A happiness shirt for Father's Day

Editor's note: Quiet Fourth of July holiday. Had time to blog about Father's Day.

This year's Father's Day was kind of a bust at the Volkmann household.

On Father's Day, Benny flew to Hawaii for a two-week training with his Navy people. The flight was in the morning, so we planned to celebrate the day before. But I didn't realize that Benny was on call that weekend. And of course, he got called into work. For the whole day. Don't you love it when other people's foolish decisions affect your fun???

But before he left, I gave him his Father's Day gift-- it was a kariyushi wear shirt.

Here is Benny modeling his kariyushi shirt right before rushing into the airport to fly to Hawaii. Like I said it was a long night and a hectic morning, so we don't have the best photo of Benny. And Olivia was asleep in the car, so she isn't in the photo with him as planned.


Haven’t heard of kariyushi? It’s Okinawa’s version of a Hawaiian aloha shirt. Kariyushi comes from the Okinawa word for happiness. (Yes, Okinawa has its own language that is different than Japanese.) During the summer months, local business men replace their traditional business wear (formal button-down shirt and necktie) for this cooler and socially acceptable alternative. The shirts, which are produced by 25 local companies, are designed to be worn untucked and reflect the laid-back style of this tropical island. It was difficult to choose a style for Benny. Most of the kariyushi shirts feature designs specific to Okinawa.

The shirts are only sold during June. Hopefully Benny continues to wear his kariyushi wear after we leave Okinawa.