Honouliuli National Historic Site

Home
United States
Honolulu, HI
Honouliuli National Historic Site

Honouliuli National Historic Site tells the experience of prisoners of war and incarcerated American civilians in Hawai‘i during WWII.

It is the site of the largest and longest-run incarceration camp in the Hawaiian Islands. Honouliuli National Historic Site tells the history of incarceration, martial law, and the experience of prisoners of war in Hawai‘i during World War II.

07/31/2026

For the first time, Honouliuli National Historic Site's pop-up exhibit will be making its way to two libraries for the month of August: Molokaʻi Public Library and Lānaʻi Public & School Library .

Following the success of its Oʻahu tour last year, the pop-up exhibit will be traveling to other Hawaiian Islands and will provide the perfect opportunity to reach audiences who have not yet had a chance to learn the foundations of this important history. Our traveling pop-up exhibit is able to conveniently share the story of Honouliuli Internment Camp and the National Park Service's stewardship of the site.

We hope you have a chance to visit the exhibit in August!

The pop-up exhibit is traveling in conjunction with the film screenings of Kinetic Productions' film, Voices Behind Barbed Wire to other islands this year as part of the 80 Years of Closure Commemoration of when Honouliuli Internment Camp closed in 1946.

Edit: The pop-up exhibit will also remain at the Hilo Public Library throughout August.

07/28/2026

Our Kaua‘i screening of "Voices Behind Barbed Wire" this past weekend was a resounding success with over 300 people in attendance! We want to thank each person who came out to see this movie and learn the history of our islands. Together, we will ensure this dark chapter will never be forgotten.

We want to thank Kinetic Productions Ryan Kawamoto, Carol Kouichi Yotsuda, and Carole Hayashino for joining us for this panel, the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i for supporting these screenings, and Kauai Community College's Performing Arts Center for hosting the event.

Some photos courtesy of Ryan Kawamoto/Kinetic Productions

07/25/2026

This past Saturday, July 18 Honouliuli National Historic Site welcomed visitors as part of its inaugural NPS public tour. This free public tour has been a long time in the making and very much driven by park partners, descendants, schools, and our communities. Based on feedback when people were departing the shuttle, the tour resonated deeply and touched people in meaningful ways. Words of gratitude and appreciation were shared. All were locals from around O'ahu and we even had a couple who had flown in from Maui that morning!

This inaugural NPS public tour is a significant milestone for the park and is a result of the hard work of our dedicated volunteers, partners, and many who came before us. A special shout out to Hawaii's Plantation Village partnering on the tour for the welcome, University of Hawaii - West Oahu for supporting access through their lands, Pacific Historic Parks sponsoring the shuttle buses to make them free, the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i for their support early on for these public tours and learning from their past efforts of taking the public to the site, and Bayer U.S. Hawaii for their in-kind services to help the park prepare for these public tours.

Mahalo to all for being part of this wonderful park milestone and achievement together to share this important history with our communities and beyond.

Image credit: NPS Photo/Brandon Akiona

07/23/2026

Have you been curious about the future of Honouliuli National Historic Site? Now is your chance to ask questions and share your ideas with the park team as we host talk story sessions about a vision for the park and future public visitation.

From August 1-3, there will be five in-person talk story sessions around O'ahu for the park team to listen and learn from you. For those unable to make the in-person sessions, we will also be hosting two virtual sessions on August 11 and 13. The park team has been working on this effort since last year and we are so excited to welcome you soon. Please help to spread the word!

For information about these talk story sessions, and to share your ideas with the NPS, please visit our website: https://www.nps.gov/hono/learn/management/talk-story-sessions.htm

Honouliuli National Historic Site welcomes everyone. Please contact Sarah Bodo, [email protected], if you have questions for any accessibility needs.

DATES:
August 1 (in-person), 10am-12pm,
- Mililani High School Cafeteria, 1174 Meheula Pkwy, Mililani-Waipio-Melemanu

August 1 (in-person), 2-4pm
- Kapolei Public Library, 1020 Manawai St, Kapolei

August 2 (in-person), 10am-12pm
- Savon in the Hawaii Kai Corporate Plaza, 6600 Kalanianaole Hwy #114, Honolulu, HI 96825

August 2 (in-person), 2-4pm
- Kailua Intermediate School Cafeteria, 145 S Kainalu Dr, Kailua

August 3 (in-person), 5:30-7:30pm
- Washington Middle School, 1633 S King St, Honolulu

August 11 (virtual), 5:30-7:00pm
- https://bit.ly/HONOtalkstory8-11-26

August 13 (virtual), 5:30-7:00pm
- https://bit.ly/HONOtalkstory8-13-26

Photo courtesy of Ryan Kawamoto/Kinetic Productions

07/20/2026

We want to give a huge mahalo to all who attended both screenings of Kinetic Productions' film "Voices Behind Barbed Wire" in Kona and Hilo on Hawai'i Island sponsored by our partner Pacific Historic Parks. We're so heartened to see communities all over the state of Hawai'i come together to learn and remember the important history of our islands.

A special thank you goes to all of our panelists who continue to join us on this film tour - director Ryan Kawamoto, President Emeritus of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i Carole Hayashino, and descendant of Honouliuli incarceree Shelley Yasuhara who joined us for the Hilo screening. Your voices elevate this important part of history to new heights for future generations.

These events wouldn't have been possible without our neighbor island partners, including the Japanese Cultural Center of Kona, the Kona Japanese Civic Association, Kona Elks Lodge 2616, and the East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center.

Photos courtesy of Ryan Kawamoto/Kinetic Productions

07/18/2026

For the 80th Anniversary Commemoration of when Honouliuli Internment Camp closed, the National Park Service in partnership with the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i, Kinetic Productions, Pacific Historic Parks, and the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra (HSO), a live musical performance by HSO concertmaster Iggy Jang and cellist Joshua Nakazawa will welcome audiences as part of a screening for "Voices Behind Barbed Wire" at Pearl Harbor National Memorial. A violin that was used at Honouliuli Internment Camp is the inspiration for this special HSO performance. This special film screening will be followed by a panel session, including Ryan Kawamoto, the director of the film, Karen Murashige whose father was incarcerated at Honouliuli and whose violin is featured, and a member of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra.

Space at this event is limited, so please email [email protected] with your party name and # in your party to reserve a seat. Parking at Pearl Harbor costs $7, but the entrance is close to both the Aloha Stadium rail station and bus stops. No bags are allowed unless they are clear, per the park's policy.

"Voices Behind Barbed Wire", a film by Kinetic Productions, tells the story of Japanese Americans living in Hawaiʻi after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and how their families were affected by martial law.

EVENT DETAILS:
"Voices Behind Barbed Wire" Film Screening
August 23, 6:00-8:00pm
Pearl Harbor National Memorial, 1 Arizona Memorial Place

Photo courtesy of Ryan Kawamoto/Kinetic Productions

Image: An Asian man with a concerned expression behind barbed wire.

07/16/2026

Last weekend, the park welcomed esteemed actor Daniel Dae Kim and Carole Hayashino, president emeritus of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i for a special screening of an episode of Hawaii Five-0. The episode, originally aired in 2013 and titled "Ho'onani Makuakane" (Honor Thy Father), focused on a fictional story of a murder that supposedly took place in Honouliuli Internment Camp. This special screening was an event honoring the 80th anniversary of the camp's closure in 1946.

We want to thank the many visitors who came in support of this momentous anniversary event. We also want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Kim who traveled specially to Oahu to participate in the panel following the screening and his and Ms. Hayashino's commitment to sharing this history.

Our 80 Years of Closure commemoration continues through several events taking place in July, August, and September, so we hope to see you all soon in the future.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Kawamoto

07/14/2026

We are looking for volunteers!

There are many exciting outreach events taking place in August and September that you can get involved in - from community tabling to our 80th commemoration finale event at Hawai'i Theatre, we are recruiting for a variety of activities. Please see the list of recruiting opportunities below:

August 1-3 Public Talk Story Sessions (multiple opportunities across Oahu)
August 8 Korean Festival (table event)
August 23 Film Screening Usher at Pearl Harbor National Memorial
September 27 80th Commemoration Hawai'i Theatre Finale Event

While these are all one-time events, we always have a rolling year-long outreach and education position open for those who would like to be even more involved.

All applications are live on our website's volunteer page: https://www.nps.gov/hono/getinvolved/volunteer-opportunities.htm
A volunteer.gov account is required to apply and is free to make.

A park staff-led virtual training will be required and counts towards your volunteer hours prior to volunteering for any outreach position.

Image: NPS photo

07/11/2026

For the 80th Anniversary Commemoration of when Honouliuli Internment Camp closed, the National Park Service in partnership with Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i, Kinetic Productions, and Pacific Historic Parks will be bringing special film screenings of "Voices Behind Barbed Wire" on all neighboring islands.

"Voices Behind Barbed Wire", a film by Kinetic Productions, tells the story of Japanese Americans living in Hawaiʻi after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and how their families were affected by martial law. Following the film will be a panel discussion with Ryan Kawamoto, director of the film, Carole Hayashino, President Emeritus of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i, and Christine Ogura, Superintendent of Honouliuli National Historic Site.

In July, in partnership with Kauai Community College, the film will be shown at the college's Performing Arts Center. There will also be a Honouliuli NHS pop-up exhibit display at the Līhuʻe Public Library all month in coordination with the film.

EVENT DETAILS:
"Voices Behind Barbed Wire" Film Screening
July 25, 4:00-5:30pm
Kauai Community College's Performing Arts Center, 3-1901 Kaumualii Hwy

Photo courtesy of Ryan Kawamoto/Kinetic Productions

Image: A movie screen with the title scene of "Voices Behind Barbed Wire" displayed

07/03/2026

As a part of Honouliuli National Historic Site's 80 Years of Closure Commemoration, they will be partnering with Pacific Historic Parks to bring a new, free, virtual speaker series to the community. Titled "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.

July's Remembrance Awakened speaker will be Delphine Hirasuna, author of 12 books including "The Art of Gaman". She is a sansei (third generation) whose family was interned in Jerome and Rohwer, Arkansas, during the war. Her father, who was born in Hawaii, served with the 442nd 100th in Italy. He was drafted from the camps, even though he was 38 years old and had two children.

Delphine will cover how the camps came to be and showcase the different materials used for the intricate pieces of art crafted by those imprisoned.

This talk is rescheduled from the 10th Anniversary's November Hidden Histories and is a free, virtual event. Registration is required to attend (link below or in bio).

EVENT DETAILS:
July 16, 5:30-6:30pm HST
Link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/eeBOEdFIRUqVosNAANeJqQ

Address

1 Arizona Memorial Place
Honolulu, HI
96818

Website

https://www.nps.gov/hono

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Honouliuli National Historic Site posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Featured

Social Service of America
200 N Vineyard Boulevard

Want your organization to be the top-listed Government Service in Honolulu?