Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha
Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu
Throughout the centuries,
Kotohira-gu has been a shrine
dedicated to seafaring, marine
safety, agriculture, industry andprosperity.
Kotohira-gu or its nickname
Konpira-san is said to have beenfounded on Mount Zozu in the 1stcentury to enshrine Oomono

nushi no Mikoto.
A blessing for a new boat wasperformed on June 24 for an avid
fisherman at his home in Aiea
Heights so that he and his crew
may have safe and bountiful
boating excursions.
Boat blessings may be performed

JULY 2023at the shrine, at your home or theharbor where your boat is docked.
Congratulations and may yourboat be filled with laughter andwarm memories as your discoverand explore the wide expanse ofearth's infinite beauty.

DONATIONSBill & Keiko Doughty
Bryson Goda
Seizo Imamura
Art Isa
Arthur & Becky Isa
Rodney & Sharon Isa
Maiko Jomi
James & Melba Kurashige
Bryant Lau
Byungsik Lee
Yae Miko
Steve Miwa

Back-To-School Blessing
August 6 (Sun) 10 am - 1 pm
The Back-To-School season is atime filled with capturing thelast days of summer,assembling school supplies,
coordinating new wardrobes
and adjusting to newschedules.
This is a time that brings
about a variety of emotions
for parents, teachers andstudents as a new school year
begins.

blessing seeped in ancient
tradition honoring students of
all ages so they may enjoy
learning, take delight in new
discoveries and persevere in
their studies.
Receive a blessing any time
between 10:00 am and 1:00
pm. Reservations are notrequired. Event is free andopen to the public. Street
parking on Olomea Street.

The shrine offers a special

Shinken & Marilyn Naitoh
Craig & Diane Nishida
Michael & Jennifer Sakamoto
Akiko Sanai
Gary & Linda Shinsato
Robert Stallings
Satoko Vega

Mahalo Nui Loa for your mostgenerous donations to Hawaii
Kotohira Jinsha - Hawaii Daaifu
Tenmangu, a 501(c)3 nonprofitchurch.

Dazaifu Tenmangu was established over 1,100 years ago in
Fukuoka. The shrine is dedicated to the great scholar
and statesman, Sugawara Michizane, who died in
the year 903 and subsequently became revered asa kami because of his great wisdom and character.

Your donation is tax-deductible tothe full extent of the law.

It has become the most famous shrine ofpilgrimage for students and those in education,
culture and the arts, especially calligraphy.

Ou r Feder al ID# 99-6007158

CALENDAR
AUGUST
610 am - 1 pm
Back-To-School Blessing

SEPTEM BER
13

8:30 am (ONLINE ONLY)
Reservations accepted for
Shichigosan, Totose no Oiwai,
Jusan Mairi

TSUKINAMISAIMonthly Service
The monthly Tsukinamisai service was performed onSunday, July 2 amidst Tanabata decorations.
There are no public Tsukinamisai on months withevents. August 6 is the Back-to-School Blessing and
September 3 is our Autumn Festival. Rev. Takizawa will
be performing Tsukinamisai on August 1 and September
1, internally.
As such, our next Tsukinamisai will be held on Su n day,Oct ober 22 f r om 2 pm .?

2:00 pm (INTERNAL)
Autumn Thanksgiving Festival

OCTOBER15

10 am - 1 pm
Cleanup & Prep for Shichigosan

22 - 28 - 29 9:30 - 3 pm
Shichigosan, Totose no Oiwai,
Jusan Mairi

NOVEM BER
4 - 5 - 11 - 12 - 18 - 19
9:30 am - 3 pm
Shichigosan, Totose no Oiwai,
Jusan Mairi
1912 pmShichigosan Breakdown & Cleanup

The shrine's deepest condolences
and prayers are with the family of
the late Hideyoshi Takasawa
through this time of unimaginable
loss.
Hide was the owner of Pacific
Hi-Tak and J-Shop and a longtime
supporter of the shrine.

GOKITOA long distance HappoFusagari blessing wasperformed on 7/11.
Happo Fusagari is a conceptfrom Onmyodo whichliterally means "being
blocked in 8 directions."
The eight directions are
East, West, South, North,Southeast, Southwest andNorthwest.

Shingan Joju is a ceremony thathas been in existence forthousands of years for therealization of one's wishes.

TANABATA
From ancient times, theJapanese have embraced theawes of nature by celebrating
the changing of the seasons.
Tanabata gained widespread
popularity among the generalpublic and by the 18th century
was being observed by most of
the population.
Popular customs relating to
Tanabata varies by region but all
involves the writing of wishes.
Bamboo is thought to havebecome part of the Tanabata

Onmyodo is a system ofnatural science, astronomy
and divination that wasdeveloped in Japan in the6th century.
Onmyodo is influenced bytradition for its propensity togrow straight and tall, withupward stretching branches
bearing the wishes to heaven.
The present-day Tanabata isactually a combination of several
festivals:
1) Chinese tradition called Qixi
which dates back 2600 years ago- - where young people wishedfor skills in sewing, craftsmanship and penmanship.
2) Ritual of Tanabata- tsume
where shrine maidens wovefabrics for the kami
3) Chinese legend of the two

Taoism Buddhism andConfucianism that waspopular in the 6th century.
Blessings are meant toencourage resilience to help
cope with the stress andadversities of the year.

lovers who cross the Milky Way
to meet once a year.

GIFT GIVINGThe Japanese love to give gifts.

for fellowship.

They give omiyage whenreturning from trips and bringfood and other gifts when
visiting your home.

The Japanese take gift-giving
seriously. They are also known
to give gifts in return when theyreceive gifts. This is calledokaeshi.

In Japan, there are two times ofthe year when gift giving isobligatory.
These are Ochugen or summer
gift which is given sometime inJuly or mid-August.
The other is Oseibo or winter giftwhich is to express gratitude forall they have done for someone
during the year.
Gift giving is said to find its rootsin Shinto. Gifts in the form offood and drink offerings were
given to the kami to pray for abountiful harvest, safety of theirfamily, healthy development of
their child or just a token ofappreciation for life.

Okaeshi gifts are usually half thevalue of the originally receivedgift.
In Japan, if you send a guest
home with leftovers in a plastic
container, they will return theplastic container with somethingin it - cookies, rice cakes, etc.
Gifts are covered with a sheet ofpaper called Noshi-gami which
has a decorative Noshi, type ofgift (e.g., Oseibo, Ochugen),Mizuhiki ribbon and the name ofthe sender.

given as a token of good fortune.
Noshi was originally dried
abalone, sliced and stretched out
like a ribbon. With time, folded
paper was used to symbolize theabalone.
Noshi is always used in formal
gift giving.
During the Edo period, souvenirs
were purchased during
pilgrimages to the Grand shrinesof Ise and Kotohira-gu. This
practice lives to this day
Gift giving in Japan is an act ofappreciation, a show of respect
and an observance of traditions
dating back to the 1700s.

The modern day Ochugen andOseibo still consists of food anddrink, with ham and beer being
the most popular items.
After offering these gifts to thekami, the food or drink wereshared with others. It wasthought that food and drink
shared with the kami was likehumans having a meal together

Various designs of Noshi

Standard Noshi paper
Noshi, the folded decoration isan auspicious decoration andPROPERTYDAMAGEA homeless male unlawfully
entered the shrine property inthe early hours of June 14.
He rummaged through the oldomamori, scattering them aroundthe little hut and proceeded on

to the back area whererecyclables were stored.

concrete blocks that he found in
the empty lot behind the shrine
into the preschool playground,the 2nd floor windows and atRev. Takizawa.

He then attempted to enter thebasement meeting room andwhen unable to - began kicking
the door and throwing glass
bottles throughout the property.

The police were called and apolice report filed.

When cautioned by Rev.
Takizawa, the male jumped theKama Lane fence and continued
to throw cinder blocks andThis is the second time that thismale entered the property
unlawfully. The photo below isfrom the last time he trespassed.

MAINTENANCE
Rows of thickly planted shrubs is ahandsome way to define boundarylines but like all shrubs, hedges
need daily watering, fertilizing andpruning.
As leaves multiply, a hedge can get
so thick that sunlight is unable topenetrate it, preventing propergrowth.

Honolulu's homelessness crisis isgetting worse.
In Hawaii, more and more of thehomeless population are beginning
to arm themselves. This homelessperson flashed a 3-foot branchcutter when cautioned about
urinating on the sidewalk in front of
the shrine.

For the past 2 years, the hedges
along Olomea have been pruned toencourage rejuvenation.
The thickest stems were removed
or cut at the base of the plant tostimulate new growth andrepeated for 2 years that is said tohaving a healthier shrub that'sreduced in size and maintained ataround 8 feet in height.

The feral cats are once again
destroying the lawn and plants
and using the backyard as theirlitter box.
Crushed chili pepper was spreadthroughout the back area andalong the Olomea wall where thecats enter the property.
Chili pepper is said to be a naturaland non-toxic solution that is safefor both humans and animals.