It is said that our Tanigawa family came to Hawaii from Yanai, Yamaguchi-ken, Japan, although the city was founded in 1954. The story is an interesting one beginning with Sute Tanigawa, our matriarch. She arrived in Hawaii in 1903 looking for her father who had sailed to the islands earlier. She never found him.

Jisaburo Yamamoto married Sute Tanigawa. As is customary in Japanese culture, when there are no male children to carry forth the family name, a husband will take the surname of his wife. This is how Jisaburo Yamamoto became Jisaburo Tanigawa. Jisaburo and Sute had 12 children, some of whom are still living.