Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha
Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu

M ay 2017

The annual blessing of Hanayagi Dancing Academy Hawaii Foundation (HDAHF) was performed on 4/2. Inattendance was President Jensen Toma, Principal and Dance Master Hanayagi Mitsujyuro, Vice Principal Hanayagi
Mitsuakemi, Natori instructors and students. HDAHF is the longest continuing contributors to the perpetuation ofclassical Japanese dance and Nagauta in Hawaii.

M AHALO
f or you r don at ion s
Thomas Agawa
Bill & Keiko DoughtyHanayagi Dancing Academy HFBob HaradaArashi & Pam IgarashiDorothy Kimoto
James & Melba Kurashige
Mike Lee
Steven Miwa
Yuko Morita
Shinken & Marilyn Naitoh
Yoshi & Lori Nakano
Craig & Diane Nishida
Paul & Renee Sakamoto
Akiko Sanai
Gary & Linda Shinsato
Allan Takeshita
Fukuo Wakasugi

Dr . Sh in k en
Nait oh , shrine
president did apresentation on
Shinto via Skypeon April 10 for
the WorldReligions
Class atBrighamYoung University in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dr. Elisa Pulido wrote that her class isundoubtedly one of the few classes in the US thatwere fortunate to have had the opportunity tospeak to the president of two Shinto shrines andfurther expressed that they were very impressedwith his kindness, calm manner, and lifetime ofexperience with Shinto.
Dr. Pulido's class consists of students that are
exploring belief systems without creator gods andwithout Dr. Naitoh's willingness to talk to the classfrom so great a distance, what the students
learned about Shinto would have been greatlydiminished.

Sakaki or Cleyera Japonnica isconsidered a sacred tree in
Shinto and is used to makeTama-gushi or offerings ofbranches decorated with shide
paper streamers.
Mahalo nui to Allan Tak esh it afor the gift of a thriving Sakaki
plant.

CALENDAR
The Ie-barai or House
Blessing is a traditional
Japanese purification rite
meant to cleanse all
negative energies form ourenvironment and replacing
it with a positive anduplifting energy to bringbalance and harmony tothe occupants of the home.

well being and is often
treated like a living object
as it needs to be takencare of and loved tosustain the harmony of
the home life.

House blessing at a home in
Liliha on 3/31

Many people are beginning
to realize the value ofancient wisdom as our lives
become deeply enriched byadapting the traditions ofthe past and blending itwith our own spiritual
realities.

The House Blessing aims
to "feed" the house, showproper treatment andrespect to it to create asense of peace, balanceand harmony.

House blessing at a home in
Hawaii Kai on 4/6

143 pm (Date change)
Tsu k in am isai

28

8 am
Hon olu lu Sh in t oRen m ei M em or ial
Day Ser vice

JUNE
31 pm
Ch in ow a pr ep

House blessings wereperformed on March 31,April 6, April 14, April 19and April 29.
The home is a very
important aspect in ourlives - it means security andM AY4

9 am ~ 2 pm
Ch in ow a f orHouse Blessing at a homein Aiea on 4/14w w w.f lick r .com / k ot oh ir a-dazaif uPeople & Pet s

Hon olu lu Sh in t o Ren m ei M em or ial Ser vice
In 1885 the first kanyaku imin -Japanese contract plantation workers-- arrived in Hawaii.
289 of the kanyaku imin died in theislands leaving no trace of their
existence but decrepit headstones atthe back of Makiki cemetery.
The mu-en botoke (those who diewithout descendants) left no one tocare for their graves or offer flowers,
food or prayers. They had nochildren to honor them as ancestors,
which is vastly important among
Asian cultures.
However, these early Japanese werenot forgotten. The late James
Yonemura, a past president of theUnited Japanese Society rallied
support to collect the remains of themu-en botoke in a common grave.
Plans were drawn for a 12-foot,rose-colored granite monument to beengraved and imported fromOkayama-ken.

In 1985 the Oahu Kanyaku Imin
Centennial Celebration Committee andthe Japanese Cemetery Association
started working on the Yose-bakaproject, raising almost $69,000.
Kosuke Hiramatsu, who designed
monuments for Japan's Imperial family
helped with the project.

Committee members recorded thename, date of death and prefectureof birth on each of the 289 graves.
The committee then placed notices in
the media looking for relatives whomight object to the common grave.
They received no response. The
Committee proceeded with their plan
to place the contents of 289 mu-en
botoke graves in the Imin Yosebaka
Memorial.

Yosebaka monument at Makiki
cemetery

who arrived in 1868, has a memorial
which stands next to the yose-baka.
These earlier workers came without
the contract that resulted from the1881 visit to Japan by King Kalakaua.

The Yose-baka (common grave)monument was dedicated onFebruary 8, 1986.

King Kalakaua appealed to Emperor
Meiji to resume sending workers to fill
the labor shortage on Hawaii'splantations.

Japanese plantation workers known
as gannen-mono -- the 148 Japanese

The gannenmono came to Hawaii toHon olu lu Sh in t o Ren m ei M em or ial Ser viceislands during the 1800s are alsoburied in Makiki Cemetery.
First named Waikiki Waena thenKamoiliili - Moiliili In the early 1900s
was a swamp with a few residences
and businesses.
The founding of the cemetery is
attributed to Rev. Emyo Imamura of
the Hawaii Betsuin Honpa Hongwanji.
Gannenmono Memorial at Makiki
cemeterywork on plantations without authorization from the Japanese government.
After complaints of brutal conditions
and low pay, the Meiji government
dispatched an official to investigate thesituation and an agreement wasreached on January 11, 1870, in which
the Japanese government paid to bring
40 of the gannen-mono back to Japan.
The remaining 108 continued to live
and work in Hawaii.
16 Japanese sailors who died here on
Imperial navy warships passing by theHe first established in 1906, theMissionary Institute which became theHongwanji on University Avenue.
He then turned his attention tobuilding a cemetery for his
parishioners and recruited Rev. Tessho
Kato and mission members Kametaro
Morimoto and Katsuyoshi Maeda. With
the assistance of Kamioka Contractors,
they identified a piece of property
behind Kuhio School.
The original property had 3 acres andwas acquired for $4,000. The funds
came from Makiki Cemetery ($1,500)
and the Japanese Consulate ($2,500).
The land was tested to ascertain that

there was no water underground thatwould interfere with a cemetery. The
founders then applied to the Health
Department for a permit.
Just as the cemetery was to open in
October 1908, the State informed
them that this could not be a cemeteryexclusive to Hongwanji members, butmust be open to others.
The name chosen for this cemetery
was the Japanese Kyodo Bochi orJapanese Community Cemetery.
By the 1930s, 1,800 people had beenburied in the cemetery -- after 40 years
the cemetery was filled.
In 1956 more land was acquired andthe name was changed to the Moiliili
Shin-Bochi (Moiliili New Cemetery).
The cemetery and the Hongwanji bothgrew rapidly. Many people came toMoiliili by streetcar, bus and car forohaka-mairi grave visits on Memorial
Day and obon and purchased flowers
from the flower shops along Beretania
Street.

Moiliili eventually became the "floral capital" of
Honolulu with numerous flower shops along themauka side of Beretania Street.
Today, there are 2,008 monuments and an estimatedpopulation of 10,000 souls at Moiliili Cemetery.
The Honolulu Shinto Renmei Memorial Service thisyear will be held on Sunday May 28 from 8 am.

Priests and members of Hawaii Kotohira
Jinsha-Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu, Izumo Taishakyo
Mission of HI and Daijingu Temple of HI will
participate in the offering of prayers and flowers at
Punchbowl, Makiki and Moiliili Cemeteries.

Japanese American Boy Scouts cleaning Moiliili
cemetery and placing flowers at each grave on May 30,
1932

Yoshi & Lori Hogan Nakano of Arizona visited the shrine on April 26.
Yoshi established Zen Wellness Tribe in Mew Mexico and Arizona andoffers various types of bodywork, diet consultation and Japanesehealing arts. Rev Takizawa performed the couple's wedding at theHalekulani Hotel 6 years ago on April 26, 2011.

Shrine friend Jon Lower visited theshrine on 4/27. Jon was in Florida
and New Jersey before making a pit
stop in Honolulu to visit the shrine.
Jon and his wife Axia will beworking in Osaka from May.

Love A Keiki Learning Center held
their annual Egg Hunt at the shrineon Good Friday, April 14.

M ain t en an ce
Masonry repairs
continue thanks
to Ru dy
San t iago.

Bef or e

Af t er

Mahalo to M ik e Lee for repairing
the sump pump frame on April 21.
The wooden frame suffered fromdecay and wood rot.

Repairs to the
Diamond Headside stairs werecompleted andpainted on April
16.
The last andmost difficult
section is thesecond floor
walkway which
will require
construction ofscaffolding forsome major
formwork forthe concrete
repairs.

The shrine displayed its Koi Nobori on
4/20 in celebration of Tango no Sekku
or Boy's Day.