Lippy Espinda's pidgin ads, shaka marked local culture

By Bob Sigall

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Nov 16, 2012

~~<p>Who was the King of Pidgin? The first person to use pidgin in advertising seems to be Chotaru Miyamoto, who founded Musashiya in 1896. Residents were so delighted with his newspaper ads that began running in 1920 that they sent them to friends all over the world. It made Miyamoto famous and brought thousands to his shop.</p>
<p>Fast-forward 40 years to 1960. David Akana "Lippy" Espinda Jr. owned a used car lot and gas station on the mauka corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard. The property included the area Century Center occupies today.</p>
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Who was the King of Pidgin? The first person to use pidgin in advertising seems to be Chotaru Miyamoto, who founded Musashiya in 1896. Residents were so delighted with his newspaper ads that began running in 1920 that they sent them to friends all over the world. It made Miyamoto famous and brought thousands to his shop.

Fast-forward 40 years to 1960. David Akana "Lippy" Espinda Jr. owned a used car lot and gas station on the mauka corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard. The property included the area Century Center occupies today. Login for more...