UH haumāna explore Kalākaua’s and the Hawaiian Kingdom’s legacy in Japan
By Brandi Jean Nālani Balutski and Willy Kauai
A group of University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa haumāna and faculty traveled through Japan this spring, following the path of King David Laʻamea Kalākaua’s historic 1881 visit as well as other travels by Hawaiian aliʻi and haumāna in the 19th century.
Their nine-day journey in March 2025, part of the UH Mānoa Native Hawaiian Student Services’ (NHSS) Hawaiian Youths Abroad (HYA) program, connected them to a pivotal moment in Hawaiian history – one that is being brought back to life.
Kalākaua traveled the world to build diplomatic relationships as well as to reaffirm the relationships that his royal predecessors and other Hawaiian officials had already established. During his visit to Japan in March 1881, he met with the emperor to discuss revising established treaty relations between the Hawaiian Kingdom and Japan. That treaty, stored away for 154 years, was retrieved during the HYA Japan visit, providing a rare glimpse into Hawaiʻi’s international past.
“As a Kanaka ʻŌiwi history student, seeing the original treaty between the Hawaiian Kingdom and Japan was a surreal moment,” said Kale Kanaeholo, who is pursuing a Ph.D. “I felt a sense of both humility and gratitude: haʻahaʻa for being in the same room as this living document and piece of our history, and aloha for Mōʻī Kalākaua.”
Vision of a Monarch
The NHSS HYA program is a reincarnation of a 19th century program by the same name created by the Hawaiian Kingdom legislature in 1880. The original Hawaiian Youths Abroad program provided funds to support 18 students who were sent abroad to study in six different countries between 1880 and 1892.
The students trained in fields such as engineering, medicine, art, music, military science and foreign languages, with the goal of returning home to serve their nation. Funded entirely by the Hawaiian Kingdom, it was one of the world’s first government-sponsored study abroad programs.
NHSS restarted the program in 2018, and has since designed and implemented four HYA program cohorts within UH Mānoa’s Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge.
This year’s cohort of 13 students and six faculty and staff explored Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. On the journey were two UH Mānoa haumāna with remarkable connections to the past: Kuʻu Lunn, a geography graduate student, and Joy Nuʻuhiwa, an incoming political science graduate student – each of whom are direct descendants of one of Kalākaua’s original HYA students.
Piʻianāiʻa
“The Hawaiian Youths Abroad program has been a tremendous opportunity for me to learn and build upon a legacy of Hawaiian geography. One of the original HYA students was my great-great-grandfather Abraham St. Chad Piʻianāiʻa, who attended St. Chad’s College in Denstone, England,” said Lunn.
“Years later, he returned to use his education in service to his kingdom. As we explore the world, like our kūpuna did, I hope to share the knowledge and connections we gain with my family and community.”
Harbottle Hakuʻole
Nuʻuhiwa’s great-great-grandfather, James Harbottle Hakuʻole, was only 10 years old when he and his brother, Isaac, were chosen to participate in King Kalākaua’s visionary program. In 1882, the brothers from Kīpahulu, Maui, embarked on their journey – among the youngest students selected to study abroad.
“It’s pretty heavy,” Nuʻuhiwa reflected. “I didn’t start exploring this history until I heard about this program, so it was incredibly meaningful to be able to do this for my family more than anything.”
Aliʻi footsteps
The NHSS group retraced Kalākaua’s steps from 144 years ago, visiting some of the same train stations, temples, and even the former site of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s consulate in Shiba.
NHSS hopes to continue to engage future students in international educational experiences around the world in service to the lāhui.
The Hawaiian Youths Abroad program is emblematic of NHSS programming design and philosophy, which engages students in research, history, and the educational excellence of kūpuna who came before.
Bridging past and present
The inaugural HYA cohort traveled to France and England in 2018, followed by a journey to England and Italy in 2019. In 2024, UH Mānoa students and faculty followed the path of 19th-century Hawaiians in Tahiti.
A fifth iteration of the program is slated for summer 2026 to focus on the Hawaiian footprint in the Pacific Northwest. Each program has a tailored curriculum that explores the themes of Hawaiian education, diplomacy and travel to those countries during the 19th century. To date, 48 Hawaiian undergraduate and graduate students from UH Mānoa have participated.
For more on their journey, visit manoa.hawaii.edu/nhss/learn/.
Willy Kauai is the director of UH Mānoa’s Native Hawaiian Student Services and Brandi Jean Nālani Balutski is a research specialist. Together, they have kuleana for leading the Hawaiian Youths Abroad program under the umbrella of the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge.
