Aunty Eunice Ishiki-Kalāhele reminds me of a kokeshi.  For those of you who may have not grown up with these beautiful hand-painted wooden dolls, they were originally crafted by Japanese artisans in the 1600s.

One story is that farmers who lived in mountainous areas would make their way to the onsen villages to soak their achy limbs in hot pools after laboring in the fields all day.  Many of the farmers would purchase the wooden kokeshi dolls as souvenirs.  These hand-painted dolls were believed to be directly connected to the mountain gods, bringing health and recovery and an abundant harvest to the farmer. 

Aunty Eunice’s petite, strong frame is reminiscent of the Japanese kokeshi as wisps of silver hair brushes across a beautiful face that has gracefully aged over time.   Like the farmer when you are in her presence; you are immediately embraced in this overwhelming sense of renewal.  

Staff will often seek her out.  They may need a comforting word or two.  Or a cut tended to.  Or help finding a black felt-tip pen.  Whatever the circumstance, Aunty will turn her attention to the situation at hand with joy in her heart and a full-bodied laugh.

She is best known for her cooking and masterfully creating dishes from ʻāina to table.  Today she is frying up fresh ʻōpelu.  A gift from a fisherman.  “I always have good memories around food.  Food brings people together.  Having a space for people to gather and make food together is important.” 

As a young child, she remembers her mom preparing the family’s meal.  “She was such a good cook.  Although we had a lot of canned goods, I never thought of us as poor because Mom could make a meal from whatever we had in our refrigerator.”

Aunty says she fully appreciates this style of cooking and tries to exemplify it in her own cuisine.  She is very humble, but everyone who knows her agrees that she is an artisan in the kitchen.  Skillfully crafting raw ingredients into edible masterpieces.  Visually painting a colorful palette of delectables appeasing to the eye.  Sharing the abundance of food and its journey from ʻāina to table.

And that is why Aunty Eunice is our ʻĀina Warrior of the Week.