THE CANOE, THE WIND, AND THE MOUNTAIN: SHUNTING THE RASHOMON EFFECT OF MAUNA KEA

Authors

Vilsoni Hereniko, University of Hawai‘i
Philipp Schorch, State Ethnographic Collections of Saxony, Germany

Abstract

Akira Kurosawa, one of Japan's famous directors, made a movie in 1950 about a murder and a rape in a forest that was witnessed by four people, all of whom have contradictory interpretations of what happened. Titled Rashomon, this film became one of the best-known movies by cinephiles around the world (1). Soon, different and conflicting accounts of a particular incident or event became generally known as the Rashomon effect (2). In this paper, we deploy this term to refer to the present controversy surrounding Mauna Kea, a mountain in Hawai‘i, and conflicting interpretations about what it is or should be. Our goal, however, is to find a methodology for resolving conflicts that transcend the particularity of Mauna Kea. In this paper, we offer the double-hulled canoe of Oceania as a metaphorical method for resolving difficult and challenging circumstances.

Recommended Citation

Hereniko, Vilsoni and Schorch, Philipp (2018) "THE CANOE, THE WIND, AND THE MOUNTAIN: SHUNTING THE RASHOMON EFFECT OF MAUNA KEA," Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 41: No. 3, Article 1.
Available at: https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol41/iss3/1