lyman Herbert Bigelow came to Hawaii as a civil engineer and construction superintendent in the United States army quartermaster corps in 1911.

Shortly after arrival, he started work in the private sector, then was appointed as Superintendent of Public Works by Gov. Charles McCarthy for a four-year term. He was reappointed by Governors Wallace Farrington and Lawrence Judd.

He was charged with the task of supervising the expenditure of millions of dollars for improvements throughout the Territory.  He held the dual position of superintendent of public works and chairman of the board of harbor commissioners for more than a decade.

“‘Mr. Bigelow had the difficult and important task of beading the City’s Building Department during and following World War II.’”

“‘In directing the City’s tremendous construction program to catch up with the backlog of building needs and to provide the many new facilities needed after the war, he contributed much to the building of present day Honolulu.’”

“‘The City was indeed fortunate to have had a man like Mr. Bigelow in its service during such a critical period. He gave generously of himself to his work and won not only the high respect but warm regard of his associates.’” (Blaisdell, Star Bulletin, June 20, 1966)

He also built his home, Dreamwood, along Kaneohe Bay.  “‘Dreamwood,’ which grew out of a haole koa wilderness, is a ready-made park. There are graceful wrought iron gates guarding the entrance. A private driveway, bordered by palms, crotons and bougainvillea, leads to the three-story Bigelow home.”

“There are six tropical fish ponds, lily pools and fountains on the grounds. Walkways are bordered by orchids. There are secluded

picnic areas.  Three large greenhouses are used to cultivate orchids and rare ferns.  A long pier extends into Kaneohe Bay. It has a boat shed on it.”

“Bigelows’ life-long interest in horticulture has brought rare and unusual plants to ‘Dreamwood.’ His professional skill as an engineer is seen in the intricate pools, walkways, patios and terraces.” (Advertiser, August 11, 1966)

“Dreamwood,. his 2½ acre estate at the end of Waikalua Road on Kaneohe Bay, was a gardener’s showplace which, Mayor Blaisdell said, ‘he shared generously with the community.’”

“In recent months the Bigelows, Kaneohe community leaders and City Councilmen have discussed the possibility of acquiring Dreamwood for public park purposes.”

“The bayfront estate apparently becoming too much to keep up, and Mr Bigelow wanted the tropical property to be enjoyed rather than subdivided.  He and his wife said they would build a smaller home a portion of the Dreamwood estate.”

“An orchid hobbyist for more than 40 years, Mr. Bigelow won his share of prizes. He spent three decades designing, planting and

improving his gardens.”  (Star Bulletin, June 20, 1966)

“Kaneohe Community leaders are proposing that the acre and a half estate with its home and marine peir be purchased and added to an existing City park at the end of Waikalua Road which borders the Bigelow property.”

“The Bigelows are planning to build a small home on the portion of ‘Dreamwood’ property which they have reserved for their own use.” (HnlAdv, Jan 13, 1966)

Other thoughts on future use suggested that the “home could house a restaurant with its operation and menu tailored to a botanical garden setting. The home’s many rooms could be set up to provide breakfast, luncheon or dinner meeting places for groups of under 100 persons.”

“Other portions of the house could be used for music club gatherings, monthly club meetings and art exhibits.  The grounds would be maintained as a park where the public and tourists could enjoy the tropical plantings, orchid and fern houses.” (HnlAdv, Jan 22, 1966)

The City acquisition and park plans did not move forward. “It really is a shame the City can’t acquire more of these.  But in the end it all boils down to the finances of the matter.” (City Council Chairman, Herman Lemke, HnlAdv, Jan 22, 1966)

Following Bigelow’s death, repeated advertisements noted that the 1.47-acre waterfront ‘Dreamwood’ estate was listed for sale for $275,000.

Then, the Dreamwood School was initiated on the site; it was “an experiment in therapeutic learning” offering “a therapeutic educational experience to the drug user who wants to stop and to the school drop-out”.  Star Bulletin, Sep 22, 1970)

“The name is incidental, kept at the request of the owner of Bigelow mansion, which is part of Dreamwood Acres. The name fits.”

“Dr Fred Weaver and the 25 people inside the mansion have a dream they believe can come true. They are creating a school for disenchanted and alienated young to help teach them how to live happily, creatively, constructively, in today’s society while fulfilling their own dreams.”

“Weaver, psychiatrist and adolescent unit chief at Hawaii State Hospital, is acting as consultant to Dreamwood School. … The school’s primary aim is to reintegrate adult and young relationships and satisfy learning needs which the staff feels are often not supplied within the system.”

“‘We have a philosophy that sometimes the system kills initiative,’ Weaver explained. ‘You have to be turned on to learning and we want to make the turn-on natural.’”

“‘’We feel that human values are the most important – feeling good, doing what uou do, being responsible for yourself in your relationships and in what you do.’ Weaver believes that alienation occurs often because adults ‘manipulate or push the young into things.”

“‘The crisis today is too severe to allow us the luxury of treating symptoms, It is time to work on the cause.’” (Star Bulletin, Sep 22, 1970)

Then in 1971, Habilitat “signed a five-year lease with Mrs Lyman Bigelow for her Kaneohe property”.  Habilitat bought the property in 1976 and continues to be the fee owner and operates its programs there.

Vinny Marino founded Habilitat on January 27, 1971 as a long term addiction treatment programs.  “My idea of survival is strength found in the family. Family life is the most important experience in our lives; a good family life does shape character, and is reflected in a person’s attitude about survival. Good family life is hard to find these days; you either have it or you don’t.”

“That’s why Habilitat exists today. Habilitat believes in the family as the basis of survival. Habilitat believes the family unit must be preserved. Habilitat offers positive survival to those who want to learn. Through the family structure at Habilitat, our residents form their values, morals, conscience, and a way of life that will help them survive in this mad, mad, mad, mad world.”

“Very simply, Habilitat is an extended family of individuals who realize they need help to change, and survive without sick dependencies.” (Vinny Marino)

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James Melville Monsarrat

James Melville Monsarrat was born June 13, 1854, in Honolulu.  On his paternal side Monsarrat is descended from Nicholas Monsarrat, who went to Dublin, Ireland, in 1755 from France. MC Monsarrat, his father, resided in Canada before coming to Hawaii.

The elder Mr. Monsarrat was a figure in the public life of Hawaii in the 1850s, being at one time deputy collector of customs and later entering the lumber firm of Dowsett & Co., which was eventually absorbed by S. G. Wilder &  Co. He died on October 18, 1871.

Through his mother Monsarrat is a descendant of Captain Samuel James Dowsett, a native of Rochester, Kent, England, and a commander in His Majesty’s Colonial Service, who, as owner and master of the brig “Wellington,” came to Hawaii from Sydney July 27, 1828, and established his family in Honolulu.

James Monsarrat was educated at Episcopal Grammar School (Honolulu), Oahu College (Punahou).  Returning to his father’s native land in 1871, he studied at Kilkenny College, Ireland.

For two years, and, traveling extensively, he was privately tutored in the French language at Brussels, Belgium, in 1873. He later attended Harvard University Law School, receiving  his LL.B. degree, class of 1878.

Before returning to Hawaii, he was with the law firm of Ely & Smith, New York City, for a short time. He was then admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the Hawaiian Islands, Aug. 22, 1879.

He became active in public life, holding the office of deputy attorney general under W Claude Jones, Attorney General, and was secretary of the legislative assembly in 1880.

During his practice Judge Monsarrat drew the will of Queen Emma and of Princess Likelike. The will of Queen Emma was later contested without success by Prince Albert Kunuiakea.

“There are many legacies mentioned in the will. Some are to native Hawaiians, one is to a Chinaman, and to the St. Andrew’s School for Girls, and the Queen’s Hospital, a chartered institution, a large share of the property is left.” (Hawai‘i Supreme Court)

Queen Emma left the bulk of her estate, some 13,000 acres of land on the Big Island and in Waikiki on Oahu, in trust for the hospital that honors her.

The Queen’s Medical Center mission is to fulfill the intent of Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV to provide in perpetuity quality health care services to improve the well-being of Native Hawaiians and all the people of Hawaii.

Princess Likelike was the sister of a King and Queen – and the daughter of High Chief Kapaʻakea and Chiefess Analeʻa Keohokālole – her sister became Queen Liliʻuokalani and her brothers were King Kalākaua and William Pitt Leleiōhoku.

On September 22, 1870, Princess Likelike was married to Honolulu businessman Archibald Scott Cleghorn.  The Cleghorns had one child Kaʻiulani (born on October 16, 1875) – “the only member of the Royal Family having issue.” (Daily Herald, February 3, 1887)

In 1887 when Master of Hawaiian Masonic Lodge, Monsarrat assisted in conferring the Mark Master’s degree on King Kalakaua at Iolani Palace.

Monsarrat married Carrie Capitola Tuttle in Honolulu, February 11, 1907. He was appointed District Magistrate of Honolulu, May 8, 1911 to May 31, 1917.  He was later an examiner of titles for the Land Court.  

Judge Monsarrat consolidated his professional interests in 1926, when he organized the Monsarrat Abstract and Title Co., his nephew, Marcus R Monsarrat, became associated with him at that time.

Judge Monsarrat was a member of the Outrigger Canoe, Harvard and British Clubs, and the Harvard Law School Association.  He died September 20, 1943 in Honolulu.

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Inter-Island Hula Contest

David and Lydia Bray sought to reinsert hula into everyday public life.  A group of influential Hawaiians – a princess, a famed hula dancer, and a composer – gathered at a Honolulu home in 1919 to judge a private hula performance.

The Brays, a young Hawaiian couple who were dancers themselves, had staged this unofficial “hula trial.”  They sought to address the question, Was hula truly vulgar and vile? All we know is that girls from the ages of eight to fourteen presented their hula repertoire before the panel.

At the end of the presentation, the judges conferred and delivered a “not guilty” verdict. The hula was clean; its practitioners should not fear performing before Hawaiian and American audiences. (Imada)

For many Hawaiian women, hula presented a dream ticket out of Hawai‘i, promising fame, glamour, and middle-class status difficult for them to achieve in the plantation and service industries. Hula dancers could earn between fifty and one hundred dollars a week, compared with four to ten dollars a week in the pineapple canneries.

Talent recruiters from the US continent took advantage of the ample labor pool in the islands. Orchestra leaders, Hollywood film studios, and American nightclubs periodically scouted for dancers in Hawai‘i, where women often faced stiff competition for coveted hula contracts. (Imada)

Then, in 1938, sponsored by Hollywood’s Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) and the Hawai‘i-based Consolidated Amusement Company, the “Inter-Island Hula Contest” sought to crown a “hula queen.”

In the “greatest hula contest ever staged in the Islands,” nearly five hundred young Hawaiian women competed for the title for more than a month, going through several rounds of competition. Each hoped to win the grand prize: a trip to Hollywood and a chance at stardom in the United States.

On almost every island, audiences followed the competition with great enthusiasm, buying tickets for preliminary rounds held at movie theaters and rooting for their favorites.

On Friday nights on O‘ahu, local people attended elimination rounds at the Hawai‘i Theater and indicated by applause their choices of finalists. (Imada)

In September 1938 five finalists from five different islands gathered in Honolulu for a “Hula-Nui Nite” (Big Hula Nite).  Finalists were Keahi Bright, Oahu; Rita Lum Ho, Maui; Dorothy K Dudoit, Molokai; Ethel Moniz, Hawaii and Kealoha Holt, Kauai.  In an overflowing theater, a board of judges crowned the contestant from Kauai, Alice Kealoha Pauole Holt, “Hula Queen.”

Holt was born on February 10, 1919 into a life of modest means with a lineage directly tied to the royal families of Hawai‘i. Her introduction to the world of movies came by way of MGM, who sponsored the event, and sent her to Hollywood to play the part of the native dancer in the movie Honolulu with Robert Young and Eleanor Powell.  (IMDb)

Holt subsequently passed her MGM screen test in Hollywood and spent three months there, touring as an “ambassador of good will” and dancing in the American stage and film productions of Honolulu.

Holt may have been MGM Studio’s only official “Hula Queen,” but she was only one of a generation of Hawaiian women who began leaving Hawai‘i in the 1930s for the US continent. (Imada)

“Hollywood knew Hawaii’s brightest and best hula dancer, Kealoha Holt, for a brief few months, before the young lady suffered pangs of homesickness and returned to the islands.” (SB, Sep 30, 1939)

American nightclubs and showrooms packaged hula as middlebrow American entertainment, and hula dancers joined circuits that routed them between Hawai‘i and Manhattan. Hula became the ticket out of Hawai‘i for many women, promising fame and glamour in the United States. (Imada)

“And now, the newest crop of hula dancers, singers and musicians are in New York .… Most of the girls, in long letters home, write of their longing for Hawaii. Some, like Kealoha Holt, just pack up and return.”

“Their jobs pay from $75 to top prices of $100 a week. They put on three shows a night, six nights a week. They usually live at the hotel where they work, or in apartments adjoining night clubs where they are featured. … They pick up pin money making recordings, if they sing; posing for advertising, teaching the hula to patrons.”

“Today, with Hawaii’s good will emissaries stationed in strategic centers such as San Francisco, New Orleans, Chicago and New York, synthetic shimmies of yesterday are giving way to real Hawaiian hulas.”

“These singing and dancing islanders who invade mainland night spots provide splendid advertising for Hawaii.  They take with them the charm and grace of an island paradise where two thirds of America longs to visit. They are fresh and blood representatives of a South Seas island lure of which escapists dream.”  (MacDonald, SB, Sep 30, 1939)

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