Toward Coexistence with Hawaiian Culture

NAOJ and Island of Hawaii

Celebrating Tanabata Star Festival together with local communities.

Photo: Celebrating Tanabata Star Festival together with local communities.

NAOJ and Island of Hawaii

NAOJ believes cooperation with the host community is essential for operation of the Subaru Telescope. It has highly valued community engagement in Hawaii for 30 years from the very beginning of the Subaru Telescope’s construction. Our staff from Japan reside in the Hawaii Island to know and understand communities in Hawaii. About half of our staff members are locally employed, greatly contributing to the observatory. Sharing with people on the islands discoveries and knowledge on astronomy obtained through the skies of Maunakea is also part of our mission, through school visits and community events such as AstroDay.

Activities on Hawaii Island

Makalii Seminar

Makalii Seminar

Subaru Telescope holds a series of seminars to learn about the Hawaiian history and culture by inviting instructors from local communities including Native Hawaiians.

School Visit

School Visit

Our observatory staff visit schools to give classes upon teachers' request to help students discover the joy and wonder of the Universe through Maunakea, and to inspire a passion for future careers in astronomy and other science fields on their home island. We also take part in an event called the Journey through the Universe, where personnel of the Maunakea Observatories visit many schools for the week of this event.

Facility Tour Program for Local Residents

Facility Tour Program for Local Residents

In the inter-observatory program called "Kamaaina Observatory Experience," the Subaru Telescope hosts a facility tour for residents of Hawaii. It also actively invites students in Hawaii to experience the world-leading telescope at first hand.

Merrie Monarch Festival

Merrie Monarch Festival

The staff of the Maunakea Observatories including the Subaru Telescope participate in a parade of the annual hula festival "Merrie Monarch Festival" held in Hawaii Island.

Respect for Hawaiian Culture

Respect for Hawaiian Culture

Photo: Dawn at Maunakea.

For the Native Hawaiians, Maunakea, representing piko (umbilical cord), their cultural connections with their ancestral gods, is a deeply revered place. At the same time, the mountain is a world premier site for astronomical observation. This means all of those involved in the observatories have a duty to protect and preserve the Hawaiian culture. The Subaru Telescope is committed to honoring the traditional practices of Hawaiian culture and beliefs on the mountain.

Malama Maunakea: to be a better steward of Maunakea

All the observatories on Maunakea participate in cultural and natural resources training courses every year. These courses aim to deepen our understanding of Hawaiian cultural activities, and to give due consideration to impacts on the cultural and natural resources at all times in the course of astronomical observation to avoid any unintentional damage.

Pursuing astronomy in Hawaiian culture

The Subaru Telescope constantly seeks a way to be of service for people of Hawaii through astronomy with close assistance and advice from local communities, in hope to work together for Hawaiian culture. In collaboration with the Imiloa Astronomy Center, which is an education center that advances and integrates science and the indigenous language and culture, we play an active part in educational activities to provide opportunities to learn about the traditional link between astronomy and Hawaiian culture which has extensive knowledge of heavenly bodies for navigation, and modern astronomy on Maunakea. Celestial objects discovered by telescopes on Maunakea are named in olelo Hawaii (the Hawaiian language) by Hawaiian speaking students in cooperation with experts of the language and Hawaii-based astronomers, to bring indigenous perspectives into astronomy.

Maunakea for Forefront Astronomy

Maunakea for Forefront Astronomy

Photo: Sunrise-illuminated Subaru Telescope and Maunakea's shadow cast in the sky.

Maunakea for Forefront Astronomy

Maunakea is an exceptional site for telescope development. What makes observation on Maunakea special is low humidity at high elevation of 4000 meter in the summit region where the climate is stable and dry. Notably, stability in the upper atmosphere allows celestial objects to be clearly observed without disturbance by the atmosphere of Earth. Other telescope sites’ best observation days are ordinary ones for Maunakea. Its best observation days never occur at any other place in the world. Maunakea offers an ideal astronomical observation.

We deeply respect and appreciate all viewpoints and feelings that are expressed about astronomy on Maunakea, and seek a greater understanding of the issues that surround us. We are continually committed to understanding and protecting the Hawaiian heritage of Maunakea.