Denny in the News

Splendor of Okinawa: Kalanchoe, roadside Uruma, 19fe23 About once every four years, the International Abilympics is held as a competitive rally for the disabled with special skills. Manabu Ishiki from Tomigusuku in Okinawa will take part in the event this year. On 17 February, he consulted with Governor Denny Tamaki at the Prefectural Office about his decision. Ishiki stated his aspiration  to the governor, “So far, I’ve put out my best efforts and I want to put my heart into getting a good result.” This will be the 10th International Abilympics and it will be held in France in March. Contestants from 22 nations and regions will participate. They will contest in 45 categories including home-page creation and flower arrangement. In 2020, Ishiki competed in the National Abilympics in Aichi Prefecture. There he completed a program for instructing a robot’s movement within 6 hours. With the gleaming gold medal for his successful operation and such in Computer Programming, he decided to...

Splendor of Okinawa: Oxalis, roadside Uruma, 16fe23 On 5 February, the 50th anniversary of the founding of Uruma Municipal Yokatsu No. 2 Junior High School (Principal Yoko Yoshihira) and the ceremony for completion of its gymnasium were held. A storm of applause broke out when, in a surprise appearance, Governor Denny Tamaki, a member of its third graduating class, took the stage.  Looking fondly back at his own days at the school, the governor quipped, “I remember that we even began classes as pebble pickers on the sports ground!” He cheered the students on with, “I hope that you will become human resources that will spread your wings widely in the world.” At the gymnasium opening ceremony, those involved celebrated it with a ribbon cutting. The 50th Anniversary program opened with a Kajadifuu (traditional Okinawan dance with music) by the students. Student President Ryoma Arakaki exhorted his fellow students, “After our graduation, let’s not let past graduates beat us in service ...

  Splendor of Okinawa: Cosmos, Yogi Park Naha, 17fe23 Gold medalist in Male Karate Performance at the Tokyo Olympics Okinawa-born Ryo Kiyuna has announced his retirement. On the morning of 17 February, on arrival at the Prefectural Office, Governor Denny Tamaki lauded Kiyuna’s achievements to date in response to queries from the general media, noting, “He has given especially great hope and courage to the people and the youth of Okinawa Prefecture. For us, he has built a great landmark by, time and again, giving notice of Okinawa’s tradition as the cradle of karate to the world at large.”  The governor also alluded to the 6 Asian Karate Championships won in a row in Male Karate Performance by Arata Kinjo and Takuya Uemura, who are also both retiring. He noted, “It’s too bad that they’re retiring. But actually, I feel they’ve left an enormous footprint on the sport. We have great expectations that each of them will continue in providing leadership to the next generation.” The t...

Karate Day is 25 October and Okinawa Prefecture celebrated it with a commemorative performance at the Karate Center in Tomigusuku. Once again, the “Spirit of Shurei” (Trans. note: The Ming Dynasty endowed Ryukyu with the title “Devoted Propriety (守礼- shurei)”  for its strict observance of Ming ritual) was confirmed as the basis of karate. The purpose of the performances was to publish domestically and internationally the commemorative day and Okinawa’s role as the birthplace of Karate. 7 holders of the prefectural designated Intangible Culture Preservation Award,  all with the 10th rank of Hanshi, performed karate routines (kata). They are listed with their respective schools and the titles of their kata: Masanari Kikugawa of the Gojuryu school - “Su-pa-rinpe-”, Morinobu Maeijo of Kobayashiryu school - “Matsumura passai”, Kotaro Iha of the Kobudo school - “Shirataro no ko”, Tsutomo Nakahodo of the Uechiryu school - “Kanchin”, Masahiro Nakamoto of the Kobudo school - “Nicho nun...