The Nihon Ukulele Association is a Japanese association for ukulele players. It was founded in 1959 by Yukihiko Haida, a Hawaiian-born nisei

Nisei

During the early years of World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes in the Pacific coast states because military leaders and public opinion combined to fan unproven fears of sabotage...

who moved to Japan at a young age.

With his brother, Katsuhiko Haida, Haida formed the Moana Glee Club in 1929, but anti-Western sentiments from Japanese authority ended that association. Following World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Haida met Herb Ohta

Herb Ohta

Herb Ohta Sr. is an American Ukulele player born in 1934 in Hawaii who has recorded solo, as a group and with Andre Popp on the A&M Records label, which was co-owned by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss. He is also known as "Ohta-San" in Japan and other Asian Countries, which is a title of respect for the...

, an American Marine

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

stationed in Japan, and a serious ukulele player. This discovery affirmed Haida's interest in the ukulele, and influenced him to form the Association.

Sources

• Jim Beloff. The Ukulele: A Visual History Backbeat Books, 2003. ISBN 0879307587, 9780879307585, page 110.

External links

• / Nihon Ukulele Association (Japanese and English)