{"id":19438,"date":"2026-04-22T13:40:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/?p=19438"},"modified":"2026-04-22T13:40:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:40:20","slug":"2026-alumni-spotlight-lee-tonouchi-aiea-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/zh_tw\/2026-alumni-spotlight-lee-tonouchi-aiea-high\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni Spotlight: Lee Tonouchi (\u2018Aiea High)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lee A. Tonouchi<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Occupation: <\/strong>Pidgin writer
College: <\/strong>University of Hawai\u02bbi at M\u0101noa
What school you grad?<\/strong> \u2018Aiea High School \u201890
Location:<\/strong> \u2018Aiea, HI<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many children raised in Hawai\u2018i, Lee Tonouchi grew up speaking Pidgin. His teachers often told him, \u201cLee, you write the way you talk.\u201d He initially took this as a compliment, but later realized they meant it as a criticism. That experience helped shape his lifelong mission: to advocate for Pidgin and demonstrate its value in literature and the arts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1999, Tonouchi, whose nickname is \u201cDa Pidgin Guerilla,\u201d founded the literary magazine Hybolics<\/em>, creating a platform for stories that celebrate Pidgin and local culture. He has taught at Kapi\u2018olani Community College and Hawai\u2018i Pacific University, where he developed and taught the first college-level course dedicated entirely to Pidgin literature. In 2023, the American Association for Applied Linguistics honored him with the Distinguished Public Service Award for his efforts to raise awareness about language issues and promote linguistic social justice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His published works include: \u201cDa Kine Dictionary,\u201d \u201cDa Word,\u201d \u201cLiving Pidgin: Contemplations on Pidgin Culture,\u201d and \u201cSignificant Moments in da Life of Oriental Faddah and Son,\u201d which won the Association for Asian American Studies Book Award. Tonouchi has also written several Pidgin plays staged by Kumu Kahua Theatre, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, and the Hawai\u2018i Conservatory of Performing Arts. His play \u201cThree Year Swim Club\u201d was performed at East West Players in Los Angeles and earned a Los Angeles Times Critic\u2019s Choice Selection.
He attended Ali\u2018iolani Elementary, Waimalu Elementary, \u2018Aiea Intermediate and \u2018Aiea High School. In February, the Hawai\u2018i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts announced Tonouchi as the 2026-29 Hawai\u2018i Poet Laureate<\/a>, the third laureate in the history of the program and first to come from a public school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What was your journey like after high school?<\/strong>
A: <\/strong>When I wuz at da University of Hawai\u02bbi at M\u0101noa, das wea I wen first discover local literature. I wuz all like, \u201cHo, get guys writing in Pidgin and we studying ’em in college. Das means you gotta be smart brah, for study Pidgin!\u201d So das wea my journey began. Now I do all kine Pidgin writing. I do all my creative work in Pidgin\u2014I write Pidgin prose, poetry and plays. I also do academic essays and journalism kine writing in Pidgin too. Currently, I do one monthly column called \u201cMuch Mahalos\u201d<\/a> for Discover Nikkei<\/em>, das da online publication of da Japanese American National Museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What are you up to these days?<\/strong>
\u4e00\u500b<\/strong>: I wuz jus name da Hawai\u2018i State Poet Laureate so I going be doing poetry workshops across da state for try encourage people who nevah dreamed dey could write for try write some poetries. Dis fall, my play \u201cOur Okinawan Ohana: Stories We Share from Hawai\u2018i’s Uchinaanchu Community\u201d going be coming out from Playbuilders. An’den next year, 2027, my children’s picture book going be one play too. I stay doing \u201cOkinawan Princess: Da Musical with Ohana Arts\u201d!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Why did you choose this career path and what do you enjoy most about it?<\/strong>
A: <\/strong>Historically Pidgin talkers wuz always perceive as being less intelligent than da English talker. So da way I saw ’em wuz I could either change myself or I could try change da perception. I wen decide for dedicate my life to trying for change people’s perceptions about Pidgin. Da funnest part about da job is when I get for learn new Pidgin words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Q: What makes you #PublicSchoolProud?<\/strong>
A: <\/strong>I proud I went public school and I feel even prouder when I see our government leaders sending their kids go public school too. Das commitment to eju-ma-cation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Q: Favorite subject in school?<\/strong>
A:<\/strong> Japanese class could be fun even though da teacher wuz supa serious. Mr. Iwamoto wen surprise me one time\u2014he wen put one Kikaida question on top his final exam!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What was your favorite school lunch or breakfast?<\/strong>
\u4e00\u500b<\/strong>: Da pastrami sandwich of course. Wuz mo’ bettah than Subway!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What type of extracurricular activities were you involved in?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A:<\/strong> I remembah I wen join Math Club cuz my bestest friends James Lum and Dae Hwan Kim made me join. Dey loved being “mathletes” so I wanted for see what da hype wuz all about. I wen learn that for me personally words wuz waaaaaay mo’ exciting than numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Q: Name of a teacher or mentor you\u2019d like to thank?<\/strong>
A: <\/strong>I like tank Ms. Betty Hart, my Physics teacher at \u2018Aiea. She taught science but she wuz da only teacher who wen encourage my creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Q: What advice do you have for students?<\/strong>
A:<\/strong> Not always easy for do da right ting. Just no sked ’em, go get ’em.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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