Hanamatsuri
An expression of our joy in being able to encounterthe teachings of the Buddha
Rinban Kenjun Kawawata‘wa’harmony

Higashi Hongwanji
Hawaii Betsuin
Bulletin

4

April 2017

Higashi Hongwanji
Mission of Hawaii
At Higashi Hongwanji, we remaintrue to our origins
as an open Sangha, welcoming
anyone who wishes to learn more
about the Jodo Shinshu
tradition of Buddhism.
A registered 501(c)3 organization
Rinban: Kenjun Kawawata
Minister: Koen Kikuchi
President: Faye Shigemura
Vice President: Jonathan Tani
Secretary: Debra Saiki
Treasurer: Edmund Nakano
Asst. Sec’y & Auditor: Ken Saiki
1685 Alaneo Street
Honolulu, HI 96817
Tel: (808) 531-9088
Fax: (808) 531-3265
Email: betsuin@hhbt-hi.org
Wa is published monthly byHigashi Hongwanji Missionof Hawaii for its members
and friends. Comments,
articles and other items for
publication consideration
are welcomed.
Editor: Ken Saiki

In April we celebrate the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha. In Japanese, thiscelebration is called Hanamatsuri, or Flower Festival.
It is said that when Buddha was born, he walked seven steps andpointed his right finger to the sky and his left finger to the ground. Then
representing all human beings and all living beings, Buddha said, “Abovethe heaven, below the heaven, I am the only noble one,” which means all
the lives have the same quality as Buddha’s life and all lives are very unique,precious and important.
Our life is so important and precious because we get
only one chance to live this life right now. There are noother chances. Furthermore, no one else can have your life.
You cannot exchange your life for another. Each individuallife is unique. You are the only one who can live your life,
and it can only be lived right now, not at some other time.
That is why your life is precious and important. Just as
important, we must realize that other lives are unique,precious and important, too. Therefore we have to respect
Rinban Kenjun Kawawata
each other and each other’s lives.
Rev. Kenko Yamashita, who was a bishop in the Soto Zen school inNorth America, once said, “People’s lifestyles are different in this world. But
regardless of circumstances, all people around the world have experiencesthat are both happy and sad.”
We’ve all seen swans swimming gracefully across a pond. If we wereable to look into the water, we would see that swan’s feet are moving
constantly in order to propel the swan towards its destination. All we see
from our perspective, however, is the swan gliding effortlessly above thewater. Like swans, people have experiences and difficulties that are unseen
by others.
Buddha said that life is suffering. We live everyday trying our best to
resolve the difficulties we encounter without much success.
(cont’d on p. 2)

Hanamatsuri 2017

Please join us for our special service commemorating the Buddha’s birthBetsuin Hanamatsuri service
Sunday, April 9 at 10:00 am
Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii
1685 Alaneo St. (corner N. Kuakini St.)
Ph. 531-9088 for more information
Hanamatsuri melodies by
The Dharma Hawaiians ukulele ensemble
Dharma message by Rev. Koen Kikuchi
Light lunch will be served
immediately following the service.

HANAMATSURI (cont’d from p. 1)
The life of Shakyamuni Buddha
was no different. He was born as
prince of the Shakya Clan. He had
everything one could imagine for a
happy life.
However, he had the sameanxieties and sufferings of aging,illness and death as other humanbeings. He realized that there wasno escape from this reality. So he left
his home palace and his family life
to become a monk, searching for theway to true peace.
For six years he had learned frommany teachers, and followed ascetic
practices. However he could not
find any answers that truly fulfilled
him. As a result, he quit his ascetic
practices, sat under the Bodhi tree
and started to meditate on his life
from the beginning.
A week later he attained hissought-after enlightenment. He had
become a Buddha.
A Buddha is a person who hasawakened to truth, or one’s true
self. He realized that he himself was
an example of impermanence andcould not escape from this reality
and truth. He started sharing thistruth called Dharma with others. He
taught and shared the dharma for
45 years and opened the path for
all humans. So Shakyamuni Buddha
still lives in our lives through theteaching of Nembutsu.
The celebration of Hanamatsuri,therefore, is not only the celebrationof the birth of one person who
lived in history. Hanamatsuri is
an expression of our joy in being
able to encounter the teachings ofthe Buddha. Let us reflect on theBuddha’s life and his teachings inour own lives.
I would like to invite everyone
to join us at our Betsuin’s
Hanamatsuri Buddha Day service
on April 9, starting at 10:00 am.
Take part in the tradition of pouring
amacha, or sweet tea, on theflower-decorated tanjobutsu, or
statue of baby Buddha.
“Happy birthday, Buddha, andHappy Birthday, Everyone!”Thank you in gassho,Rinban Kenjun Kawawata

2「花祭り」とは？ What is Hanamatsuri?

Hanamatsuri means “flowerfestival.” It is the popularname for the Buddha’s birthday
celebration, which falls on the 8thof April and is traditionally calledbussho-e, tanjo-e, kanbutsu-e and
Shakuson gotan-e.
The first Hanamatsuri
celebration was held in Hibiya
Park, Tokyo, in 1917 by a joint
group of Buddhists, headed byAndo Ryogan and Watanabe
Kaikyoku.
This, however, was procededby a birthday celebration for theBuddha held in Berlin in 1901 by

a group of 18 Japanese scholars
who were studying there at thetime, including Sonoda Shue,
Haga Yaichi, Anezaki Masaharu,
Minobe Tatsukichi, Matsumoto
Bunzaburo, Ikeyama Eikichi andChikazumi Jokan. They called thiscelebration Blumfest, German for“flower festival,” which is the originof Hanamatsuri.
The term is also used for
the Shinto ceremonies held inDecember and January in parts ofAichi Prefecture.
A Dictionary of Japanese Buddhist Terms,
Hisao Inagaki, 1984, p. 494.

Shotsuki Observance for AprilO

ur monthly shōtsuki service
on Sunday, April 16 will give
us an opportunity to remember
temple family members who
passed away in the month of Aprilof a previous year.

Kanjiro Akizuki
Shimoe Grace Fujii
Shizu Fujimoto
Haru Fujiwara
Henry K. Fukunaga
Harriet Y. Gushikuma
Kingo Gushikuma
Chotaro Hane
Suna M. Harada
Yoshiko Harauchi
Shizuko Hayase
Yoshimi Hayashi
Takeo Higa
Chougo Higuchi
Takao Imayoshi
Harue Iwaki
Tadao Iwasaki
Ralph Kikuo Kaizuka
Dennis K. Kanemori
Kikue Kaneshiro
Hoichi Kashiwabara
George Makoto Kaya
Makoto KayaJean Misao Kobata
Uto Koja
Herbert S. Kondo
Tsunano Koyanagi
Masaru Kudo

Harry M. Kumamoto
Heoji Kumashiro
Takeo Kunimoto
Taki Kurisaki
Kimino Matsuda
Yasu Matsuda
Edwin S. Matsuoka
Classie A. McForland
Harue Miike
Misue Miyamoto
Chieko Moriguchi
Kihei Moriguchi
Clarence T. Motoyama
Takino Motoyama
Henry Kichio Mukai
Ginichi Murakami
Toyoko Murotake
Mutsu Nakagawa
Myles M. Nakatsu
Mitsue Nakayama
Violet Y. Nakayama
Helen H. Narimasu
Patsy Hideko Nikaido
Takashi Nishida
Shige Nishimi
Juka Nishimura
Mume Nishimura
Shizue Nishioka

This list includes members lost
this month in the past 50 years.
If you have any questions orwould like to schedule a special
anniversary service, please call thetemple office at 531-9088.
Katsuyo Oda
Tsutomu Ogata
Yuku Ohara
George M. Omura
Larry Seiki Oshiro
Rodney Yuji Oshiro
Takashi Otsuka
Ruth Ayako Pacheco
Alice Sueko Ramos
Kiyoto Saiki
Hoichi Sakakibara
Kumeyo Sakamoto
Shinzo Sakamoto
Tane Sakamoto
Matsuhei SaruwatariKeith Mitsugi Sato
Chieko Sekiya
Take Serikawa
Ushi Shimabukuro
Takashi Shimada
Miyoko O. Shinkawa
Shigeru Shirabe
Miyoko Shiramizu
James Seiki Shiroma
Richard O. Sorida
Laura Sugai
Yutaka Sumida
Lorraine T. Sumiye

Francis Torao Suzuki
Marian Taguma
Kitsu TakagiJames N. Takayama
Hisayo Takenaka
Tatsue Takeshita
Shigeru Tanaka
Takeshi Tanaka
Umeno Tanijo
Edward Tokunaga
Edward M. Tokunaga
George M. Tokunaga
Dorothy F. Torikawa
Robert Kazuo Toyama
Haruko Tsuda
Matsue Tsuji
Richard M. Tsukiyama
Koichi Uesato
Tome Ujimori
Jean Shizuko Uyema
Yukiye UyenoMitsuyo Watanabe
Toshiharu Yamada
Kameno Yamamoto
Mitsue Yamamoto
Thomas M. Yamamoto
Shizuko Yamamura
Tamayo K. Yoshimoto
Henry Toshio Yoshino

3News on theBetsuin WirelessBrainstorming ideas for our future

Dr. Conway explains the meaning and roleof Namu Amida Butsu in Shinran’s thoughts.

Dr. Conway leads Spring seminar
Otani University lecturer Rev. Dr.
Michael Conway took a break from his
project on the mainland U.S. to present
a seminar on Shin Buddhism to Hawaii
residents on behalf of the Shinshu
Center of America on March 18 during
Spring Ohigan.
Entitled Liberation through Amida’s
Wisdom: Considerations of the 12
Names in Praise of Immeasurable Light,
Dr. Conway showed how the virtuesof Immeasurable Light were praised byShakyamuni Buddha, Master Tanluan
and finally, by Shinran in the Wasan.
By dissecting and examining thewords that comprise the nembutsu,
Dr. Conway explained that constantly
hearing and listening to what Namu
Amida Butsu means is the essence ofShin Buddhist study.

If “group-think” can help withcreative problem-solving at Fortune
500 companies, maybe it can help
generate ideas for the Betsuin.
We’re setting aside some time at
our April 23 Sunday service for abrainstorming session to help theBetsuin with new, creative ideas.
Please plan on joining this groupeffort. For this kind of activity, themore the merrier. No idea is a badidea; in fact, outside-the-box ideas
may stimulate even better solutions.
So please come and tell us! We’ll
jot down all ideas and thoughts.

Hospitalité: Welcome to Our
House is April’s featured movieMikio Kobayashi (Kenji Yamauchi)
runs a print shop in Tokyo’s downtown“Shitamachi” while living with his
young wife, Natsuki (Kiki Sugino) andEriko (Eriko Ono), his daughter fromhis former wife, Seiko (Kumi Hyodo).
The family was content with apeaceful everyday life where nothing
happened. A ruffian named Kentaro
Kagawa (Kanji Furutachi) suddenly
appears, takes over for a sick
employee, gets room & board anddisturbs the peace of the family.
Moreover, Kagawa’s “Brazilian” wifeand others enter the picture and thelife of the family is turned inside out
and upside down...

HONOLULU RAINBOW 5K EKIDEN RELAY RACE: The Higashi Hongwanji Betsuin relay team of Kevin Kawawata,Mai Kikuchi, Rev. Koen Kikuchi, Rev. Hideaki Nishihori (of Kaneohe) and Margaret Hamachi posted a 2:39:39 time
to place 63rd out of 214 entrants, crossing the finish line together with the 62nd-place Hawaii District team.

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This hilarious 2010 black comedy/
drama directed by Koji Fukuda makes
you wonder: Are illegal immigrants
and the homeless truly the ones toblame for society’s ills?
Awards include the 2010 Tokyo
International Film Festival - BestPicture and 2012 Osaka Cinema
Festival - Best New Actress.
Showtime: 6:30 pm, Tues., April 25,
95 min. Color. Japanese audio,English subtitles. Free admission. Light
refreshments, or bring to share!

歓待 (かんたい)

東京の下町で若い妻・夏希（杉野希妃）、前妻の娘・エリコ（オノ・エリコ）、出戻りの妹・清子（兵藤公美）と暮らしながら印刷屋を営む小林幹夫（山内健司）は、何も事件が起こらない平和な日常に満足していた。そんな小林家に無礼な加川花太郎（古舘寛治）という流れ者が突然現れて、一家の平和をかき乱す。その上次から次へと来訪者が訪れ、一家は対応に追われるのだが…。
賞歴： 第23回東京国際映画祭日本映
画・ある視点：最優秀作品賞、 第7回大阪シネマフェスティバル - 新人女優賞（杉野希妃)、その他 。
監督：深田晃司、 公開 : 2010年、カラー 、言語 : 日本語、 字幕 : 英語 、映時間 : 95分、4月25日(火)午後6:30時 、入場無料。

Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii
1685 Alaneo Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817

NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGEPAID
Honolulu, HIPermit No. 693

Address Service Requested

In this issue of WA...
• Hanamatsuri p. 1
• Meaning of Hanamatsuri p. 2
• April shotsuki service p. 2
• News on the Betsuin Wireless p. 3
• Spring Ohigan seminar held p. 3
• Help us brainstorm! p. 3
• Honolulu Rainbow Ekiden p. 3
• April movie: Hospitalité p. 3
• HBC Buddha Day service p. 4• Acknowledgments p. 5
• Temple activities calendar p. 6Temple Activities Calendar
APRIL64

4/2 Sun 9:30 am HBC Buddha Day service Jodo Mission			 No service at Betsuin
4/9 Sun 10 am Hanamatsuri service/Sunday school
4/9 Sun 12 pm The Larger Sutra study class			 led by Rinban Kawawata in Japanese			
Fukuhara conference room
4/11 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice			Fukuhara conference room
4/13 Thu 7 pm The Larger Sutra study class			 led by Rinban Kawawata in English			
Fukuhara conference room
4/16 Sun 10 am Shotsuki service/Sunday school
4/18 Tue 7 pm O-kō: Dharma discussion at Betsuin
4/23 Sun 10 am Sunday service/Brainstorming
4/23 Sun 12 pm Betsuin board meeting
Fukuhara conference room			
4/23 Sun 12 pm Art of Paper Folding class
4/25 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice			Fukuhara conference room(2010)
4/25 Tue 6:30 pm Movie night:			Fukuhara conference room
3/28 Tue 10 am Shinran Shōnin memorial service
3/30 Sun 10 am Sunday service/Sunday school			

MAY
5/7 Sun 10 am Shotsuki service/Sunday school
5/7 Sun 12 pm The Larger Sutra study class			 led by Rinban Kawawata in Japanese			
Fukuhara conference room
5/9 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice			Fukuhara conference room
5/11 Thu 7 pm The Larger Sutra study class			 led by Rinban Kawawata in English			
Fukuhara conference room
5/14 Sun 10 am Mother’s Day family service/			Sunday school
5/16 Tue 7 pm O-kō: Dharma discussion at Kaneohe
5/21 Sun 10 am Shinran Shonin’s Birthday service			
Sunday school
5/21 Sun 12 pm Betsuin board meeting			Fukuhara conference room
5/23 Tue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice			Fukuhara conference room
5/23 Tue 6:30 pm Movie night: Our Mother - 母べえ (1984)			
Fukuhara conference room
5/28 Sun 10 am All Wars memorial service			
Shinran Shōnin memorial service			
Sunday school

Everyone is welcome to join the morning chanting held at 7 am daily (except on Sundays & the 28th day of the month) in the Betsuin main hall.

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