Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha
Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu

Ju n e 2017

An annual family blessing was performed at the shrine on May 14 with prayers that their labors be rewarded,
homes be filled with love, health, strength, laughter and protected from harm. May they also be blessed with abright future, friendship and love for each other and gratitude for all the bounties in their lives.

M AHALO f or you r don at ion s
Lance & Tomoe Au

Milton & Kathy Kwock

Dan & Christy Nishita

Anthony Fujii

Ian Lane

Davyn & Cheralyn Nishita

Rodney & Phong FujisakiMalcolm & Fran Matsuoka

Melvyn & Amy Nishita

Bryson Goda

Steven Miwa

Akiko Sanai

paper

Bob Harada

Shinken & Marilyn Naitoh

Gary & Linda Shinsato

strips

Bruce & Lynne Kauer

Diu Nguyen

Allan Takeshita

will be available inJames & Melba Kurashige

Craig & Diane Nishida

A House Blessing was performed
at a home in Kaimuki on April 29

A House Blessing was performed at aprivate home in Las Vegas on May 8

Tanabata
Tanzaku

the shrine from June 30

A Car Blessing was performedon May 14

Tor ii Gat esTorii were called Uefukazu-nogomon. It was an open gate-likestructure composed of two
pillars connected by a top lintel
or crossbar.
Occasionally the structure wasstrengthened by a secondary
crossbar held together with anuki or tie beam.
Torii are usually erected at all
entrances to a Shinto shrine toseparate the hallowed precinct
from the mundane world.
The origin of torii is unclear.
Some scholars believe that theform derives from the torana
gates found at the Great Stupa
near Bhopal in India. Other
scholars believe that they areChinese or Korean in origin.
There are an infinite variety oftorii named for the shrine itself
or for unique characteristics.
The shrine's torii is the mostorthodox of styles - Myojin Torii.
During WWII, Shinto shrinesand other Japanese Americanorganizations were considereda hub of subversive activities.
Many Isseis found it difficult tochange allegiance, however
Niseis were eager to allay
suspicions.
After the attack on Pearl Harborand amidst the prejudice andfear, several families felt
compelled to scrape off thenames of their parents orgrandparents who madecontributions towards
construction of the torii.
Look closely at the back of theshrine's main torii the next time
you're at the shrine.
76 years after the outbreak of
the war, the Stars and Stripes
can still be seen billowing overthe shrine on every U.S. holiday
and at our festivals - atestament to our unwavering
loyalty to our nation.

The once despised torii is now one that welcomes
a community of diverse people and a place wheretradition has been translated into modern relevance.

Qu ar an t in e Islan d
The first Japanese and Chinese
immigrants to the Hawaiian Islands
appeared not long after Westerncontact, but the greatest numbers
arrived in the mid-1800s to fill thelabor needs of the sugar
plantations.
After the U.S. Chinese Exclusion Actof 1882 shut off growers' access toChinese workers, they turned toJapan.

Farmers and peasants from
Kumamoto, Fukuoka, Hiroshima,
and Yamaguchi having suffered aseries of crop failures at home,eagerly filled the jobs promising
comparatively high wages.
The laborers arriving in 1868
turned to a flood by 1886 thenslowed after the turn of thecentury.
Sand Island is located at theentrance to Pearl Harbor andduring the 1800s, was known as
Quarantine Island, Kush Island orMauli-ola.
Originally there was a natural
harbor in front of Downtown
Honolulu and the early sailing shipsthat came here found their way
easily into the harbor.

Honolulu Harbor in the 1800s

The US Government established a
Quarantine station in Yokohama
and the Kingdom of Hawaii

Honolulu Harbor in the early 1800s

established inspection andquarantine facilities in Yokohama,
Kobe, Nagasaki and Hong Kong.
Despite the pre-embarkation
inspection, there remained serious
cases of epidemic diseases fromChina and Japan.
In 1869, a Quarantine station wasbuilt on the Ewa side of the island
for ships coming into the harbor.
It was Hawaii's Ellis Island and adefense against communicablediseases such as Cholera, Typhoid,Smallpox, Bubonic plague andLeprosy.
A half-mile long wooden bridge
six-feet wide was built connecting
the harbor and Quarantine Island.
The quarantine equipment thatawaited immigrants were ovens
where fifty pounds of sulfur wasburned at once along with vats forfumigating clothes and tanks for
purifying bodies.
Quarantine Island was eventually
landfilled over when the harbor
dredging started in the 1940s withall the spoil material from thedredging pumped on top ofJapanese children on Quarantine
Island in the late 1800s

the reef.
During World War II, Sand Island
was used as an Army internment
camp to house JapaneseAmericans as well as expatriatesfrom Germany, Italy and other Axis
countries living in Hawaii.
The camp opened in December
1941, soon after the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor.

Half-mile long wooden bridge connecting the harbor and Quarantine Island

Over 600 Hawaii residents, manyof them U.S. citizens, would passthrough Sand Island before it wasclosed in March 1943.

M ain t en an ce
The shrine still has several
folding chairs from the1950s that were solidly builtwith heavy materials.
Over the years paint fades
or chips and the metal rusts.
But with a bit of washing,grinding, buffing andpainting - the chairs are
slowly being rejuvenatedfor a few
more yearsof use.

CALENDAR
JUNE
31 pm
Ch in ow a Pr epar at ion s

49 am - 2 pm
Ch in ow a f or People &Pet sJULY
23 pm
Tsu k in am isai & Tan abat aAUGUSTThe Honolulu Shinto Renmei Memorial
Service was held on Sunday, May 28 atPunchbowl Cemetery of the Pacific,
Makiki and Moiliili Cemeteries

51 pm
Edu cat ion Blessin g Pr ep

610 am ~ 2 pm
Back -To-Sch ool Edu cat ion
Blessin g