Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha
Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu
VOLUME 5 ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 2015

Kanreki and Yakudoshi Blessings
In Asian cultures, the aging
process is celebrated with the honor
and recognition it deserves.
In the U.S., we worship youth
and looking young and entering our60s is approached with dread andhumor about being “over the hill” orhaving one’s “foot in the grave.”
Becoming 60 gives us an uneasy
feeling that we have moved into
unknown territory.
For most of us, the first half oflife was defined by our work; in thesecond half, we may not have a clue
as to who we really are.
Kanreki is a time tore-evaluate our lives - when we may
begin to face our mortality, getserious about what we want ourlives to be about, make transformative changes and reaffirm a sense ofgratitude for the goodness and richness of our years.

The 60s also heralds the need for
us to cultivate new relationships to ourbodies. For many of us, our bodies nolonger do what they used to. They
don’t respond with the grace and ease
they once did.
Kanreki is a time to: take stock of how life is working
for you let go of what no longer serves you Make transformative changes
 create your legacy
The Kanreki Blessing can be wonderfully life-affirming. Instead of seeing the 60s as a time of loss, see it as atime to listen to the callings of yoursoul.
Embrace and celebrate the blessings of life – it is a time of personal
renewal and empowerment.
Now is the time to continue on
your miraculous journey living life by

your heart.
Yakudoshi years, similar toKanreki are said to hold many
physical and emotional challenges, especially Dai-yaku(Major Yaku) years which are 42for men and 33 for women.
Crisis is an opportunity for
growth and Yakudoshi is a time tolook within yourself, recognize
and acknowledge the changes,
take stock of your life and set newgoals.
Yakudoshi blessings are meant
to reconnect your spirit withinto help you through the challenges
and may be performed at either
the traditional Japanese age system of kazoe or western systemof man.
The annual Kanreki & Yakudoshi Blessings were performedon Sunday, February 16.

MAHALO for your generous donations
Thomas & Linda Agawa
Aloha Koi Appreciation Society
Doughty Ohana
Elyse Farley
Elaine Fukuoka
Hanayagi Dancing Academy HF
Bob Harada
Rodney Harano
Arthur K. Isa
Kyoko Isa
Jean & Jacie Katsuda
Kyle Kawahata
Mike T. Lee

Steve Miwa
Shinken & Marilyn Naitoh
Earl Nakaya
Craig & Diane NishidaToshiko Ogura
Fumiko Sakakibara
Jay & Pauline Sakashita
Akiko Sanai
Alan Sasaki
Shirasaki Hachimangu
Irene Takizawa
Val Tsutsumi
Clyde Yamashiro

Shrine Visitors
Dr. Jay Sakashita and students from hisReligion class at Leeward Community
College visited the shrine on February 10.

Japanese Superstitions
When dining at Japanese restaurants, Takuan or
pickled radish is never served as single piece or as athreesome. Two pieces are the norm.
This custom began in the Edo Period (1603 - 1868)
when Takuan was a staple in most samurai households.
The Japanese word for one piece is hito-kire, whichsounds like the expression for killing another humanbeing. Same goes for three pieces or mi-kire, whichsounds like the expressions to kill oneself.
It is documented that the only time three pieces oftakuan was served to samurai was prior to committing
seppuku or hara-kiri.
Japanese wordplays are subtle and the basis formany of the superstitions.

Shichi-nensai Service
The Shichi-nensai or 7th year Memorial service
was conducted for Karen Fujishima Lee (HanayagiMitsuaki II) on February 8 at the shrine.
Mike Lee, relatives, fellow Natoris and Bob Harada
representing the shrine gathered to remember andcelebrate Karen’s time with us.
Every opportunity to gather in remembrance isan opportunity to thank the deceased for having
been a part of our lives, to give us the strength toaccept what is past, to appreciate what is presentand to look forward to good in our future.

8th Aloha Koi Show &9th Japan Nishikigoi Expo
The 8th International Aloha Koi Show & 9th Japan Nishiki
Koi Expo was held at the Waikiki Aquarium on February 14.
The event is sponsored by the Aloha Koi Appreciation
Society (AKAS), whose mission is to promote, create, andexpand the hobby of keeping and appreciating koi, andprovide the general public with educational informationand opportunities to see varieties of koi,
Rev. Takizawa performed the opening blessing attended
by AKAS President James Kinney, Dr. Andrew Rossiter,Executive Director of the Waikiki Aquarium, Futoshi Manoof the Dainichi Koi Farm of Niigata and Taro Kodama ofKodama Koi Farms in Mililani.

HDAHF Blessing
The annual New Years blessing for theHanayagi Dancing Academy Hawaii Foundation was performed on February 22.
The academy was established 68 years
ago by Hanayagi Mitsuaki I to preserve andperpetuate Nihon Buyo classical dance,
Nagauta and other traditional Japanese artforms.
Instructors announced the birth of a new
Shihan Dance Master - Hanayagi Mitsujyuro(Bryson Goda) and a new Natori Instructor Hanayagi Mitsufujika (Alyssa Fujihahara).

A house blessing was performed at a new Kakaako
condo unit on February 19.
Many of you have gone to a home or business andhave had to leave soon after because of a "bad" feeling.
Maybe you decided not to rent that apartment becauseof bad "vibes". Inanimate objects such as houses, buildings, and businesses take on the predominate energy of
the individuals living or working in them.
Every home, building, piece of furniture, and clothing
carries the energies of those who made the object, whosold it, and those who previously owned it. Theirenergies are impregnated into the objects and spiritualcleansing or purification is a method of eliminatingthese unwanted energies.
The Ie-barai is a traditional purification rite meant
to cleanse all old, stagnant or negative energies fromyour home, replacing it with positive and upliftingenergies to bring balance and harmony to the home.

House Blessing

Shrine Maintenance
The Kegyo of the shrine’s roof cracked and fell off a
few months ago.
Kegyo is a decorative roof plaque that is placed on thegables of roofs to hide the end of the beam and toprotect them from the elements. It was thought to protect the wooden structure from fire if fish motifs or design elements related to water
were used.
Kegyo is an important part of Japanese architecture and was imported to Japan from China around the 8th century. The shrine’s kegyo
was created using waves and cloud motifs by shrine members in 1981.
The cracked kegyo was repaired and restored by Bob Harada andIvan Sugai on January 31.
A big mahalo also goes out to Val Tsutsumi for her donation of ficus
trees and Mike Lee for transplanting them into large pots for use during Hatsumode, when thousands ofomikuji fortunes are tied to the shrine’s
potted ficus trees.
Several potted ficus trees fell victim
to carbon dioxide suffocation from airborne pollutants - gases, such as nitrogenoxide, carbon monoxide and tiny solids
called ultrafine particulate matter. Not only
are the ultrafine particulates from vehicles akiller of plant life, they
are the biggest threat
Branches blackened by vehicle emissions and ultrafine
to public health.
particulates
Thousands dieeach year as a resultof respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological disease from exposure
to ultrafine particulate matter.
Air Pollution is one of the larger mirrors of man’s follies, and achallenge we need to overcome to see a tomorrow on this planet.

UPCOMING EVENTS

A Japanese tourist left her wallet containing several hundred dollars in theshrine in early February.
Miraculously, the wallet went undetected until
found byRev Takizawa.
Thewallet wasreunited
with its
owner laterthat day.

www.e-shrine.org