200 people celebrated a kajimaya couple

200 people celebrated a <em>kajimaya</em> couple

Masao (right) and Haru Sakuda celebrate kajimaya together at Yonashiro, Uruma on October 13.


October 17, 2013 Hiroyuki Horikomi,correspondent of Ryukyu Shimpo

A kajimaya (97-year-old) celebration for Masao and Haru Sakuda from the Yonashiro district of Uruma was held at the local community hall on October 13. More than 200 relatives and neighbors celebrated with them. To commemorate their kajimaya, their second son Seitoku and his wife Keiko published a book about Masao and Haru, entitled Three-Legged Race, and gave copies to participants. The couple celebrated the day together, Masao with a smile on his from morning to evening and Haru winking at guests with a pinwheel in her hand.

Their commemorative book: Three-legged Race.


Leaving home at 9:30 a.m., they slowly paraded around the Yonashiro district. They received the blessings from local people.

Sanshin and bo martial arts were performed at the community hall. Haru sang the children’s song Haru ga kita. In the afternoon, a large celebratory party was held at Castle Highlander in Uruma.
The commemorative book introduces the life stories of the two who survived the war.

They married in 1936, going on to have six sons and four daughters. The next year, Masao went to fight in China where he contracted malaria. He suffered from a hearing problem, but was able to return home safe. After the war, they made living working in the pork industry and supported the building of the community hall. The book also describes Haru’s services as the head of the Ladies Association and the first head of the Agricultural Cooperative in the community.

(English translation by T&CT, Megumi Chibana and Mark Ealey)

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