You wonder: How did Toshi Watabayashi become a master mahjong teacher?
He tells you: His golf game bit the dust.
There’s a bit more to it than that, but that’s as good a starting point as any. And, as Watabayashi teaches, patient effort is all it takes to get what you’re after.
It’s warm, almost uncomfortably so, on this Tuesday afternoon at the Kapahulu Center, but none of the men and women flipping tiles on the 10 or so card tables arranged in the activity area seem to notice.
The center offers a full schedule of activities for seniors — from ukulele to Zumba, Japanese sing-alongs to belly dancing — but few more popular than Watabayashi’s thrice-weekly mahjong sessions.
"Some people are shy about trying something new, but they relax when they start playing because the game is easy to learn and it’s very enjoyable," says Watabayashi, 83.
Watabayashi was born in Kohala and raised in Honolulu. The second youngest of 12 children, he attended McKinley High School and Ventura Junior College (now Ventura College) in California, where he studied to become a medical technician.
After graduation, Watabayashi landed a job at a county hospital. He stayed there for two years before enlisting in the Army to serve in the Korean War.
"I had a (draft) deferment because of my job, but I had friends who died there and so I asked them not to defer me anymore," he says. "I wanted to serve my country."
Watabayashi served for two years, then returned to Hawaii to work as a senior medical technician for the Hawaii Air National Guard and to help establish a clinic on Oahu.
Watabayashi retired from the job at age 67, but not before realizing the satisfaction of teaching others.
Watabayashi also enjoyed spending his recreational time on the links. It was only after his game began to deteriorate that he found himself looking for other ways to spend his retirement.
"Once I couldn’t break 100, I knew I had to find something easier," he says, chuckling.
And so Watabayashi paid his first visit to the Kapahulu Center, where the mahjong instructor at the time had him learn the game by sitting in with three experienced players.
Watabayashi asked copious questions, read books, practiced as much as he could. Eventually the center director asked if he would take over.
It’s been nigh a decade since Watabayashi led his first class, but his patient, supportive approach has led to scores of students adopting the game as their favorite pastime.
"It usually takes just three classes to catch on," he says. "But I never give up on any person. As long as they enjoy what they’re doing, that’s the main point."
