COURTESY BRIAN Y. SATO ELLA FUJIE Wainaku Jodo Mission, Wainaku, Hawaii "I visited a very old church in Wainaku, Hawaii, that no longer is in service, but (where) former members still gather once a year. A Jodo Shu priest in Hilo told me about Ella Fujie, a former member who was the caretaker of the Wainku Jodo Mission. I chose to photograph her in a totally empty room of the church where light poured in from the outside. I feel that a sense of isolation and melancholy pervades this image." CLICK FOR LARGE

Real people, real lives

Photographer sought to meet his nisei subjects on their own turf

» More information and photographs from the collection

BRIAN Y. SATO wasn't interested in the rich and famous for what became "Gokurosama: Contemporary Photographs of the Nisei in Hawaii," on exhibit through Aug. 3 at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii.

"I didn't pursue (Dan) Inouye or (George) Ariyoshi," he says with a laugh. "I wanted ordinary people."

Sato traveled all over the state to shoot portraits of some 90 nisei in their own environments as they puttered around their homes and churches, worked or enjoyed a lifelong hobby.

There are a few faces isle residents might recognize: former politician Tom Nekota with his surfboard in Waikiki, artist Satoru Abe captured in a pensive moment and former Star-Bulletin reporter Tomi Knaefler, looking very Japanese in her Manoa home.

COURTESY BRIAN Y. SATO ROBERT KIYOMITSU TAKAHASHI Kahana Bay, Maui "He is actually a distant relative who lives on Kahana Bay on Maui. I took the photograph at Mr. Takahashi's hangout: an overstuffed chair that is permanently outside on the bay." CLICK FOR LARGE

Richard Hideso Hirao, for instance, takes a break at his Nisshodo Candy Store in Kalihi, clad in an apron, his face dusted with flour. One can see the familiarity and confidence in his eyes.

In Betty Masako Odo's portrait, set in her Hauula yard, it becomes clear that the flowers she cut from her garden are almost part of her uniform. She virtually beams as she holds a bunch, along with the scythe that she used to cut them.

"I wanted the photos to be as honest as possible," Sato says. "Clothes tell a lot about a person. It brings out the personality.

"We all know about the nisei as a group, but I wanted to show them as individuals, too," he says. "Real people in their real lives."

COURTESY BRIAN Y. SATO RICHARD HIDESO HIRAO Kalihi, Oahu "Mr. Hirao, owner of the Nisshodo Candy Store, still starts every workday at 3 a.m. Though he said he had other ambitions when he was younger, Mr. Hirao said he continued in the family business after seeing how hard his father worked: 'I wanted to help him, so I just try to go there, help a little bit. ... At least he had somebody to help him. That's why I stayed with him.'" CLICK FOR LARGE

COURTESY BRIAN Y. SATO TOMI KNAEFLER Manoa, Oahu "Well-known author and journalist Tomi Knaefler lives ... in a very Japanese-style house, where I photographed her. There was a lot of light coming through the screen windows, and her environment seemed very contemplative, which I thought was also captured in her facial expression and the twinkle in her light-colored eyes." CLICK FOR LARGE

COURTESY BRIAN Y. SATO AKIRA AND MASAKO KOYANAGI Papaikou, Hawaii "They are members of the Hilo Meishoin Jodo Mission in Hilo, Hawaii. I had arranged to meet and photograph them at the temple. It was probably raining ... because I can't think of another reason why I would photograph them against the side of a building. Luckily, it didn't really matter because their personalities clearly come through. And, they are unmistakably a cute couple." CLICK FOR LARGE