One look at the website, HanafudaHawaii.com, makes it evident that Helen Nakano is an ambassador with a grand vision in mind. “The mission of Hanafuda Hawaii is to bring generations a little closer.” During plantation times, she explained, families throughout the islands played Hanafuda. Today, however, ways for the young and old to connect are far fewer.
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii of Issei parents from Hiroshima, Japan, Nakano has seen a great deal of the world. Married to a now retired Air Force colonel, she and their family of three children have lived in Japan, Thailand, the …