August 2005
VOLUME II Issue VIIIa place where ancient traditions thrive

Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha
Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu
Back-to-School Education Blessing Festival

Chris Lum of Honolulu was blessed by Mitsunobu Ohashi. Lum will betaking a board exam soon.

The Back to School season is a time filled with
capturing the last days of summer and at the same timeassembling school supplies, coordinating new wardrobes andadjusting to new schedules. This is a time that brings about avariety of emotions for parents, teachers and students as anew school year begins.
Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu, branch of the famous
shrine in Fukuoka offered a special blessing seeped in ancient
tradition honoring students of all ages so they may be blessedwith the spirit of learning, take delight in new discoveries andpersevere in their studies and be safe and free from violence
and crime.
Kicking off the event was a service officiated by Rev.
Takizawa and attended by President Shinken Naitoh, event
Chair Axel Obara, volunteers and vendors.

New pencils, new books, new classrooms - asstudents head back to school and colleges, we offerthem our warmest thoughts and most hopeful prayers.
To the educators that participated, a heart- felt Mahalo
for your devotion and inspiration that helps us tolearn.
Dazaifu Tenmangu is the main shrine of over
6,000 Tenmangu shrines in Japan dedicated to thegreat scholar and statesman Sugawara Michizane.
Michizane died in the year 903 and subsequently
became revered as a deity because of his great
wisdomandcharacter.
Since, Dazaifu Tenmangu has become a popular place of pilgrimage forstudents and those in education, culture and the arts, especially calligraphy.
We extend a warm Mahalo to Axel Obara for coordinating thisfestival and to the many participants and volunteers who helped to make this ameaningful and successful event.

4-year-old Kailee Kobashigawa, with her mother,
Noe, and brother Jordan

太宰府天満宮は、菅原道真公の御墓所の上に社殿を造営して、その神霊を御奉祀する神社で、「学問の神」「至誠の神」として日本全国より尊崇を集めています。
天神さまの御神徳を戴かれ心身健全にて勉学に励まれ、学業が上達致しますよう 又、 天神さまと末永く御縁を結んで戴き、学問の道に大きな成果を上げられ、清く正しく健やかに御成長されますよう 神社
ではてんじんさん学業成就の祈願用紙を本殿にお納めし、月次のお祭の際に一年を通して祈願を続けます。

MAHALOPARTNERSMAHALO SUPPORTERS for your generous donations
Thomas & Linda Agawa
Earl Family
Michiko Egawa
Chieko Fujimoto
Toshiko Fujisaki
Bryson Goda
Bob Harada
JoAnn Hino
Kyoko Isa
Dean Kagawa
Sachiko Kele

Mayumi Koizumi
Robert Lau
Chris Lum
Sumihide Maeda
Thelma Mitsuyoshi
Audrey Miyamoto
Frances Mochizuki
Roy Morioka
Shinken & Marilyn Naitoh
Hatsuko Nakazato
Craig & Diane Nishida

Axel Obara
Ann Saiki
Richard & Kumiko Sakai
Susan Sakata
Daryl Suzuki
Gary Taketa
Takashi & Tei Takizawa
Brian Toda
Margaret Tsuru
Deanne & Derek Watanabe
Yasaka Family

Kumon North America

Diamond HeadLions Club

Darin Shinagawa
Xs Energy

Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha－Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit church.
All contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extend allowed by law.

MAHALO VOLUNTEERS
Bob Harada
Emi Igarashi
Kai Igarashi
Pam Igarashi
Arthur Isa
Juston Isa

Kyoko Isa
Sachiko Kele
Brandon Lee
Audrey Miyamoto
Marilyn Naitoh
Milena Naitoh

Shinken Naitoh
Diane Nishida
Jill Nishida
Axel Obara
Mihoko Ohashi
Mitsunobu Ohashi
Back-to-School

EducationBlessing

Kumiko Sakai
Richard SakaiMiyono Shimoda
Robert Shimoda
Bryce Shinagawa
Irene Takizawa

Hiroshi Yamaji
Yasuko Yokoyama
Richard Yoshinaga

WINNERS of theHamayumi Drawing
Bryson Goda
Matthew Hino
Heidi Kubo
Naomi Lau
Robert Lau

Chris Lum
Susan Sakata
Daryl Suzuki
Garrett Taketa
Shane Watanabe

SHRINE CALENDARSEPTEMBER
4
Tsukinami-sai Monthly Service
月次祭
OCTOBER
2
Tsukinami-sai Monthly Service
月次祭
22

Clean-up & Mochi Pounding
掃除と餅つき23

Autumn Thanksgiving Festival
秋季感謝大祭NOVEMBER
1-30
Shichigosan
七五三
6

Tsukinami-sai Monthly Service
月次祭

AutumnThanksgiving
Festival秋季感謝大祭
October 23, 2005
Sunday3:00 pm

WELCOME TO HAWAII
Congratulations and Aloha to Reverend Yasaka,recipient of a trip to Hawaii with his wife in recognition of 25 yearsof loyal service to Dazaifu Tenmangu, Fukuoka. Rev. and Mrs.
Yasaka visited the Hawaii shrine on Friday, August 5.
Also from Dazaifu Tenmangu were two Miko or shrine
maidens on their first visit to the Hawaii. Naomi Manabe andChiho Wakiyama visited the shrine on Monday, August 8.
Miko (巫女)are young women in the service of Shintoshrines. The Miko tradition dates back to theprehistoric era of Japan. In ancient times,
women who went into trances andconveyed prophecy or the words of the gods
were called Miko, not unlike the Oracle atDelphi of ancient Greece.
Today, Miko are young , unmarriedfemale attendants at Shinto shrines. Roles ofthe miko included performing in ceremonial
dances (miko-mai) and assisting priests invarious ceremonies, especially weddings. The
tradition continues and today miko can befound at many Shinto shrines.

Honolulu Then….
When it opened as a "Super-Cinerama" theater in 1962,
actor Henry Fonda personally appeared to introduce the 70-ft megascreen with full stereophonic sound - a first in the islands. Since,Cinerama, on the site of the old Pawaa Theater became a precedentsetter for Consolidated. The original Pawaa Theater opened its doors
in 1929 and closed in 1961 to be renovated and renamed Cinerama..

Sensei, Sempai, and Other Terms Used in Training
What do you call your teacher? Well, besides "hey, you," for the most part, teachers of Japanese arts are generically called sensei. In general terms, sensei can be roughly translated as teacher. The literal meaning is "one who wasbornbefore;" i.e., someone older than you. Therefore, in terms of a martial art, he or she is the one with more experience who can guide you along the path.
Note here that teacher is not synonymous with "saint," "prophet," "religious savior," "spiritual counselor" or"divine being." Paying proper respect to one's teacher is only right. Treating your teacher of martial arts like a cult leader
who has all the answers to what's messed up in your life is just dangerous and bizarre.
In proper usage, the term sensei is used after the person's last name, for example, Smith sensei. This is theJapanese way of giving titles in conversation. Thus, you wouldn't say Sensei Smith, although this is a Western way (as inMr. Smith, or Sgt. Rock). Whatever dan ("black belt level") rank the person has, if he is your club's teacher, he is a sensei.
The term sensei is used in modern Japan to refer to teachers in educational institutions, in classical arts and crafts,in taiko clubs, paper airplane clubs, medical doctors, professors, dance....in short, all sorts of teaching-learning environments. Although the literal term does signify that the person has some kind of age and maturity, there is no set age marker
as to who can be called a sensei. A young person in his/her twenties teaching kindergarten can be called a sensei, as can a
90-year old master of archery. (This vagueness of age as a marker of who is a sensei should be particularly emphasized.)
Some systems also grant the titles of renshi, kyoshi and hanshi. These are derived from kyudo and academicdegrees, and may be defined as a sort of assistant professor, full professor, and tenured big-cheese professor. These are
special teaching titles, like a Ph.D., and are usually not used in addressing someone in the usual dojo conversation. Thus,
someone with a kyoshi rank is usually simply referred to, as Smith sensei, no matter his teaching license level or belt
rank, unless you are discussing that teacher in a biographical paper, introduction, or so on. In most cases, such teaching
titles are only given once the person is past the godan (fifth degree) level. They are usually bestowed in terms of teachingability and experience. Thus, you could write about someone, listing his credentials as Joe Blow, hanshi, godan, as youwould address someone in a formal text as Mr. Joe Blow, Ph.D. in Economics. But it would be awkward to address him
as such in a dojo conversation. Simply saying Blow sensei is good enough.
Recently, some Western martial arts people have grown tired of the sensei term and have tried to make up more
exotic labels for themselves, calling themselves Dai-sensei, soke-dai, and so on. This betrays, in many cases, a lack ofunderstanding of the Japanese language (and therefore calls into question these people's authenticity). Actually, soke-dai,soke-dairi, or shihandai doesn't mean "heap-big grandmaster." Soke does refer to a master instructor of a hereditary (andoften family-inherited) school. But in this case, the word dai in Japanese is not the character for "big," but "in place of."Thus, a shihandai or soke-dai or soke-dairi means "someone who teaches in temporary place of" the main instructor, forcertain reasons, such as the incapacity of the soke due to injuries or illnesses, etc.
No one is called Dai-whatever to refer to their "bigness" or "highness." In only one case, aikido's founder Ueshiba
Morihei, was called O-sensei. This long O- actually meant "big," or "main" sensei, as opposed to the run-of-the-mill sensei under him. I suppose if someone thought they were on the same level as Ueshiba, with over 50 years' worth of intense
martial arts training, he could make people in his club call him anything he wanted, including having his students call him
O-sensei, like Ueshiba, but I'd be hard pressed to keep from laughing if anyone in the United States, in this era, were toventure into that territory. Let's strive towards a little humbleness, gang.
Classical martial arts schools, or the koryu, may have terms that are unique to their schools that do, indeed, referto levels of expertise. In my own school, the Bitchu-den Takeuchi-ryu, our head instructor, the inheritor of the tradition, isreferred to as kancho, or "leader (-cho) of the hall (kan)." This term has been also used in other arts and crafts schools.
Although our system is a koryu, it makes use of the modern dan-kyu ranking system, but augments it with other terms todenote levels of mastery of more advanced methods. But in large part, teachers are usually simply referred to as sensei.
Students may be called several things. As a student of martial arts, I am often troubled over what term to use
without sounding too inflated or self-serving. The following terms carry with them a sense of deep-rooted commitment tothe arts, and at times I could not bring myself to think that I was that diligent a student. Instead, the Japanese language
allows me to simply say "I do martial arts." However, when pressed, there are certain terms that could be used.
Deshi is a term that goes back to the old crafts training system, and infers a kind of apprenticeship. In Japanese,
you can say "I am a deshi of Sato sensei" and the Japanese speaker will understand that you have an intimate and longstanding committed training regime with Sato sensei. Being an uchi-deshi is to actually live and train with the instructor'sfamily, or to study in a way that allows you direct, one-to-one contact with the teacher both within and without the dojo,
and you are also bound to perform duties beyond those in the dojo proper, like a family member.
Monjin is another term that has an even older, more classical connotation, and I would personally be wary of using it to refer to myself except in certain conversations. It literally means "someone who has entered the gates" of thetraining school, referring to a person who has passed the entrance and is firmly involved in intense training of a classicalart, craft, or even a religious sect.
Seito means "student" in the modern sense, as a student in high school or middle school. Rather than try to soundexotic, my own advice would be to call yourself a "student of such-and-such martial arts," if you were speaking in English.
Students who are older (in terms of training experience) are called your sempai; those students who went on before you. Students who are less experienced than you are your kohai, those who came after you, and those who started atroughly the same time are your dohai or dokyuusei. Although used often in Japan, I wouldn't use these terms much in a
regular American dojo, because they have certain implications. Being sempai in a Japanese training environment meansthat a person knowingly inherits a lot of responsibility for the training, health, welfare and education of those under him.
While a kohai therefore must offer respects to the sempai, in return the sempai (ideally) takes on the kohai like a protective older brother shelters and teaches his younger brother the ways of the world. Dokyuusei are expected to forge bondsof camaraderie that will weather any outside challenges or threats.
In these, and in many other Japanese terms and usages, I would offer a personal warning to any Westerner training in a traditional budo school. The terms are often laden with quite a bit of baggage that are often misunderstood or misinterpreted. Being sempai is not a privilege, but a responsibility. So if a martial arts school in America would like to institute the sempai-kohai relationship, it must be emphasized that the system was not meant to make bullies out of senior students or to act like "top dogs" due to their seniority.
The more experienced students, in fact, in a sempai-kohai system have to take more responsibility for each individual student who started after him/her. While a sempai may drive a kohai to train harder, the sempai may also have tooffer words of support, guidance and even personal help to the kohai when it comes to enduring and surviving the dojo
environment. Likewise, even if a kohai was so physically strong that he could beat up his sempai in randori or kumite, hewould have to differ to them when it comes to decision-making or other things where knowledge of the dojo history andways take precedence over technical and physical superiority. That's a hard pill to swallow in our American culture ofKing-of-the-Hill Dog-Eat-Dog competition, but think of it this way. If you were in a combat unit and if you were a buckprivate, even if you were physically stronger and tougher than the sergeant or captain, you'd listen to them as your commanding officer because, hopefully, they had more awareness of what was going on and would be looking out for yourbutt. The dojo, however civilian and non-militaristic it presently is, is an extension of that kind of group dynamics.
In addition, the way a sensei is treated in Japan is based on deep-seated cultural traditions. Some of those traditions should be transferred to budo training in the West. Others, because they are so completely alien to Western educational ways, should be investigated and perhaps altered, even in a koryu system. But this experimentation, change andcross-cultural pollination is still ongoing. As much as we learn from the Asian cultures that birthed the martial arts, thesecultures are also learning much that the West can offer. In both cases, the cultures are absorbing some of the best and(regrettably) some of the worst traits of each other.
It is up to us, as students and teachers, to try to understand both our own cultural roots, and to also try to invigorate our training with the best of Asian culture. To adopt bowing, for example, without really understanding its proper roleand meaning is to simply replay ritual for ritual's sake, without any meaning or reason. On the other hand, to quickly discard bowing as "old-fashioned" is also too simplistic. The answer to such questions of usage of terminologies and customs
are, of course, best left up to the individuals in the different martial arts. It is not my province to make any blanket judgments over ultimate terms and vocabularies short of what I have already outlined for any school other than my own.
Mahalo Muromoto sensei for allowing use of your article from Furyu, The Budo Journal. Wayne Muromoto is publisher of Furyu:
the Budo Journal and Furyu Online. He began his martial arts training some twenty-five years ago, and has spent several years
studying Urasenke chanoyu and various martial arts in Japan. He is a direct student of Ono Yotaro, headmaster of Bitchu-den Takeuchi-ryu and holds the rank of yondan (shihandai or official representative instructor under the old system) as well as the chumokuroku in that school. He is also a student of Ohmori Maso in Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu iaijutsu. Muromoto sensei has experience in a wide variety of martial arts including judo, aikido, karatedo, t'ai chi ch'uan, judo and kendo, and holds the rank of sandan
from the Zen Nihon Kendo Federation in iaido. Copyright Tengu Press and Wayne Muromoto. Used by permission. For more on
Japanese martial arts, visit Muromoto sensei’s website at www.furyu.com

Local Kine Grindz - Spam Musubi
Did you know that Hawaii’s favorite food, Musubi has it’s roots in Shinto? Musubi, is thespirit of birth and becoming - the powers of creation and harmonization and comes from the word
musu-bu which means to tie together, as in making a knot from the two ends of a string. The Shinto
concept of harmony, preservation and perpetuation of all things in nature is based on this conceptof musubi.
Before the use of chopsticks became widespread in the 8th century, rice was often rolled into a small ball so thatit could be easily picked up. During the 11th century, musubi was called tonjiki and was a “take-out” meal given by thenobility to people of lower classes to eat when they were working outdoors.
Musubi gained popularity during the Warring Years, where writings dating back to the 1600s tell us that thesamurai wrapped musubi in bamboo leaves as a quick meal on the battlefield. Musubi or onigiri, up until the late 1800s
was simply a ball of rice flavored with salt. Nori did not become widely available until the late 1800s when farming ofnori and production into sheets became widespread.
Musubi, is a Japanese staple, and is often are combined with a variety of ingredients. Spam musubi is an icon oflocal cuisine, and the subject of much curiosity among visitors and newcomers.
Though a relatively new creation - perhaps as recently as the late '80s - they'reubiquitous today, and are sold practically everywhere.
There is no definitive history for Spam Musubi, but Ann Kondo Corumin "Hawaii's 2nd Spam Cookbook" says the creator may have been Mitsuko
Kaneshiro, who first made them for her children, then started selling them out ofCity Pharmacy on Pensacola Street. By the early '80s, she was selling 500 a dayfrom her own shop, Michan's Musubi. Now, this was in the pre-acrylic-molddays, so all 500 were formed by hand.

Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha
Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu
1239 Olomea Street
Honolulu, HI 96817-3343
Visit us on the web at www.e-shrine.org