Nihon Ukulele Association

The Nihon Ukulele Association is a Japanese association for ukulele players. It was founded in 1959 by Yukihiko Haida, a Hawaiian-born nisei who moved to Japan at a young age.

With his brother, Katsuhiko Haida, Haida formed the Moana Glee Club in 1929, but anti-Western sentiments from Japanese authority ended that association. Following World War II, Haida met Herb Ohta, an American Marine stationed in Japan, and a serious ukulele player. This discovery affirmed Haida's interest in the ukulele, and influenced him to form the Association.