Scores of people, students and state and county officials gathered in the Hawai‘i State Capitol Friday to commemorate former Gov. George Ariyoshi.
Ariyoshi, the longest-serving governor in state history and the first Asian-American elected governor in the United States, died April 19 at the age of 100. His casket, draped in a U.S. flag, was laid in state at the state Capitol Friday, where it will remain until noon Saturday.
At the public visitation on Friday, a procession of people including Gov. Josh Green paid their respects to Ariyoshi and his family, while students from McKinley High School — his alma mater — other schools performed songs, dances and recitations in his honor.
McKinley High School principal Ron Okamura said Ariyoshi’s legacy looms large both at the school itself and in his own career. When Ariyoshi was first campaigning for governor in 1974, Okamura said the gubernatorial candidate emphasized the word “integrity,” which Okamura defined as: “What you say, is what you do.”
Okamura added that Ariyoshi was a fan of dancing the jitterbug, and presented McKinley students swing dancing to a performance by the McKinley High School Jazz Band.
Other dignitaries in attendance included Hawai‘i County Mayor Kimo Alameda, who told Aloha State Daily the former governor was a model for his own leadership.
“He did a lot of connecting,” Alameda said. “He was good with building relationships, and that’s something I try to do.”
Alameda added that Ariyoshi’s longevity was also something he aspires to; previous Hawai‘i County mayors, including his immediate predecessors Mitch Roth and Harry Kim, had heart attacks in office, which led Alameda to worry about his own health.
“But [Ariyoshi] lived to 100, so he had to have done something right,” Alameda said.
Others agreed with Ariyoshi’s ability to build relationships. Ken Takemoto said Ariyoshi was “the perfect bridge between Hawaiian and Japanese culture.
“He was a transition from older Japanese cultural values into modern Hawai‘i,” Takemoto continued. “But without discarding them.”
Takemoto, himself a McKinley graduate, said he never knew Ariyoshi personally — although Ariyoshi, then a Hawai‘i State Senator, delivered the commencement address at Takemoto’s graduation in 1966, Takemoto said ruefully that he didn’t remember a word of it. But, he said Ariyoshi was a perennial role model for the Japanese community in Hawai‘i, lauded for leading the state through “a transformative period” in the state’s history.
Ariyoshi is survived by his wife, Jean Ariyoshi, daughter Lynn and sons Ryozo and Donn.
After Ariyoshi’s lie in state ends Saturday, there will be a public visitation at Kawaiaha‘o Church from 2-4 p.m., followed by a celebration of life from 4-5 p.m. Public seating will be available only on a first-come, first-served basis.
Ariyoshi will be buried Monday at the National Memorial Center of the Pacific in a private service for immediate family only.
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