Shokichi Kina:
An Okinawan Voice for Peace

The essence of Okinawan music is captured by the bouncy twang of the jamisen--a three-stringed Japanese banjo--and the soulful bleet of traditional folk songs. Shokichi Kina, an Okinawan legend, transforms that same incomparable sound into a rocking frenzy of color, dance, and pleas for peace and global preservation.

On almost any night of the week in Naha, Okinawa's capital city, you can stop into Chakura, Kina's own "live house" venue, and groove to the definitive sounds of his band, Champloose, and if he's not off networking with activist groups, the man himself may be performing.

In the club's entryway a photo wall boasts black-n-white glossies of Kina posing with a diverse array of kindred musical spirits, from Joni Mitchell to Jon Bon Jovi to Bob Dylan. Bob Marley, whose musical vision of peace and love Kina embraced, is said to have been a close friend. A generous choice of Kina/Champloose CDs are displayed for the buying, as well as eco-friendly merchandise, including ethnic goods from around the world and Native American-inspired items such as "Free Leonard Peltier" buttons and dreamcatchers.

Kina inherited some of his musical talent from his father, a reknown Okinawan folk singer, but his own musical career began around 1968 when, as a college student, he formed the group Champloose. In the early-70s he started Mikado, a club in his hometown Okinawa City, and by 1976, Champloose was gaining recognition on the Japanese music scene. Several songs catapulted Kina and Champloose to fame, including the now classic "Subete no hito no kokoro no naka ni hana o" ("A Flower for Everyone's Heart"). The number, which appeared on the 1980 Blood Line album and is sung by Kina's wife, featured the unforgettable contribution of Ry Cooder on the mandolin and acoustic guitar. In the early-80s, Kina became seriously committed to zen meditation and established ties with the Osho Commune in India, aiming to resurrect the true practice and concepts of Buddhist meditation in Japan.

In 1994, Kina's international presence grew as he toured the US and Canada, and in 1996, their act became the first foreign musical performance to take place on China's Great Wall. For those entirely unfamiliar with Shokichi Kina's message and music, he and Champloose were among the performers representing Asia at the opening ceremonies at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. At that time he was asked why he had come to the United States, to which he frankly replied that he'd come to tell the Pentagon to stop making weapons and to make musical instruments instead.

By nine o' clock, the small, intimate Chakura lounge has filled with guests as Champloose's female vocalists warm things up with jamisen jams and the rising falling wail of Okinawan ballads. Large, funky metallic letters posted on the wall behind the stage read in English: "Blooming flowers in the hearts of all people."

Between sets a large screen drops down, showing video clips of interviews with Shokichi Kina and his collaborative peace efforts around the world.

On the far right wall, a huge modern art interpretation features a distorted white dove of peace on a dripping black-ish background with the simple title "Hiroshima" in the upper left corner.

By the second set, the entire Champloose entourage of guitarists, drummers, and keyboardist, headed by Kina's performing companion and wife on the jamisen, is jamming so hard even some reserved Japanese from Niigata are busting an Okinawan bounce on the dancefloor. Half of the waitstaff are band members, and those that aren't up on stage are dressed in eisa (traditional Okinawan dance) costumes, wandering in and out of the tables clapping, riling up the audience with genki (lively) squeals of "a-haiya! a-haiya!"

I purchase the Live Champloo! 1995 CD on my way out and am greeted by a young man working in the adjacent coffee shop. It is Masatetsu Kina, the 20 year-old son of the Okinawan rocker, and himself an aspiring musician. "Call me Macchu," he says, "As in 'Nice to Macchu'."

He tells me his father is off in New Guinea engaged in peace-promoting activities, but would be back in time for his performance at the May 16th Earth Day celebration in Naha. Over coffee and karaoke we talk about music, and he proudly announces that he will be making his own debut at Chakura in November.

"Playing the same kind of music as your father?"

"Actually, my own style, some Okinawan roots, jazz, reggae..." he explains, then points to a large framed photo of his father on the wall, "but of course he's my greatest influence."

Too bad Shokichi Kina won't be around for his son's debut, as it coincides with his upcoming White Ship of Peace tour to the United States. Kina's long (and somewhat rebellious) history of peace and environmental activism has taken him all over the world to form alliances with oppressed peoples and those working for an environmentally-safe future.

Inspired by the Okinawan peoples' generations of struggle, Kina's newest effort involves a huge roundoup of Okinawan people, as well as Hokkaido's indigenous Ainu, meeting in Tokyo and sailing across the Pacific in a huge white ship laden with musical instruments. The message: "Lay down your weapons, take up musical instruments."

The White Ship idea has kind of an ironic twist, considering that Matthew Perry's fleet, the first North American ships to visit Japan in 1853, were termed the "Black Ships", because they carried weaponry and enough firepower to force Japan to open its doors to Western trade. The advent of Admiral Perry in Japan signified many changes for the isolated country it had become, but Kina points out that those ships "marked the start of fateful relationship" between the United States and Japan. Okinawa, in particular, has shouldered much of the fateful burden, as some of the worst World War II battles were fought on its shores, and the ensuing Occupation and years of military presence have caused countless problems. One of the worst incidents involved the recent highly publicized rape of a 12 year-old Okinawan girl by three US Marines.

Kina is not alone in his dissent of the American military presence. Okinawa is home to 75% of all US military bases and forces in Japan, and US military servicemen have been responsible for countless crimes--including murder--against the civilian population. It's been estimated that some 85% of Okinawans are eager for the US military to "go home".

Riding along the main road out of Naha City, the commuter bus hugs the road between a narrow strip of developed land--homes, shops, restaurants--to the west, and sprawling, verdant tracts of land to the east, military bases separated from the road (and indeed from Okinawa itself) by high fences and barbed wire. The bus slows at an intersection and you can catch a glimpse of parked missile launchers and assorted military machinery. Further up the road, the bus climbs a small hill and a massive golf course comes into view.

Unlike other bases in Japan, those built in Okinawa after World War II were built on confiscated private property, including that of Shokichi Kina's family. With regard to US-Okinawa relations, the issue of land reappropriation is just one of many present-day "battles". Okinawan people living near bases also complain of extreme noise pollution due to military training exercises, as well as considerable destruction to the surrounding environment.

Because several bases are located within, or in close proximity to Naha, growth and development with potential economic benefits to Okinawa have also been hampered by the military presence.

Kina's response to these "thorns" in Japan's side, is to bring heightened awareness of the Okinawan reality to the attention of the American people. His White Ship will carry its message of peace from Tokyo, to Hawaii, and then on to San Francisco, where the peaceable "pilgrims" will travel overland to New York, via the mid-western Iroquois country, home to Kina's friend and ally in struggle, Native American Dennis Banks. Kina sees great parallels between the Native American struggle for land and justice, and that of the Okinawan people. He further sees the White Ship of Peace tour as an opportunity for communication and fellowship between black and white people in the United States.

Kina, who holds a utopian--yet attractive--vision of a 21st century free from the threat of war and nuclear weapons, plans to gather supporters and momentum at each place the group stops, stirring up a nationwide musical celebration of peace, ecology, human rights, and friendship, with the final destination and musical event being a performance at the United Nations in New York.

Back at Chakura I am greeted by Kina's wife, Tomoko, after Champloose's last set.

"Your first trip to Okinawa?" she peers at me between a sip of beer in one hand and a cigarette burning in the other. Her wild mane of curly frizz, electric makeup, and short black spaghetti-strap dress remind me she definitely doesn't look like the Japanese women I'm used to seeing on the mainland.

"Yeah, it's an amazing place," excited at this minor brush with Okinawan fame.

"Have a great time," she says in a deep, husky voice and leaves for the evening.

Macchu pours me some uchin (Okinawan spice tea), programs another song into the karaoke machine and grabs a mike. Simulated sound fills the lounge as he sings the words of his father, "Ah, what are we gonna do? Okinawa is crying...If God exists, we pray for his protection over Okinawa's future, Ah, what are we gonna do? No matter how much we pray it will never be enough..."

The White Ship of Peace Tour will commence in September 1998, due to arrive on the West Coast in November, with the grand finale taking place around December 10th in New York City.

Shokichi Kina envisions the tour as a "starting point for peace" for the new millenium, and most importantly, a chance for Americans to hear the cries--musical and otherwise--of Okinawa.

This is a work in progress... Kina links:

White Ship of Peace Project
One love, one world, 1,000 hana (Kina, feature article)

White Ship Laden with Musical Instruments Bound for USA
(1998 New Year Talks, by Shokichi Kina and Takano Hajime)

Kina and Osho (Zen Buddhism)


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