Remembering Shinran’s Birth
A Tanjo-e service was held at the Betsuin on May 21 in celebrationof Shinran Shonin’s birth. The following is a transcript of thedharma message presented at the service by Rev. Hidesato Kita.

G‘wa’harmony

Higashi Hongwanji
Hawaii Betsuin
Bulletin

6June 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

ood morning everyone. Thank you for coming to this service.
Now, it is May. This is the time for a special sickness in Japan! What is
this sickness? It’s known as Gogatsubyō, or “May Disease”!
Because April begins the new fiscal year in schools, businesses andgovernment, May is filled with stress for students and workers. Also, the endof April and beginning of May is called Golden Week. Everyone is relaxed andhappy, but then May Sickness arrives, bringing stressand hard work! Some people actually can’t go back toschool or work because they are depressed.
So, is everyone here at the service today OK? Didyou want to come to this service? Just so you know,
I am OK, too. I live in Hawaii, I like my life, and I didn’t
have Golden Week.
Today, May 21 is celebrated as Shinran Shonin’sbirthday. At our headquarters in Kyoto, Shinran
Shonin’s birthday is celebrated on April 1. Thisdifference is because Hawaii goes by the old calendar,
Rev. Hidesato Kita
and headquarters goes by the new calendar. In 2023,
we will have a big service for Shinran Shonin’s 850th birthday. The headquarters
is thinking about the theme for that event.
But for today, I would like to talk about the theme for the 800th birthdayof Shinran Shonin. Do you remember that theme? It was “Let us discover thesignificance of birth and the joy of living.”
First, what is “the significance of birth”? In general, this means that we can’t
live alone. We are all connected to lives in the past, present and future.
Second, what is “the joy of living”? In my life, I practiced and played rugby
daily as a university student. My teammates were my friends, and our success
was my treasure. I was comfortable and felt joy. These were unforgettable
experiences and wonderful memories.
However, because of unforeseen life events such as sickness and death, wecan’t connect with other people in the present or future. Also, as with my rugby
experience, joy changes or ends with my condition of aging. We can’t guess
what life will bring.
So, we need to reflect
on this theme through the“Let us discover the significanceDharma teaching and Honganof birth and the joy of living.”
Nembutsu. This teaching haslasted 800 years, and now wehave reached the present. I can say this brings us joy. Through the Dharmaand Nembutsu we can accept whatever life brings us. Joy of living is not only
pleasure, but it is also accepting Amida’s compassion and being content.
In the world today, we all want to discover the significance of birth andthe joy of living. However, instead we have wars, discrimination and world
problems. People don’t want to hurt or kill other people, and we forget thetheme of “significance of birth and the joy of living.” We have the possibilityof becoming angry and starting wars. Coming up next week, in fact, is theMemorial Day weekend. We need to remember those who died in wars.
Today I talked about Shinran Shonin’s birthday. I hope we will continue toreflect on this theme of “Let us discover the significance of birth and the joy ofliving.” Even with hard times in the world, we want to remember this theme.
Even better, we want to live by this theme.
Thank you in gassho,Rev. Hidesato Kita

Raymond Uyema

At the general membership meeting
held in February, Ray Uyema was one of
two new directors elected to the Betsuinboard. For this month’s issue of Wa, weasked Ray to tell us a little about his
background as we welcome him to theboard of directors. Here is what he would
like to share with Betsuin members.

Thank you for the privilege inserving on the Board of Higashi
Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii.
My issei grandparents were from
Chatan village in Okinawa and weremembers of the McCully Higashi
Hongwanji. My father, the late
Richard Uyema, was also a member
with my mother, Annie Kaneshiro,
who currently resides in Hawaii Kai
with my siblings. Both of my parents
farmed for a living in Kalama Valley.

I had a very limited
understanding of Buddhism. Mygrandparents had a hotokesama in
our home. I was always curious about
what our grandparents believed inand about Buddhism. My wife, Fay,and I are attending study classes,
seminars, Buddhist services andvarious temple activities to acquaintourselves with the philosophy andrituals. The classes especially offer
an opportunity to clarify rituals
and traditions which we have seenin practice. It also stretches theboundaries of our perspectives
in how we view ourselves andunderstanding how we relate to
everything else in life.
My dad passed away in 2008
and Rev. Narumichi Watanabe ofthis Betsuin officiated at his funeralservices. The following year, I received
a call from Rev. Watanabe about
the closing ceremonies of McCully
Higashi Hongwanji. The closing
involved the gathering of many oldtime members under Rev. Tamayose.
At the completion of the service,
the altar and bell were removed andrefurbished. Both items now reside at
Higashi Hongwanji Okinawa Betsuin.
This event solidified the linkage tothis Betsuin which archives our family
and McCully’s historical records, anevent that jump-started my decision

to learn more about Buddhism.
After 40 years of being employedby the U.S. Navy, six of which wasin active duty as an electronic
technician and 34 years in civil
service as an electronic engineer, Iretired in 2012.
We have two daughters, Ellise,
who resides
and works in
Washington
state andCassandra, whois completingher second
year at Pacific
LutheranUniversityin Tacoma,
Ray Uyema
Washington.
Among mypast affiliations has been presidentand director for about a decade for
the Chatan-Kadena Chojin Kai, aclub under Hawaii United Okinawa
Association, and serving on a board
committee for our homeowners
association. My spare time is spentin genealogical research andworking on an endless list of home
improvement projects.
I appreciate meeting andworking with our dedicatedmembers and look forward to taking
on the many challenges before us.

Awakening to Your Deepest Wish
Higashi Honganji Hawaii District Retreat Program

LOCAL DHARMA GATHERING

Join us on Saturday, June 3 t 10 am - 3 pm

Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaiit"MBOFP4U DPSOFS/,VBLJOJ4U t1IPOF
Guest lecturer: Rev. Marcos Jinen Sawada, Minister, Hilo Higashi Hongwanji Mission
Rev. Sawada was born in Adamantina town, São Paulo, Brazil and graduated from the Physical
Education & Sports College at São Paulo University. He was a Portuguese and Japanese
language teacher, translator and interpreter, a shiatsu seitai professional and an assistantphysical coach for professional soccer teams.
He received his Tokudo ordination in 2009, studied Buddhism at Doho University in Nagoyaand obtained his minister’s license in 2011. He worked at Honzan before arriving in Hilo in
September 2012 as resident minister at Hilo Higashi Hongwanji Mission. He and his wife,Norma, have a son, Nathan, now in the 8th grade.

2News on theBetsuin Wireless

Kawawata to commemorate theauspicious event.
Accompanying Logan to thetemple were his mother, Mari, andgrandmother, longtime member
Charlotte Tsukamoto.
The Tanjo-e service followed,
after which everyone adjourned toOtani Center to congratulate Logan,introduce him to the Kikuchi children
and have lunch together.
Welcome to the family, Logan!

(Toshiki Ayata), a cross-dressing bar
owner and his yakuza admirer, Ryu(Yutaka Matsushige); Kogure (JoeOdagiri), the neighborhood cop; andmany more charismatic characters.
This 2015 movie adaptation of the
popular Japanese television series
quickly became a box-office hit all

Gentle and wistful Midnight Dineris full of lovable, quirky characters

Logan McClenney and Rinban Kawawata
gassho during the Hatsumairi ceremony.

Combined Tanjo-e/Hatsumairi
services conducted at Betsuin
On May 21 we held our Tanjo-e
service in celebration of the birth ofShinran Shonin in conjuction with
our Hatsumairi ceremony to markthe initial visit to the temple for
infants and young children.
Following the chanting of theTanbutsu-ge sutra, four-year-old
Logan McClenney was brought
before the Buddha for the first time,and presented with a gift of onenju
and a certificate from Rinban Kenjun

June’s movie is set in the backalleys of Tokyo. Someone forgets afunerary urn in a small late-night
diner operated by the Master (KaoruKobayashi), where patrons share
their everyday problems over pork
miso soup, beer, sake and whatever
Master can muster up. The littlestories and gentle human drama is
sure to warm your heart.
There’s the disappointed mistress
Tamako (Saki Takaoka) who wasn’t
bequeathed anything by her late lover;the inexperienced Hajime (TokioEmoto), who catches her attention;
Michiru (Mikako Tabe), a penniless girlfrom Niigata who slips away without
paying her bill; a kimono-clad
restaurant owner, Chieko (Kimiko Yo),
who has a crush on the Master; Kosuzu

Mother’s Day otoki chefs & chef assistants: The temple men and friends prepared
everything from salad, entrees, side dishes and desserts for lunch after the Mother’s
Day family service May 14. They even remained to clean up afterwards. The satisfied,discriminating female members offered to grade the performance, awarding an A+!

over Asia and spawned copy-cat films
in other countries.
Showtime: 6:30 pm, Tues., June 27,
120 min. Color. Japanese audio,
English subtitles. Free admission.
Light refreshments, or bring to share!
深夜食堂 （しんやしょくどう）

街のある一角に、深夜0時になると開くめしやがある。掲げられたメニューは
豚汁定食、ビール、酒、焼酎しかないが、マスター（小林薫）ができるものだったら言えば作ってくれる。めしやにはいつもマスターの味と居心地の良さを求めて人が集まる。ある日、店に骨壷が置き忘れられていた。常連客たちが骨壷をネタにああだこうだ話に花を咲かせていたところ、久しぶりにたまこがやってくる。最近愛人を亡くした彼女は、新しいパトロンを探している最中だった。めしやに住み込みで働くことになったみちる
も、常連客のあけみに会いたいと騒ぐ謙三も、何か訳ありの様子。マスターのどこか懐かしい味は、そんな彼らのおなかも心も満たしていく。
監督：松岡錠司、 出演者： 高岡早紀、柄本時生、多部未華子、余貴美子、綾田俊樹、松重豊、オダギリジョー、公開 : 2015年、カラー 、言語 : 日本語、
字幕 : 英語 、映時間 : 120分、６月27日(火)午後6:30時 、入場無料。

3

2017 Bon Dance:
the prequelFriday & Saturday, July 14 & 15
7:00 - 10:00 pm

Just as surely and swiftly as spring brought the rain,summer will soon arrive with the obon revelry
brightly in tow.
A big caution for this year, though, is that our bondance weekend at Higashi Hongwanji Betsuin will be
the third weekend, Friday and Saturday, July 14 and 15(not the fourth weekend as you may be used to frompast years). So make sure you pull your calendar right
now to reserve Friday and Saturday, from 7 to 10 pm.
We hope you’ll be able to join us.
While you have your calendars out, you can also
mark Tuesday, July 11 for “Bon dance practice”: 6 pm
with Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko Hawaii and 7 pm with
Honolulu Fukushima Bon Dance Club.
Food, of course, is a “must-have” at bon dancesin Hawaii, and the battle is on again for the “bestest”
andagi and shave ice, and “who-piles-the-most-on-daplate” among all the bon celebrations on the island.
Yes, you can expect your favorite menu items toreturn and hope you will plan to have your dinnerwith us. Not only will you be satisfying your craving forour various specialty items, but you’ll be helping thetemple, as our bon dance food concessions serve as away for us to raise funds for our community programs.
To help us stretch our dollar even further, we’reasking your kokua for food and cash donations, too.
You’ll find our most needed items in the Top 10 bonDance donation wish list after this article.
Our popular Manto-e lanterns in memory of loved
ones who have passed will be available again thisyear. We will string them from the yagura as we havein past years. We’ll also hold Manto-e services and acandle procession on both evenings starting at 6:30 pm
immediately prior to the bon dance.
We will be publishing more about our bon dance—
including opportunities to volunteer to help, suchas stringing lanterns, food prep and staffing foodconcessions—in the July issue of our Wa newsletter.

4

If you’d like more information or have questions now,
feel free to call the temple at 531-9088 or email us at
betsuin@hhbt-hi.org.
If you haven’t washed your yukata since lastyear, you’ll get a quick lesson in the perils of humanperspiration left on cotton for one year. You may end up
having to dye your yukata a sick mustard color for thisyear, but don’t worry, we won’t reveal your secret andtell anyone why you chose that color.
While we hope you’ll wear your favorite yukata
or happi and bring a towel and fan to the bon dance,
please don’t hesitate to join the circle just as you are.
By the way, did you know that “Bon dance” spelledbackwards is “Ecnad nob”?
— Faye Shigemura

Bon Dance Donation WRank

Item

ish List

Qty. needed#10 Juice (Haw’n Sun/Aloha Maid) 8 cases#9 Bottled water
10 cases#8 Carrots, onions,potatoes
Plenty#7 Large eggs
10 doz.
#6 Flou r
50##5 Sugar50##4 Yamasa shoyu
3 gallons#3 Spam
20 cans#2 Rice60#
and finally, leading theTop 10 list,#1Cash, wh ich will allow us
to pu rchaseitems as needed.
Call 531-9088 for ou

r donations sign-up sheet.

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

NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Honolulu, HI
Permit No. 693

Address Service Requested

In this issue of WA...
t3FNFNCFSJOH4IJOSBOTCJSUIp. 1t*OUIF4QPUMJHIU3BZ6ZFNBp. 2t-PDBM%IBSNBHBUIFSJOHp. 2t/FXTPOUIF#FUTVJO8JSFMFTTp. 3t5BOKPF)BUTVNBJSJPCTFSWFEp. 3t+VOFNPWJFMidnight Diner p. 3t 2017 Bon dance - The Prequel p. 4t Acknowledgments p. 5t June shōtsuki service p. 5tTemple activities calendar p. 6

Temple Activities Calendar
JUNE
6/3
6/4
6/4
6/8
6/11
6/13
6/17
6/18
6/18
6/20
6/25
6/27
6/27
6/28

64

Sat 10 am Local Dharma Gathering
Guest speaker: Rev. Marcos Sawada
Sun 10 am Shōtsuki service/Sunday school
Sun 12 pm The Larger Sutra study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in JapaneseThu 7 pm The Larger Sutra study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in English
Sun 10 am Sunday service/Sunday schoolTue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
Fukuhara conference roomSat 10 am Oahu MAP class
Fukuhara conference roomSun 10 am Father’s Day family service
Sunday school
Sun 12 pm Betsuin board meeting
Fukuhara conference roomTue 7 pm O-kō: Dharma discussion at Betsuin
Sun 10 am Sunday service/Sunday schoolTue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practice
Fukuhara conference roomTue 6:30 pm Movie night: Midnight Diner - 深夜食堂
Fukuhara conference room
Wed 10 am Shinran Shōnin memorial service

JULY
7/2
7/2
7/3
7/9
7/11
7/11
7/13
7/14
7/15
7/16
7/17
7/18
7/23
7/23
7/23
7/25
7/25
7/28
7/30

Sun 10 am Shōtsuki service/Sunday school
Sun 12 pm The Larger Sutra study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in Japanese
Mon 10 am Betsuin study class
Sun 10 am Obon/Hatsubon service/Sunday schoolTue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practiceTue 6 pm Bon dance practice at Otani Center(6 pm: Ryukyu, 7 pm: Fukushima)
Thu 7 pm The Larger Sutra study class
led by Rinban Kawawata in English
Fri 6:30 pm Manto-e service/Bon dance
Sat 6:30 pm Manto-e service/Bon dance
Sun 9 am Bon dance cleanup (no Sunday service)
Mon 10 am Betsuin study classTue 7 pm O-kō: Dharma discussion at Kaneohe
Sun 10 am Sunday service/Sunday schoolSun 12 pm Betsuin board meeting
Sun 12 pm Art of Paper Folding classTue 3 pm Ukulele class/band practiceTue 6:30 pm Movie night: Adrift in Tokyo - 転々
Fri 10 am Shinran Shōnin memorial service
Sun 10 am Sunday 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.

5