Notes by Richard Koja, Sr.:
(1) Sashiki and Chinen are neighboring son in Okinawa. Sashiki-son is where the tomb of King Sho Hashi (1422-1439), the great unifier, is located. Chinen-son is famous for being one of the most important sacred sites (seifa utake) in the Okinawan religion. In many of the villages of the northern section of Chinen-son, people both fish and farm. In earlier days the fish were transported in canoes and marketed at Yonabaru. The present governor of Okinawa, Junji Nishime (1979- ), is from Chinen-son.
(2) Prior to World War II, the people in Hawaii from Sashiki-son, Chinen-son, and Tamagusuku-son united to form one locality club. The Sashiki and Chinen groups have continued together as a club because each group is still too small to form an independent club. (3) Genbi Tonaki was the first Sashiki issei to graduate from the University of Hawaii; he graduated in 1932 with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. When the United Okinawan Association participated in the Okinawan Farm Youth Program, Mr. Tonaki served as host farmer to Okinawan trainees at his orchid farm in Kahaluu.