Roland Kotani’s book now available online at Hamilton Library

The Japanese in Hawaii: A Century of Struggle (1985) by Roland Kotani has been digitized and is now available for free online through Hamilton Library. It is a foundational resource for the Ethnic Studies department at UH Mānoa, where there is an endowed scholarship in his name. Kotani’s daughter, Mariko Kotani, and his brother and renowned musician, Ozzie Kotani, gave the library permission to provide access to the book.

The Japanese in Hawaii chronicles the journey of Japanese immigrants and their descendants in Hawaiʻi, tracing a hundred years of resilience, labor activism and community building. Through stories of hardship and hope, the book highlights how Japanese workers transformed plantation life, fought for equality, and helped shape the islands’ social and cultural landscape.

“This book is foundational in its clarity and continues to be used in ethnic studies classes,” said Jodie Mattos, Hawaiian Collection Librarian and Department Chair of the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections. “This year marks 40 years since the publication of Kotani’s book, and its longevity is noteworthy.”

Kyle Kajihiro, assistant professor in Ethnic Studies at UH Mānoa, agrees.

“Kotani broke new ground by telling a history of Japanese and Okinawans in Hawaiʻi that centered stories of resistance to oppression in a form that was very accessible,” he said. “After 40 years, the storytelling and historical figures profiled still engage, resonate and provoke debate.”

Woven throughout the book is the theme of resilience – the persistence of a community that transformed hardship into progress, ultimately contributing profoundly to Hawaiʻi’s present economic, cultural and political life.

“Since its publication, we have the benefit of new scholarship complicating our understanding of Japanese and Okinawan participation in settler colonialism, militarism, and rampant development in Hawaiʻi,” Kajihiro said. “In my teaching, I find Kotani’s book useful as a primer to discussing the political challenges and ethical questions that confront Japanese and Okinawans in Hawaiʻi today.”

“As a librarian, I am very appreciative that Roland Kotani’s family gave us permission to digitize this important book and make it freely available,” Mattos said. She also wished to acknowledge Vince Watabu at the Hawaii Hochi, Kotani’s book publisher, for connecting her with Ozzie and Mariko Kotani, and also for inviting UH Mānoa librarians to peruse their book collection to select items for the library’s collections.