''Holehole bushi'' is a type of folk song sung by Japanese immigrants as they worked on
Hawaii's sugar plantations during the late 19th and early 20th century.
Hole Hole is the Hawaiian word for sugar cane leaves, while Bushi (節) is a Japanese word for song. These songs were sung as the workers stripped dead leaves from
sugar cane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...
so that it could be processed more efficiently. Many of the workers who stripped cane were women. The songs were often about plantation life, how difficult the work was, relationships between men and women, and reminiscences of their hometowns.
The melodies were based on folk songs from their home prefectures, mainly
Yamaguchi,
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
, and
Kumamoto
is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2.
had a population of 1,461,000, ...
, among others.
As Japanese immigrants began moving away from the sugar plantations in the 1890s, the ''Holehole bushi'' began being sung in
teahouses
A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...
.
These songs were preserved by music teacher
Harry Urata, who taught the songs to many of his students.
See also
*
Japanese in Hawaii
The Japanese in Hawaii (simply Japanese or “Local Japanese”, rarely Kepanī) are the second largest ethnic group in Hawaii. At their height in 1920, they constituted 43% of Hawaii's population. They now number about 16.7% of the islands' p ...
*
Work song
A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a form of work, either sung while conducting a task (usually to coordinate timing) or a song linked to a task which might be a connected narrative, description, or protest song.
Definitions and ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Canefield songs project
Work music
Japanese-American history