King David Kalākaua

(tablet on back of base)
David Kalākaua was born on November 16, 1836. He succeeded to the throne on February 12, 1874, and ruled with his queen, Kapi‘olani. King Kalākaua was the catalyst for the revival and flowering of Hawaiian intellectual and artistic traditions that took place in the last quarter of the 19th century.
He was an accomplished musician and, among other chants and songs, composed he words of “Hawai‘i Pono’i,” now the State of Hawaii’s official anthem. His motto was “Ho‘oulu lāhui” (Let the Hawaiian race flourish). He was also a skilled sailor and loved the sea. ‘Iolani Palace, the only royal palace in the United States and one of Hawai‘i’s most famous landmark, was built during his reign.

Thoroughly Hawaiian but also cosmopolitan, he completed a tour around the world in 1881, including a visit to the United States in 1874, the first monarch in the world to have done so. His coronation took place on the grounds of ‘Iolani Palace on February 12, 1883. Kalākaua died on January 20, 1891. He was buried in the Royal Mausoleum in Nu‘uanu Valley on O‘ahu.

“Kukui ‘ā mau i ke awakea.” (The torch that continues to burn in daylight.) —Kalākaua family motto.

(tablet on right side of base)
David Laamea Kamanakapuu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalakaua, 1836–1891. This statue of King David Kalakaua (1836–1891) was commissioned by the Oahu Kanyaku Imin Centennial Committee on behalf of the Japanese-American community in 1985 in observance of the arrival of the first ship carrying 944 Kanyaku Imin, or government-contract immigrants, from Japan to Hawaii on February 8, 1885, to work on the sugar plantations.

King Kalakaua visited Japan in May, 1881, on his trip around the world and appealed to Emperor Meiji to send immigrants to Hawaii to relieve the shortage of laborers on sugar plantations. This resulted in the signing of the Japan-Hawaii Labor Convention. Japanese numbering 220,000 immigrated to Hawaii from 1885 to 1924 when the Oriental Exclusion Act was enacted by the congress of the United States.

The Japanese-Americans, who are descendants of these immigrants, have been successful in numerous fields and prospered here in Hawaii. The King is honored as the “Father of Japanese Immigration to Hawaii.” This statue is a symbol of appreciation and Aloha to King Kalakaua, a visionary monarch, for inviting their forebears to Hawaii.

(tablet on left side of base)
このカラカウア王 (一八三大 年|一八九一年) の銅像は、一八八五二月八日に
九四四名の官約移民を乗せた最初の船が到着した日を記念す
る官約移民百年祭が一九八五年に挙行され、その一環として日経会社によって
建立されたものである。

カラカウア王は、世界中一周の彼の旅行の際、一八八一年五月に日本を訪れ、砂糖業(プランテーション)で労働者の不足を緩
和するためにハワイに移民を送るように明治天皇に訴えた。これは、日本ハワイ渡航条約の締結をもたらした。「東
洋人移民禁止法」(オリエンタル除外法)が米国の議会によって制定されるまで、二二万の日本人がハワイに移
住した。

これらの移民の子孫である日系アメリカ人は、数多くの分野で成功して、繁栄
してきた。カラカウア王は、「ハワイへの日本人移民の父」として日系社会では称えられて
いる(表彰されている)。この銅像(彫像)は、ハワイに彼らの祖先を招待した、カラカウア王
への感謝とアロハのシンボルである。

一九九一年二月八日

この銅像は百年祭委員会によりホノルル市に寄贈されたものである。

ホノルル市長　フランク F・フアシー
彫刻家　シヤン K・L・ブラウン