Interview with Isao Hanabusa
Historical photo of the Hanabusa business.
Source: J. Ho‘ohuliMr. Isao Hanabusa, now 82 years old, was born and raised in Wai‘anae and lived there all his life. He is the father of Senator Colleen Hanabusa, owns the Hanabusa Auto Parts store, and retired from working in the quarry in Wai‘anae Valley owned by GASPRO.
"My grandparents came here first from Japan. They landed at Pōka‘ī Bay to work the sugar plantations. My grandmother started all kinds of things, like a restaurant in Iwilei. My father came here from Japan when he was 15 years old and he worked for the plantation. But he married into a family of fishermen [here in Wai‘anae] and became a fisherman, too. But I don't fish. I went to Wai‘anae School 'til the 8th grade. Pōka‘ī Bay was my playground and Mā‘ili Beach, too. There was no transportation out to the rest of the island, so I stayed in Wai‘anae."
My father was a fisherman his whole life in Wai‘anae. He was the one who taught me how to respect the ocean. He told me, "Never turn your back on the ocean!"
Reference Cited
Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Hawaii. 2004. Record of a personal interview regarding life in Waianae between Lehua Lopez-Mau, Ethnographer, and Isao Hanabusa, Waianae Resident. March 13.
