COURTESY PHOTO
Gov. David Ige, center right, and other dignitaries attended a dedication ceremony Thursday to unveil the newly renovated Japanese garden fronting Honolulu Hale and the unveiling of the Gannenmono stone to honor the 150th anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants’ arrival in the islands.
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A newly renovated Honolulu Hale Japanese garden — which now includes a 1,300-pound Gannenmono Stone Monument — was dedicated Thursday by government officials, the Kizuma Hawai‘i Gannenmono Committee and other community leaders.
The dedication ceremony is part of the yearlong Gannenmono celebration that recognizes the 150th anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to arrive in Hawaii.
The stone, now the centerpiece of the Japanese garden fronting Honolulu Hale, was donated by the Japan-
America Society of Hawai‘i and its Gannenmono Committee. The granite stone was selected by officials in Yokohama, Japan, where the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii boarded ships in June 1868 for their 4,000-mile journey.
The 5-foot-wide, 3-foot-high stone is valued at $15,000.
At the base of the stone is a time capsule that is scheduled to be opened in 2068, the 200th anniversary of the Gannenmono. Among the items placed inside were a DVD and jump drive containing the Gannenmono video commemorating the 150th anniversary, other items from the celebration and a note and official city coin from Mayor Kirk Caldwell.
Gov. David Ige and Managing Director Roy Amemiya spoke at the ceremony.
The 1968 dedication of the Japanese Garden fronting
Honolulu Hale was attended by then-Hiroshima Mayor Setsuo Yamada.