In 1986, Reverend Nobumoto Tanahashi, a successful Japanese businessman and spiritual leader, made a significant gift to the University: the Hawaiʻi Peace Memorial. The sixteen-foot solid granite sculpture now stands outside Kennedy Theatre as a reflection of his global vision for peace. Reverend Tanahashi, who dedicated his life to forging lasting world peace as the founder of the Shinto sect Heiwa Kyokai (Order of Peace Congregation), intended his donation to honor the profound contributions of Japanese immigrants toward peace and harmony in Hawaiʻi.
Today, the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution continues this legacy through the Nobumoto Tanahashi Peace Fellowship. Each spring, funds are awarded to doctoral students engaged in dissertation projects that make significant contributions to the field of peace studies. Through the fellowship, students advance research on topics like democracy, nonviolence, conflict resolution, and environmental peacebuilding. These projects not only honor Nobumoto’s mission of world peace but also further UH Mānoa’s role as a locus for regional and global peace efforts.
Peace Through Cultural Preservation: Wiwik Dharmiasih
Wiwik Dharmiasih, one of two 2025 fellowship recipients, is a PhD student in the Department of Geography and Environment. Her research centers on protecting Bali’s subak. Subak are thousand-year-old, cooperative rice terraces that utilize an ecologically sustainable irrigation system. These culturally significant rice terraces were recognized as a UNESCO cultural landscape in 2012. With the tradition of subak farming under threat from rising tourism, Dharmiasih hopes to empower local communities and amplify their voices in decision-making to “foster sustainable peace.”
Over the summer, she conducted field research at the Subak Jatiluwih in Bali, where she documented farmers’ perspectives on the sustainability of subak being protected by the UNESCO World Heritage program. Dharmiasih connects her studies to Tanahashi’s commitment to world peace, noting, “My research supports initiatives that strengthen accountability, fairness, and equity in global peacebuilding efforts, which is directly aligned with the Nobumoto Tanahashi fellowship.”
Peace Through Inner Transformation and Music: Emi Obana
PhD student Emi Obana, who is also pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Conflict Resolution, explores peace through musical composition. Obana believes that peace within communities starts with the inner transformation of the individual, and she hopes to share her own journey with peace through the music she composes. “I was deeply inspired by Nobumoto Tanahashi and his vision,” she reflected. “He made world peace his personal mission. Going through the application process helped me reflect on what peace truly means for me, and it strengthened my resolve to make world peace my own personal mission, just as he did.” Still in the early stages of her dissertation, Obana hopes to use part of the fellowship to support a live performance of her final composition. “I hear that many compositions written for dissertations stay on the page…I want my work to be shared, to reach people, and to offer something meaningful to the local community. Knowing that this fellowship supports that possibility encourages me to move forward with hope and a deep sense of commitment.”
Nobumoto Tanahashi Fellows are selected on an annual basis by the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution and may receive up to $7000 to support their dissertation research. Full-time graduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences are encouraged to apply for the fellowship through STAR/UH Mānoa Scholarships.
