Honouliuli National Historic Site

09/19/2026

Honouliuli Internment Camp was the largest and longest-operated confinement site in the Hawaiian Islands during WWII. About 400 American civilians were unjustly arrested and held at Honouliuli. While many have heard of Honouliuli Internment Camp, most don't know that Honouliuli was just one of 17 confinement sites in the Hawaiian Islands during that time period.

Our superintendent had the opportunity to visit two lesser-known sites earlier this year on the islands of Moloka'i and Lana'i. In the Kaunakakai Jail on Moloka'i, at least two of the seven arrested individuals were eventually sent to Honouliuli. Their names were Masutaro Teraoku and Masaichi Marumoto. On Lana'i, two people were arrested and held unjustly in the Lana'i City Jail but were either paroled or sent to the mainland camps. Both of these buildings still stand today, although the Kaunakakai Jail has been moved from its original location to Malama Park.

History is always closer than you think in places you may least expect. Our work with our local partners helps to preserve stories and places such as this so they don't disappear from our collective memory.

📸NPS photos
Photo 1: Kaunakakai Jail on Moloka'i
Photo 2: Lana'i City Jail on Lana'i

09/16/2026

WWII Across America's National Parks: Honouliuli National Historic Site

Following the institution of martial law in the Hawaiian Islands, hundreds of civilians in Hawaii were arrested and placed into Sand Island Relocation Center, a temporary holding camp on the coast. Because much of warfare was ocean-based at the time, the camp violated the Geneva Convention which states that foreign enemies cannot be held in a potential warzone. As a result, Honouliuli Internment Camp was built in a deep gulch located at the base of the Waianae mountains. It opened its gates on March 1, 1943.

Nicknamed jigokudani, or “Hell Valley”, by the Japanese Americans, Honouliuli Internment Camp was the largest and longest-operated incarceration site in the Hawaiian Islands. At its peak, it held 4,000 prisoners of war (POW) from Korea, Okinawa, Italy, Japan and the Philippines and 400 American civilians, mostly of Japanese descent, many of whom were first-generation Japanese citizens along with a handful of European Americans.

Honouliuli’s stories of injustice are not only characterized by the rights of civilians stripped due to racial prejudice, but also by the injustice experienced by the Korean and Okinawan POWs. These men lived through the Japanese invasion of their home country, were forced to fight for the Imperial Army, and then captured by American forces – all unthinkable hardships at no fault of their own. It’s imperative that all stories born of Honouliuli Internment Camp are remembered and shared.

These experiences in Hawaiian incarceration sites, while rooted in the same prejudice, varied immensely from their counterparts on the continent. Over 125,000 Japanese Americans along the west coast were forcibly removed and placed into camps, one of which was Minidoka National Historic Site.



All photos courtesy of Hawaii's Plantation Village

09/13/2026

Only a couple more weeks until the 80 Years of Closure Commemoration finale event at Hawaii Theatre Center! Sponsored by our partner Pacific Historic Parks, Honouliuli: A History Awakened will feature artists such as Jake Shimabukuro, Kenny Endo of Taiko Center of the Pacific, Hui ‘Iwa Academy - Nā ʻĒheu O Ka ʻIwa Haʻa I Ka Lani, and more for a night of music, poetry, and dance.

If you're interested in attending this event on September 27, please visit Pacific Historic Parks' webpage at https://honouliuliawakened.com/

09/10/2026

As a part of Honouliuli National Historic Site's 80 Years of Closure Commemoration, we will be partnering with Pacific Historic Parks to bring a new, free, virtual speaker series to the community. Titled "Hidden Histories - Remembrance Awakened", this speaker series will focus on remembrance through the lenses of art, architecture, institutions, and technology. By examining remembrance through these undervalued lenses, we can expand what we understand about the incarceration story by learning how far its impacts spread.

September's Remembrance Awakened speakers will be Lorraine Minatoishi, President & CEO of AEPAC Architecture and Engineering, Anoma Pieris, Professor of Architecture and Associate Dean at the University of Melbourne, and Lynne Horiuchi, an independent scholar with numerous published works about Japanese incarceration.

Through this talk, uncover how the power of architecture and design contributed to the oppression experienced by incarcerated peoples during WWII.

EVENT DETAILS:
September 24, 5:30-6:30pm HST
Link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/wVfvmLTKQRymF_KJt6pgUQ #/registration

09/10/2026

Our grand finale is only a couple weeks away! Visit honouliuliawakened.com to learn how you can attend this evening of music, hula, and hear an original composition inspired by Honouliuli Internment Camp by Jake Shimabukuro for the first time ever.

Join us at the historic Hawaii Theatre Center on September 27, 2026, for "Honouliuli: A History Awakened," a powerful fundraiser presented by Pacific Historic Parks.

This immersive performance of music, hula, and storytelling brings together internationally acclaimed ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro; master taiko artist Kenny Endo; the Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony; and more.

This moving program honors the legacy of Honouliuli National Historic Site and the stories it holds. Proceeds from ticket sales directly support preservation and education efforts to ensure this history is never forgotten.

Be part of an unforgettable night of reflection, culture, and connection.

To learn more and buy tickets: https://www.honouliuliawakened.com

09/09/2026

A musical screening of "Voices Behind Barbed Wire" took place in late August where members of the Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra gave live performances and a violin played by Shozo Takahashi while incarcerated at Honouliuli Internment Camp was featured. Through the power of live music, the film was brought to life in a new way and highlighted the story of injustice and incarceration in the Hawaiian Islands during WWII.

Mahalo to all who attended this special screening and to our community partners Pacific Historic Parks, Pearl Harbor National Memorial, Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra, Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i, Kinetic Productions, and Karen Murashige for making this possible.

📸NPS photos

09/07/2026

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everybody on Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi who joined us last month for the film screening of "Voices Behind Barbed Wire" by Kinetic Productions.

Both evenings were filled with important discussions about the lasting effects that incarceration had on our local communities and why topics like this should be remembered.

Thank you again to Pacific Historic Parks and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i for sponsoring this evening, Kinetic Productions for sharing their film, the Mitchell Pauole Center Gym and Lānaʻi Public & School Library for giving us their space to host these screenings, and all of the panelists who gave their time to tell their connection to this history.

Our last film screening of the year will be on Maui at the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center on September 12 from 1:30-3:00pm. You can register for the free event using this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/voices-behind-barbed-wire-tickets-1997911957447?fbclid=IwY2xjawUNKUhwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMVhCUkNySmxyaE9LTHlGdGJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeFv8UeVT4Wac4XkQYRBm4reiK-chWklLtufz7NeOPNLkC0BahFU4XXfhlCgk_aem_GUSHGMH9KxXf2I1fldUzAQ

📸NPS photos

09/04/2026

When park staff made a visit to Lānaʻi a few weeks ago, the Lanai Culture & Heritage Center shared the story about the first Hongwanji temple to be built on island and how a simple bell became a symbol of Japanese cultural resilience.

During the war, due to being a Japanese-affiliated site, the Hongwanji temple was forced to close its doors. Members of the temple secretly took items from inside to protect them from being looted or confiscated, including a large metal bell that hung at the top of the stairs of the church.

Once the war ended, the land was never given back to the Hongwanji temple community. The original building is now a Christian church and the Hongwanji was relocated to another building on the island. The bell, however, still hangs proudly at the entrance thanks to the efforts of the members who protected it during the war.

This story is just one of thousands highlighting the devastation and resilience the Japanese American community had to endure, many of which are now lost to time. To not repeat these mistakes of the past, it is our duty to keep stories like this one alive.

📸Photo 1 courtesy of the Lānaʻi Culture and Heritage Center
📸 Photos 2/3 NPS photos

09/03/2026

UPDATE TO MAUI "VOICES BEHIND BARBED WIRE" SCREENING:

The park was just informed that the September 12 Nisei Veterans Memorial Center screening of "Voices Behind Barbed Wire" needs all participants to register in advance. If you plan to attend, please use the following link to register for free and help us spread the word to your local communities. Mahalo nui loa!

Link to register https://www.eventbrite.com/e/voices-behind-barbed-wire-tickets-1997911957447

Photo courtesy of Kinetic Productions

09/01/2026

As a part of Honouliuli National Historic Site's 80 Years of Closure Commemoration, we are partnering with Pacific Historic Parks to bring a new, free, virtual speaker series to the community. Titled "Hidden Histories - Remembrance Awakened", this speaker series focuses on remembrance through the lenses of art, architecture, institutions, and technology. By examining remembrance through these undervalued lenses, we can expand what we understand about the incarceration story by learning how far its impacts spread.

September's Remembrance Awakened speakers will be Brian Niiya, Content Director of Densho and Editor of Densho Encyclopedia, Kari Noe, Lab Director of the University of Hawai‘i's Create (X) Lab, and Jim Casey, Principal GIS Specialist of the University of Denver Amache Community Archaeology Project

Through this talk, learn more about how various modern technologies intersect to tell the incarceration story through virtual reality, modelling, and maps.

EVENT DETAILS:
September 15, 5:30-6:30pm HST
Link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/d84UeK3cQOGwpjnZd7vCOw