The Storyteller
Statue
A bronze tribute to the kupuna (elders) who preserve Hawaii's culture, identity, and genealogy through the vital tradition of oral history.
Keeper of Tales
The Depiction
Created by local artist Shige Yamada, this sculpture depicts a Hawaiian elder seated and engrossed in sharing stories with two attentive children.
Cultural Context
Situated in the heart of modern Luxury Row, the statue serves as a grounding reminder of Hawaii's deep roots, offering a moment of calm amidst the bustling environment.
Visitor Information
Luxury Row
Found at 2114 Kalākaua Ave, directly in front of the Miu Miu store in Honolulu.
Easy Access
An outdoor public sculpture, free to visit and fully accessible 24/7. Easily viewed while walking the main strip.
Photography
A popular photo spot offering a distinct cultural contrast to the surrounding high-end retail architecture.
Find the Story
Located at 2114 Kalākaua Ave, Honolulu, HI. A tribute to the voices of the past.
Get DirectionsHistory & Background
The Storyteller Statue is a public art installation that honors the Hawaiian tradition of oral storytelling — a practice central to the transmission of culture, history, genealogy, and spiritual knowledge across generations in a society without a written language. Hawaiian oral traditions encompassed chant (mele), poetry, prayer, historical narrative, and mythology, all preserved and transmitted through the memories and voices of trained practitioners called haku mele (composers) and oli (chanters).
In traditional Hawaiian society, storytellers and chanters held positions of great social importance. They preserved the genealogies of ali'i (chiefs), recorded the deeds of warriors, documented the movements of stars and the cycles of seasons, and maintained the cosmological narratives that explained the origins of the gods, the land, and the people. This knowledge was considered sacred and was passed with great care from teacher to student across many generations.
The statue serves as a visual reminder that Hawaii's cultural richness is not merely historical but continues to live in the present through the work of practitioners, teachers, hula schools (halau hula), and communities actively engaged in cultural preservation and revitalization. The Hawaiian cultural renaissance that began in the 1970s has restored many of these practices to prominence, and storytelling in all its forms — chant, song, dance, and spoken word — remains a vital part of modern Hawaiian cultural life.
Nearby Attractions
Bishop Museum
The premier natural and cultural history museum of the Pacific, Bishop Museum in Honolulu houses one of the world's finest collections of Hawaiian royal artifacts, featherwork, and cultural objects. Its Hawaiian Hall provides essential context for understanding the traditions — including oral storytelling — that the statue honors. The museum also houses the largest collection of natural history specimens from the Pacific region.
Merrie Monarch Festival (Hilo)
Held annually in Hilo each spring, the Merrie Monarch Festival is the world's premier hula competition, celebrating the storytelling traditions of Hawaii in their most refined and culturally significant form. Hula is itself a form of storytelling — each movement of the hands, body, and face communicates specific words, places, and emotions from the accompanying chant. The festival draws competitors and audiences from across the Pacific.
Waikiki Beach
If the Storyteller Statue is in the Waikiki area, the beach itself is one of the most storied stretches of sand in the world — home to the surfing traditions that Hawaiian ali'i (royalty) practiced for centuries, and the place where Duke Kahanamoku first demonstrated Hawaiian surfing to the outside world in the early twentieth century, beginning the global spread of surf culture.