Haw aii Kotohir a Jinsha
Haw aii Dazaifu Tenm angu

December 2016

30 members of the Japan 21st Century Religious Committee visited the shrine on December 6 as part of theirannual pilgrimage to Pearl Harbor.
This is the 35th year that a gathering of diverse religious leaders from Japan converged on Oahu to offer prayersof peace at Punchbowl, Kaneohe Marine Base, Ehimemaru Memorial and Pearl HarborMAHALO753 Volu n t eer sBONENKAI
December is thebusiest month of theyear in Japan. People
aren't busy shopping
for Christmas ? they'repartying.
Bonenkai (literally:?forget the year party?)
are the most importantparties of the year.
As the name implies, thepurpose of bonenkai is toforget the troubles of thepast year and lookforward to success in thenext.
Every company in Japan
holds at least one
bonenkai. In many cases,
bonenkai happen at thecompany, team anddepartment level.

B?nenkai are seen as
times for bureikoh orletting one's hair down
and not worrying about
the boss/employee formal
relationship or the rank
and age divisions.
Bonenkai first appears
in a document from the15th century which refers
to several yearend
convivial gatherings
among samurai calledToshi wasure or literally"forget the year " parties.

Chyson Acoba
Leina DiamondBill Doughty
Keiko Doughty
Gayle Fujihara
Yasumi Gojo
Kathy Hamada
Kwock
Miyoko Hanahara
Bob Harada

Stacie Hata
Joseph Iseri
Kaela Iwai
Lorraine Kadota
Elaine Komatsu
Sage Maxwell
Marilyn Naitoh
Shinken Naitoh
Takemi Nakasone

Craig NishidaDiane Nishida
Mikaela NishidaDiane Ogasawara
Yukiko Shishido
Kulani Simafranca

Sharon Toma
La'akea Ushiroda

M AHALO f or you r don at ion sReyn & Carrie Hata

21st Century Japan Religious Cmtte

Douglas Abe
Scott & Stephanie Agena
Tomoko Anan
Kimberly Andrada
Miho Aoki
Kyoko Arasaki
Nobuhiro Ariyoshi
Wendy Asao
Janelle Awakuni
John & Emi Bethancourt
Megumi BethelDaniel Bizen
Mika Bueza
Lorilyn Carvalho
Jerry & Yuka Chan
Cheryl Chu
Dave & Makiko Cole
Andy & Naoko Collier
Manuel & Hiroko Diones
Sean & Midori Dougherty
Bill & Keiko Doughty
Mayumi Eastman
Darren & Nicole Ebisu
Michael Farmer
Ai Forrest
Kristie Fujimoto
Shintaro Fukuda
Yuki Fukuda
Bob Harada

Wincy & Gregory Helm
Cheryl Higa
Reid & Dawn Higashi
Jon Hironaga
Hyoma Hirose
Maile Hirota
Yukino Howes
Deborah Hunt
Seiji Imamura
Keiko Inaba
Ayumu & Chie Inoue
Ryan Itoman
Cary & Debbie Izuka
Byron & Jamie Izuka
Rodney & Sharon Isa
Marcia Izawa
David & Mako Jimenez
Jinja Honcho
Margaret Kageyama
Mark & Lea Kanada
Kyle & Ai Kawabata
Kae Kawarazaki
Tomoko Kitada
Sandy & Jeff Koch
Keith & Sadie Kodani
Joy Kunishima
James & Melba Kurashige
Kayo Lambrecht
Chris & Jan Lau
Chikako Lawing

James & Lynn Lee
Mike Lee
Stephanie LumMalia Manijo
Steve Markowitz
Marylou Matsuura
Steve & Sabrina Mau
Lee & Jarren Miki
Yuko MinMarie Misawa
Corey & Traci Miyasato
Shohta Miyazaki
Sayuko Mogi
Keliann Nagamine
Lynette Nagata
Shinken & Marilyn Naitoh
Takemi Nakasone
Craig & Diane Nishida
Nana Nishimura
Warren & Pam Noguchi
Emi Ogasawara
Lori OkiMichiko Onnagan
Ronald & Clare Oshiro
Sarah Pacheco
Andrea Poaha
Rissho Kosei Kai
Rika Ryan
Emi Saegusa-Beecroft
Wakana Saigusa
Carol Saito
Akiko Sanai
Ray Sandla

Yuki Sato
Naomi Scarfone
Rick & Liann Seki
Jarrett & Alison Seo
Sara Shimabukuro
Jamie Shimozono
Gary & Linda Shinsato
Miyako Shiota
Kana Sin
Yumi Sjoblom
Ed & Erin Snyder
Gerald & Rachelle Sueyoshi
Hiromi Suganuma
Mami Sun
Katsue Teramoto
Chisato Takahashi
Larry Taki
Mimi Tilley
Daniel & Maki Tobias
Jensen & Judy Toma
Naoki & Makiko Tsukada
Noriko Uda
Dean & Yumi Ueda
Paul & Lei Umholtz
Cassie Uyekubo
Kana Vance
Aika Vivo
Hitomi Watanabe
Shannon Wright
Yohei Yamada
Consuela Yokomura
Keigo Yoshimoto
Joseph & LeeAnn YoungCongratulations to Sho and Nao! Family
members hailed from Hiroshima andYamaguchi to witness and celebrate theunion on November 11.
We wish you happiness that reaches
every corner of your hearts.

Congratulations to Mike andDiana from Texas who tied theknot on November 19.
May you always find in eachother the love, laughter andhappiness that only partners
in life share.

Congratulations to Dustin and Kyle
who were married on December 4!
Marriage is a beautiful time when twosouls start to share one heart.
Wishing two very special men a lifetime of happiness.

The most popular tradition of a Shinto wedding is the exchange of nuptial cups, called Sankon noGi or San san kudo. San means 3 and ku means 9. So, san san kudo means three, three, and nine.
The groom and bride drink sake three times each, from three different-sized cups called sakazuki.
In their exchanging of cups, they are symbolically exchanging their marriage vows.

Shrine Director Bryson Goda
performed for a Charity Concert
on 12/2 in Kumamoto, in
support of the victims of theseries of earthquakes thatshook Kumamoto this year.

The above three children and the shrine
were featured in a Shichigosan Specialon Nishi Nihon TV Fukuoka on
Wednesday, November 11.

The shrine now has power
needs beyond the design
specs from several decades
ago.

The annual Shichigosan and Jusan Mairi
blessings continued until Sunday,
November 20.

Electrical upgrades were madeto a higher amp service in theshrine and meeting room byHiroshi Denki on 12/6.

Be sure to mark your calendars for
Shichigosan and Jusan Mairi 2017.

w w w.f lick r .com / k ot oh ir a-dazaif u

M och i M ak in g
The annual Mochi making was held
on Saturday, 12/3 with the kokua ofofficers and volunteers.

DECEM BER
38:30 amM och i M ak in g & Su su bar ai

M AHALO Volu n t eer s
Keiko Doughty
Jeff Fujioka
Miyoko Hanahara
Arthur Isa
Arthur Isa Jr
Shinken Naitoh
Craig NishidaDiane Ogasawara

Roosevelt HS
Japanese Class
Gary Shinsato
Linda Shinsato
Yuko Takahashi

43 pm
Tsu k in am isai Ser vice & Bon en k ai

26 ~ 31 8:30 am - 4:00 pm
2017 Om am or i available inm eet in g r oom
30

5:30 pm
Hat su m ode pr epar at ion s

3111 pm
Tosh ik osh i n o O-h ar ae

JANUARY
1

Midnight - 5 pm
Hat su m ode

Finishing touches were made byMike Lee and Bob Harada on 12/6
to the donation board toacknowledge contributions madetowards a new stone monument tobe erected in honor of shrine
members who persisted against
overwhelming odds in a lawsuit

filed in 1949 against discriminationby the Federal Government.
The lawsuit by Kotohira Jinsha was
the first ever initiated by aJapanese organization in thehistory of the United States, paving
the way for similar lawsuits byother Japanese organizations.
The present stone monument
erected in 1965 is suffering fromcrumbly disintegration as a resultof fine particle and soot pollution
from H-1 freeway.

Mike Lee and Bob Harada
completing renovations of theinterior signage

Seizo Imamura of Osaka in front of thepaddle acknowledging his contributions
towards the stone monument

The stone monument is meant toserve as a constant reminder ofthe hardships and indignities
suffered at the hands of a nation
misguided by wartime hysteria,
racial prejudice and fear, which wemust not allow to happen again toany group, regardless of race,
religion or national origin.

w w w.f lick r .com / k ot oh ir a-dazaif u