A Surprising Cousin

I discovered that I am fifth cousins with a friend I’ve known since elementary school.

Scott and I have been friends since the fourth grade. I knew that he was half Okinawan like me but I had no idea that we shared ancestors until I looked up his name on the Okinawan Genealogical Society of Hawaii’s (OGSH) searchable database and saw a familiar name. The database has information on emigrants from 1900 to 1937.

My friend mentioned that he had visited Okinawa with his father but that they couldn’t find any family members. The same thing happened when my grandparents visited Okinawa in the 1960s. My uncle found some records of family that died during WWII when he first visited Okinawa 20 years ago but also could not find family there. A lot of records were lost during WWII and my grandparents lost touch with their families.

Peace Memorial Park listing over 240 thousand names of those that died in WWII in Okinawa. There were over 30 Izumigawas listed from the Wauke neighborhood.

About 12 years ago, I found family in Okinawa. I was able to meet my grandfather’s family and see the family tomb which held sixteen ancestors. I went with my uncle and cousins on a tour with a group leader that was able to interpret for us. Learning about my family history was such a moving experience but there is so…