How to Construct a Paradise

How a Japanese nursery rhyme silences an entire civilization

A 2017 poster advertising Hawaii as a holiday destination. “Gohoubi” means “a reward,” often used in the context of treating oneself. Image from PR Times

Not only is Hawaii geographically situated between mainland U.S. and Japan, it is politically and economically trapped between two of the world’s most massive capitalist enterprises.

Minami no Shima no Hamehameha Daio is a Japanese nursery rhyme first released in 1976 by artists Akira Ito and Kouichi Morita. It was an immediate phenomenon among children’s media, popularized nationwide by the biggest Japanese reality TV programs for children.

The lyrics go:

The king of the island of the south
The mighty Hamehameha
He is a romantic king
All the wind is his song
All the stars are his dreams
Hamehamehamehameha

The king of the island of the south
The queen is also called Hamehameha
A very kind wife
She wakes after the sun rises
She sleeps before the sun sets
Hamehamehamehameha
(translated by author)

Album cover of “Minami no Shima no Hamehameha Daio,” produced my Satoko Yamano (2001). Image from Amazon

The lyrics depict a King and a Queen of an unspecified “island of the south,” both of whom…