Obsessed with Family History

Why are stories so important?

The first of my Japanese family on my fatherʻs side to come to Hawaii was in 1891. I am considered yonsei — the 4th generation away rom our ancestral homeland. They settled in Kealakekua, Kona, Hawaii and became coffee farmers. Though many family members have moved away, many still live in this rural town on the west side of Hawaiʻi Island. This summer, we are having a family reunion, attempting to bring together as many family members as we can. There were six children born in Kealakekua. My grandfather was one of the six. The reunion is to bring the different branches together.

I have been on the planning committee, and I volunteered to put together the program booklet. I have some skills in Photoshop and Pages, though I am not a professional, so it is always a learning curve when I take on a publishing project. As I organize it, put out appeals for photos “so that your branch will be represented”, work with the photos, and then insert them into the document, I feel myself getting more and more obsessed with the project. I spend all my free time on it. I take breaks when I need to, but I am pulled back in as soon as I have more free time. It made me wonder why. Why am I so obsessed?

On one level, I like filling in the blanks, solving problems. Itʻs like doing a crossword puzzle — it calls you…