{{short description|Historic Place in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox NRHP | name = S. Hata Building | nrhp_type = | image = S. Hata Building, Hilo.jpg | caption = Built for Hata Sadanosuke | location = 308 Kamehameha Avenue, [[Hilo, Hawaii]] | coordinates = {{coord|19|43|25|N|155|5|5|W|display=inline,title}} | locmapin = Hawaii | area = | built = 1912 | architect = William C. Furer | architecture = Early Commercial | added = August 27, 1991 | refnum = 91001087<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref> }} The S. Hata Building is a historic structure in [[Hilo, Hawaii]] built by Japanese businessman '''Hata Sadanosuke''' (1868 - ?) in 1912. It now contains specialty shops, professional offices, and a Cafe Pesto restaurant.
==Hata family==
Hata Sadanosuke was born in [[Hiroshima, Japan]] in 1868 and immigrated to [[Honolulu, Hawaii]] in 1891.<ref name="curtis"/> In 1893, Mr. Hata worked as an agent for Odo Shoten in Honolulu ("shoten" means "store" in [[Japanese language|Japanese]]), responsible for taking orders from large [[sugarcane]] [[Sugar plantations in Hawaii|plantation]]s on the [[Hamakua Coast|Hāmākua Coast]] which employed many Japanese immigrant workers.<ref>{{cite book |author=Philip K. Barnes |year=1999 |title=A Concise History of the Hawaiian Islands |publisher=Petroglyph Press, Hilo |isbn=0-912180-56-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof0000barn/page/40 40] |url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof0000barn/page/40 }}</ref> This gave him the inspiration to start his own business at Hilo on the [[Hawaii (island)|Big Island]] on January 3, 1896 called S. Hata Shoten, Limited. He sold Japanese silks, kimono, as well as eastern souvenirs and provisions. Business was slow in the first years, so he hired out his horse and [[hackney carriage]] as a taxicab for visitors.<ref name="trib"/>
After the annexation by the [[United States]] to become the [[Territory of Hawaii]] in 1898, the plantations flourished, as did his business. He moved to a larger building at the corner of Mamo and Keawe streets. He branched out back to Honolulu and Hiroshima, [[Osaka, Japan]], [[Kyoto, Japan]], and [[Yokohama, Japan]].<ref name="trib">{{cite news|title=Sadanosuke Hata is Hilo's Oldest Japanese Merchant|author=Yukino Tsuzaki|date=February 17, 1935|publisher=[[Hawaii Tribune-Herald]]}}</ref>
Hata Yoichi, Sadanosuke's younger brother (born 1884) also arrived in Hilo and worked as bookkeeper at S. Hata Shoten. The business was so prosperous in 1912 that it needed more space. The previous building became a wholesale food distributing outlet run by Hata Yoichi. Sadanosuke planned a new $25,000 structure on wetlands on Front Street (later renamed Kamehameha Avenue) near the railroad tracks to the plantations. A condition of the United States government's selling this land was that Mr. Hata builds concrete building within a year's time.<ref name="focus"/>
===Building===
At the time it was built, almost all other structures in Hawai'i outside of Honolulu were built of wood. The building is about {{convert|109|ft|m}} by {{convert|60|ft|m}} of reinforced concrete. Such a large masonry building indicated the upward mobility of the Japanese population. The [[Hilo Masonic Lodge Hall-Bishop Trust Building|Hilo Masonic Lodge]], [[U.S. Post Office and Office Building (Hilo, Hawaii)|Hilo Federal Building]] and [[Volcano Block Building]] are the others from that period that remain. The first floor has several store-fronts. A wooden staircase leads to a second floor of office space, with 14 arched windows. In 1913 he opened the Hilo Sake Brewing Company.<ref>{{cite book |title=Ice and Refrigeration |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NRcpAAAAYAAJ&q=hilo%20sake%20brewery&pg=RA1-PA373 |page=373 |publisher=Southern Ice Exchange |volume=45 |year=1913}}</ref> In 1919 two wood structures were added to the back, one commercial and one residential.<ref name="focus"/>
After the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] the Hata family was part of the [[Japanese American internment]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Hata Yoichi |publisher=Japanese American National Museum |work=George Hoshida Collection |url=http://www.janm.org/collections/item/97.106.2S/ |accessdate=2009-07-22 }}</ref> In September 1942 (during the [[Second World War]]) the Hata Building was seized and later auctioned by the U.S. government.<ref>{{cite book | title=Annual Report of the Office of Alien Property |author=Jean Rondot, Alien Property Custodian |year=1942 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6c_sZ0m6eacC&q=hata&pg=RA1-PA195 |page=195|isbn=9780405097157 }}</ref><ref name="nytimes">{{cite news |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA081EFB3558167B93C1A91782D85F468485F9 |title=Custodian Seizes Japanese Holdings; Interests in Thirty Companies Are Taken Over |date=September 3, 1942 |work=[[New York Times]] archives }}</ref> Hata's second daughter, Kagawa Kasujiro, purchased the building at that time.<ref name="focus">{{cite web| author=Kirk Soares |date=November 29, 1988 |url={{NRHP url|id=91001087}} |title=S. Hata Building Nomination form |work=[[National Register of Historic Places]] |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |accessdate=2009-07-20 }}</ref> Because it was so solidly built, it survived the [[tsunami]] caused by the April 1, [[1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake]] that devastated much of Hilo. The train tracks of the [[Hawaii Consolidated Railway]] were destroyed in that tsunami, so the building now is on the commercial street nearest the ocean.<ref>{{cite book| title=Hawai'i:A history of the Big Island |author=Robert Oaks |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=2003 |page=84 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dtSwba95elEC&pg=PA85 |isbn=978-0-7385-2436-8 }}</ref> The path of the railroad was used for the new [[Hawaii Belt Road]] (state route 19), called the Waterfront Highway at this point.
The {{convert|18650|ft2|m2|adj=on}} building originally had a full basement, but it was filled in following another major tsunami from the [[1960 Valdivia earthquake]]. Its condition deteriorated and by 1990 it was scheduled to be demolished. David Levenson bought the property from Hata's descendants, renovated the interior while restoring the exterior, and rented it to a number of local businesses.<ref name="recent">{{cite web |url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/May/07/bz/bz04a.html |title=Historic S. Hata Building in Hilo for sale |date=May 7, 2003 |publisher=Honolulu Advertiser |author=Kevin Dayton |accessdate=2009-07-22 }}</ref> The metal awning between the two stories was replaced, but the wrought iron brackets were restored. It is located at 308 Kamehameha Avenue, coordinates {{coord|19|43|25|N|155|5|5|W|region:US-HI_type:landmark_source:dewiki |display=inline}}.
The Hilo Farmers Market was started on this block in 1988, held every Wednesday and Saturday at the end of Mamo Street.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hilofarmersmarket.com/map.html |title=Map and Directions |publisher=Hilo Farmers Market web site |accessdate=2009-07-22 }}</ref> The building was listed as state historic site 10-35-7420 on January 14, 1989<ref>[http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/hpd/register/reghaw.pdf Historic Places in Hawaii County] on official state web site</ref> and added to the [[National Register of Historic Places listings on the island of Hawaii]] on August 27, 1991 as site 91001087.<ref name="nris"/> The family formed the Sadanosuke Hata Charitable Foundation in 1999 which supports the [[Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii]] in Honolulu.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990pf_pdf_archive/990/990341146/990341146_200712_990PF.pdf |title=Sadanosuke Hata Charitable Foundation form 990 |publisher=Foundation Center web site |year=2008 |accessdate=2009-07-20 }}{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 2003 the building was sold to the Takeyama family.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hawaiipropertytax.com/Search/GenericSearch.aspx?mode=ADDRESS |title=Property Tax Record for 308 Kamehameha Avenue |publisher=County of Hawaii }}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
===Yoichi Hata=== Yoichi Hata married Naeko Hirata in 1905, and they had 8 sons and 1 daughter.<ref name="curtis">{{cite web| title=Dispatches by Curt |author=Curtis Narimatsu |publisher=Big Island Chronicle |accessdate=2009-07-20 |url=http://www.bigislandchronicle.com |date=July 26, 2009 }}</ref> These include Susumu (1917–2003), Yukiko (1918–2000), Minoru, Akira, Yoshimi, Frank J. and others.<ref>{{cite web |title=Obituaries |publisher= [[Honolulu Star-Bulletin]] |url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/2003/07/08/news/obits.html |date=July 8, 2003 |accessdate=2009-07-22 }}</ref> He became a director of the newly formed Peoples Bank of Hilo on September 1, 1916.<ref>{{cite news |work=Bankers magazine |title=Peoples Bank of Hilo, Ltd |publisher=Bankers Publishing Company |volume=100 |date=January–June 1920 |page=941 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zGc9AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA941 }}</ref> The Y. Hata company was incorporated as a separate entity in 1922, and is still run by a descendant. Branches were opened in Osaka in 1936 and Honolulu in 1937. After the 1960 tsunami, the original wholesale building on Ponahawai Street was abandoned, and offices were moved to a new industrial area, 300 Kanoelehua Avenue in Hilo, and 285 Sand Island Road in Honolulu. In addition to food distribution to markets across the Hawaiian islands, restaurant supplies and chef services are now offered. They are also the major supplier to the U.S. military in Hawaii.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yhata.com/main.html |title=About Us |publisher=Y. Hata & Company, Limited official web site |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413011908/http://www.yhata.com/main.html |archive-date=2009-04-13 }}</ref> Yoichi's son Minoru was CEO from the 1960s until the late 90s and then Yoichi's son Frank was chairman until 2008, and Frank's son Russell Hata took over in May, 2008.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2008/05/05/daily73.html |title=Y. Hata names interim CEO and president |publisher=Pacific Business News |date=May 9, 2008 |accessdate=2009-07-18}}</ref>
[[Image:Mokupapapa Discovery Center.jpg|left|thumb|150px|An exhibit at the discovery center]]
==Mokupāpapa Discovery Center== {{Promotional section|date=July 2025}} The Mokupāpapa Discovery Center has moved down the street into the historical Koehnen Building (76 Kamehameha Ave., Hilo, HI).
In May 2003, the '''Mokupāpapa Discovery Center''' opened in the restored S. Hata building.<ref name="center">{{cite web |url=http://www.hawaiireef.noaa.gov/education/center.html |title=Mokupāpapa: Discovery Center |publisher=Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve |access-date=2009-09-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506060617/http://www.hawaiireef.noaa.gov/education/center.html |archive-date=2009-05-06 }}</ref> It displays educational interactive exhibits on the [[Leeward Islands]], which are protected along with their surrounding waters as the [[Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/education/center.html |title=Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument |publisher=official web site, [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |accessdate=2009-09-13 }}</ref> The name comes from ''Mokupāpapa'' in the [[Hawaiian language]] which means "flat/low reef island". This name was used in chants of [[Ancient Hawaii]], perhaps referring to the area now known as [[French Frigate Shoals]], or the northwestern islands in general.<ref name="atlas">{{cite book| author=Larry L. Kimura |editor=Juvik and Juvik |year=1998 |title=Atlas of Hawaii |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=978-0-8248-2125-8 |page=27 }}</ref> The Northwestern islands stretch for hundreds of miles northwest of the main [[Hawaiian Islands]]; the discovery center is on the southeasternmost island in the chain, Hawai'i Island, which is the youngest and farthest away from the much older kūpuna islands in the Monument.<ref name="atlas"/>
A {{convert|3500|USgal|L|adj=on}} salt-water aquarium displays some of the fish found on Hawaiian reefs. One entire wall is covered by a large mural painted by local artist Layne Luna depicting the coral reef ecosystems found in the leeward islands. Layne Luna also created several life-sized models of life sized sharks, fish and manta ray that hang from the ceiling. Another exhibit plays a recording of the creation chant of [[Hawaiian mythology]] known as [[Kumulipo]]. Signs are in the [[Hawaiian language]] and English.
Admission to the new center is still free although donations are accepted to support all of the National Marine Sanctuaries. It is open Tuesday through Saturday 9AM to 4PM, closed on Federal holidays.<ref name="center"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commonscat-inline}} *[http://papahanaumokuakea.gov/education/center.html Mokupāpapa: Discovery Center]
{{Hilo, Hawaii}} {{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hata, S., Building}} [[Category:Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii]] [[Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1912]] [[Category:Natural history museums in Hawaii]] [[Category:Museums in Hilo, Hawaii]] [[Category:Retail buildings in Hawaii]] [[Category:Commercial buildings in Hawaii]] [[Category:1912 establishments in Hawaii]] [[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii County, Hawaii]]