I am a 1/4 Japanese. My mom is half and my Grandmother full. My Great-grandmother was full Japanese and the one that moved from Japan to Hawaii. That is where she had my Grandmother.
So, I am 3rd generation in America. Over these years my family has lost or not shared for whatever reason the history of my family. Since, high school I have been really into learning anything about my heritage but I have only a hand-full of information.
I know that my Great-grandmother after leaving Japan converted to Catholicism. I don't know the exact time that she moved to America but I think it was around WW2 so I can understand her hiding who she was. She stopped speaking Japanese and never taught my Grandmother. I know my Great-grandmother by the name of "Grandma Luta". Luta was her second married name? I'm not super sure. I have also been told that she was married once and it was maybe (And even my family couldn't say this for sure either..) Kunimori? I have tried looking up that name ANYWHERE and nothing comes up.
My family is pretty sure that she had brothers or sisters back in Japan, plus you know, parents of course..But no names unfortunately.
When my Great-grandmother passed away..my Great-uncle threw out a lot of things as well... We're pretty sure lots of family pictures and letters are now destroyed. Not to mention my Great-grandmother seemed to leave most of her family heirlooms to her friends... not family.. so even more history gone.
Anyways, I guess what I am trying to know are there agencies in Hawaii and Japan that I could look into to find my family in Japan? Even being 3 generations away from them, I wonder about them. I feel really empty not knowing this part of me. And I would love to be able to talk to my own kids one day about Japanese heritage.