| Hyaku Sen Ki Kai Continues Promoting PBA and the 20th Annual Taiko Festival on KHON News Early Tomorrow Morning
Dear readers of the What's New,
Tomorrow I will meet a sleepy crew of taiko drummers from PBA’s Hyaku Sen Ki Kai for a 5:15 a.m. call time at KHON studios for a 6:15 a.m. airtime to promote our 20th Annual Taiko Festival Okagesamade. I routinely rise at 4:30 a.m., I’ve always been an early riser. No one told me my rise time would creep earlier decade by decade, but I’ve always enjoyed being an early bird and the activity of the mind in the early hours. Having worked exclusively with teens the past quarter century, I can tell you not many of them rise at 4:30. I hope it is not indelicate to say so, but one of the things I enjoyed about morning check-ins at school during the daily temperature checks of the COVID years was getting to look each student in the eyes (if not the full face) and test their mental waters while bidding them good morning.
| It takes a special kind of student to be a member of Hyaku Sen Ki Kai. Nearly all our performance taiko drummers get their start as middle school students of Hongwanji Mission School. Some begin in high school, and occasionally they come to Hyaku Sen Ki Kai as transfers from other school communities. Once they audition and make it into the performance squad, they practice year-round no fewer than four hours a week. Many drummers also help Sensei Jay and Sensei Zach with the beginning taiko class, and the performance taiko prep group of aspirants for performance taiko.
The taiko sensei look for / develop drumming talent, but they also listen for particular qualities of spirit in the drummers. | | |
I didn’t have the chance to catch a quote from Sensei Jay in time for this piece, but as their most frequent chauffeur (I get to drive them to their gigs most often), I have had the great gift over several years to listen in on the conversations they have en route and to watch their performances for a vast array of audiences.
Hyaku Sen Ki Kai’s repertoire grows year by year as drummers and alumni compose original pieces to add to the list of pieces from other taiko groups they’ve drummed since the beginning. Our 20th anniversary show features five original compositions, one from Sensei Jay, one by alumnus Rev. Blayne Nakasone Sakata, another by alumnus Chad Okawa, and two from this year’s Hyaku Sen Ki Kai senior co-captain Maya Galvez. | |
The theme of this year’s show Okagesamade was the inspiration of alumnus Zachary Agcaoili. It expresses an important Japanese cultural value of gratitude acknowledging interdependence.
What I love about the theme is that it also acknowledges that our interdependence is not just an interdependence of the present – all that I am is made possible in the present by you – but an interdependent chain that reaches back into the past from drummer to drummer over 23 years that makes the show we will perform on March 15, 4 p.m. at the Moanalua Performing Arts Center a possibility. | 
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Tomorrow at 5:15 a.m., I fully expect the five drummers reporting to the studio will be nearly catatonic and Sensei Jay will be wide awake like me. I know that when we step in front of the 6:15 a.m. camera, they will liven up and jolt the island to life with their drumming.
I know that as they drum, the noise, the music from their bachi will resound to all the drummers before them, to their school sangha readying for the Taiko Festival of Okagesamade, and to all the future drummers committing to wake up, to load the drums, to represent their families, drum circle, and school. If I can give you any advice, my message is simple: go and buy tickets as fast as you can. We will see you at the show. I’ll submit a report in the next issue. | Warmly,
Josh Hernandez Morse
Head of School | | Pacific Buddhist Academy Robotics Team Places Third at Hawaiʻi State VEX Robotics Championship
PBA’s robotics team Dragon Mechs earned third place at the Hawaiʻi State VEX Robotics Championship held in February. The event served as a qualifying competition for the global VEX Robotics World Championship, bringing together top robotics teams from across the state.
“Although I will forever lament missing second place by one point,” said senior year captain Collin Hanney, “I think we did really well this year, and I'm proud to call myself part of the Dragon Mechs."
| Throughout the robotics season, the Dragon Mechs earned four awards. They received the Create Award for their unique design and problem-solving skills, the Judges Award, and the Build Award for their high-quality, robust, and effective robot construction. Team Mentor Ross Ishida was recognized with the Mentor of the Year Award by VEX Hawai‘i for his outstanding guidance. | | A total of 52 teams representing public and private schools, club organizations, and home teams competed in February’s championship. Teams traveled from Oahu, Hawaii Island, Maui, and Molokai to showcase their engineering and programming skills. The Dragon Mechs robot Rodney was programmed to compete against robots from other schools by scoring points in two-minute head-to-head matches or in one-minute individual skills contests. Teams competed in a bracket-style tournament, completing the challenges set by VEX. This year’s challenge involved retrieving plastic balls from a chute and loading them into a goal before other teams could. The Dragon Mechs team includes sophomores Elliot Zysman and Christopher Wong, senior Collin Hanney, and mentor Ross Ishida under the leadership of Coach Ryan Curry.
“I’m incredibly proud of all the work Collin, Elliot, and Chris put in this year and I’m glad to see it pay off so well,” said Coach Curry. “In particular, I want to thank our senior captain Collin for his leadership of the Dragon Mechs in his time at PBA. He’s left a great legacy and a bright future for the program in years to come. Go Dragon Mechs!”
PBA’s strong performance highlights the dedication of its students and mentors and reflects the school’s continued commitment to hands-on STEM learning opportunities. "I really love robotics,” said Collin. “There's nothing else that gives you the opportunity to build something screw by screw with your own hands, and then see the product of that work perform to its fullest on a competition field.” | | Alumni Performing at PBA’s 20th Taiko Festival By: Zachary Agcaoili
I joined Hyaku Sen Ki Kai as a freshman, and it quickly became a meaningful part of my high school experience. I know many of our alumni share that same connection, making this year’s performance especially meaningful as we honor the lasting impact of PBA’s taiko tradition.
Planning PBA’s 20th Annual Taiko Festival, we knew that alumni had to be a part of the celebration. Over the years, many alumni have joined our students on stage as performers and volunteers, some returning year after year, creating a collaboration across generations of our PBA family. | | 
| This year, however, the alumni will take the stage on their own, performing without the current PBA students. It’s been fun reconnecting with former classmates and even alumni from years I wasn’t at PBA as a student. We’ve gathered on weekends to practice at PBA, dedicating our time and energy to the event and enjoying each other’s company. | I now teach the Beginning Taiko class. It’s a required class for all new students at the school, and has been since we opened our doors in 2003. Though not every student continues to Performance Taiko thereafter, I hope to teach some of the important values and life skills that I learned from my time at PBA.
Performance Taiko strengthened my abilities in leadership and teamwork and taught me the value of connecting with the community. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many PBA supporters, many of whom attend our events to this day. A highlight of my time in Hyaku Sen Ki Kai was performing with Ken Okamoto ‘12, Ryan Yamamoto ‘09 and Taylor Nagata ‘09 at Mr. Pieper Toyama’s retirement party. It was a special experience to perform with some of the people I looked up to as taiko performers and a memory I look back on fondly. | This year we have Kiana Tom '14, Megan Viloria ‘14, Bethany Yoshimura ‘15, Royce Hirai ‘20, Tayne Furuta ‘23, Chad Okawa ’23, and Tani Oshita ‘23 coming together to perform a Hyaku Sen Ki Kai staple “Wa,” a piece written by our sensei, Jay Toyofuku. Lia Sutton ‘21 will join us on stage to perform “Hachijo Daiko.”
I am so proud of all the Hyaku Sen Ki Kai | 
| members that I have seen graduate from PBA and share in their excitement to make our 20th annual show special. | | OFFICE HOURS
7:30 AM - 5:00 PM | | |
