Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha - Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu
FEBRUARY 2023

Cultural traditions connect us to our past and creates a sense of continuity across generations. This ohana is asource of inspiration as they have been nurturing and strengthening an unbreakable bond created by those thathave gone before them.

MAHALO for your generous Donations

CALENDAR

Dan & Chie Aramaki
Junka Bringas
Bill & Keiko Doughty
Akina Emery
Omar & Joyce Faufata
Jon Faufata
Scott Faufata OhanaBryson & Reiko Goda
Lisa Hamura
Arthur & Becky Isa
Rodney & Sharon IsaMARCHIslander Sake Brewery
Japan Airlines
James & Melba Kurashige
Bryant Lau
Matt & Jenn McNeff
Steve Miwa
Roy Morioka
Shinken & Marilyn Naitoh
Craig & Diane Nishida
Earl & Toyoko Okawa
Lois Okawa

Akiko Sanai
Emi Sato
Gary & Linda Shinsato
Chihiro Shozuya
Robert Stallings
Michael Tamashiro
Naomi Teramoto
Teruko Towata
Shizuai Tsu

5Sake Appreciation Festival

APRIL
15 1 pm
Cleanup and preparations
16Setsubun is meant to purge the homeof negativity and to keep disease andmisfortunes away.

2 pm
Spring Thanksgiving Festival
Scholarship Awards

Setsubun literally means "the changingof the seasons. "When seasons change, people are attheir most vulnerable physical stateand often catch colds, influenza andother illnesses.

2 pm

MAY72 pm
Tsukinamisai Monthly Service

26 8 am (INTERNAL)
Memorial Day Service

GOKITO Private Blessings

Ohana NY Festival

Sake, a byproduct of rice haslong been a vital part ofJapanese culture.

The shrine
participated in theannual Ohana New
Years Festival
sponsored by theJapanese Cultural
Center on Sunday,
January 15.

A blessing was performed forthe Islander Sake Brewery onJanuary 29 for their openingof a new brewery.
The new brewery is at theHapuna Golf Course in theMauna Kea Beach Resortcomplex on the Big Island.

vibrant culture of sakecrafting.
Chiaki Takahashi, thepresident of the brewery is a
PhD research scientist whotaught at Japan's National
Research Institute of Brewing.
Sake brewed in the US has
been diverse and exciting.

Due to COVID-19, thelast festival was last
held on January 13,
2019.
The festival is a great

way for thecommunity to cometogether to celebrate
the new year and
Hawaii's culturaldiversity.
M AHALO Volu n t eer sBryson Goda
Marilyn Naitoh

Islander Sake Brewery wasestablished in Honolulu in2020 with a vision tocontribute to the rich andHer goal is to share her
knowledge and techniques ofsake brewing with the next
generation of sake brewers.

Shinken Naitoh
Diane Nishida
Linda Shinsato
Naomi Teramoto

GOKITO Private Blessings
A House blessing was performed fora rental unit in Kahaluu.

Flight is a miraculous gift tohumanity.

The landlord discovered the deceased
tenant in her unit. Discovering theremains of tenant is an overwhelming
experience, however she was also
shocked at the state of the unit - - 100s of cigarette butts strewn all overthe floor, bathroom that hasn't beencleaned in 14 years, junk piled high inthe kitchen and living room floors,ceilings and walls dripping with
nicotine, etc.
The police was called
and the Coroner
determined the death
to be of natural causes.
Being a landlord
doesn't just entail
maintenance, repairs
and collecting rent.
There are alsotenant-related issues todeal with, including
untimely deaths of their

Although airlines faced adifficult environment during
the pandemic - JAL continues
to provide a prompt, safe andsecure travel experience forall passengers.
A New Years Blessing wasperformed on 1/18.
tenants.
Negative energy isparticularly powerful ina home where trauma
occurred and thislandlord was anxious tohave the house blessing
performed as soon as
the former tenant's
personal property wasremoved.

GOKITO Private Blessings

Annual Kanai Anzen Family
blessings were performed forshrine friends for a bright, healthy
and peaceful new year.

Shingan joju blessings for therealization of one's wishes wereconducted for shrine friends

Rituals like Yakudoshi blessings helpto unlock the cultural and spiritual
gifts from our ancestors.
Yakudoshi years are said to holdmany physical and emotional
challenges, especially Dai Yaku
(Major Yaku) years which are 42 formen and 33 for women.

A car blessing was conducted forshrine friends

Crisis is an opportunity for growthand Yakudoshi is a time to lookwithin yourself, recognize andacknowledge the changes, takestock of you life and set new goals.

SAGICHO - burning of the old omamori and ofuda
The annual Sagicho was performedon Sunday, January 22.
Sagicho is an ancient ceremony
originating in China to express
appreciation to and purify byburning old Juyohin which includes
ofuda, omamori, kumade, hamaya,
porcelain decorations andhamayumi that were blessed at ashrine or temple.
Renewal is central to Japanesethe environment.
This year the shrine collected 52
shipping boxes full of old juyohin
which required around two weeks
to prepare them for proper
purification and burning.
Mahalo Nui to all that participatedin Sagicho for their kokua inprepping and burning all the items.
tradition and as such, we renew
Juyohin such as omamori and ofuda
at the beginning of the year.
When you visit the shrine at
Hatsumode, we would appreciate
your depositing old omamori andother juyohin in the hut by Jan u ar y
7 of each year.
All plastic casings and metal
decorations are painstakingly
removed prior to Sagicho, toprevent toxic fumes from harmingWith the overwhelming number of
items that are turned in, we are noVisit our website at www.jinja.us

longer able to accept items thatwere not blessed at a shrine ortemple. That includes:

are unable to bring old omamori tothe shrine or if you have new years
decorations, kadomatsu, mochithat you would like to dispose place the items not accepted by theshrine in a bag, sprinkle Hawaiian
salt or any sea salt over it, thankthe omamori for their protection
and discard it with your regular
trash.

Throwback Memories

SAGICHO- burning of the old omamori- kadomatsu- Ihai tablets (for proper disposal,ihai should be returned to theBuddhist temple that performed
your ancestor 's funeral)- Mochi, Saiwaigami paper, NewYears decorations- Souvenirs and omamori-like items
from retail stores

Mahalo for your kokua inperpetuating the traditions ofSagicho.

- personal items - clothing, letters,
jewelry, books, dolls, etc.

MAHALO VOLUNTEERS

Please discard packaging from theomamori, explanation cards,
newsletters and calendars fromshrines and temples.
Mochi should be consumed. If you

Bryson Goda

Marilyn Naitoh

Arthur Isa

Shinken Naitoh

Arthur Isa, Jr.

Craig Nishida

David Jimenez

Diane Nishida

Masako Jimenez

Gary Shinsato

Serena Jimenez

Linda Shinsato

Sagicho ceremony 2006

Sagicho ceremony 2007

View event photos at: www.flickr.com/kotohira-dazaifu

MAINTENANCE
Cracks in concrete depends on manyfactors. It may indicate significant structural
distress, settlement cracking, thermal stress,weathering and corrosion of reinforcement.
The shrine walkway showed signs ofspalling. Steps were taken on 1/24 toprevent further spalling and eventual
corrosion of the rebars.
The walkway surface was power washed,spalled areas grinded - preparing it for thepouring of concrete.
An intruder enteredshrine property with a canof gasoline in the earlymorning hours of January
15.
Rev. Takizawa found theintruder sprawled out on
the steps of the hall.
When asked to leave thepremises, the intruder

became violent andattempted to throwgasoline on the Reverend.
HPD was called but theintruder left before they
arrived.
The intruder was not afamiliar face - - left on a
Biki bike, was shirtless andshoeless, with red shorts.