VOLUME I November 2005

a place where ancient traditions thrive

Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha
Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu
Shichigosan Children’s Festival
七五三は、子どもの厄年といわれる3歳、5歳、7歳に、厄除けと健康を祈願するため11月15 日前後に神社へ参拝する行事です。
もとは、平安貴族の家庭内の行事で、それぞれの家で吉日を選んで祝っていましたが、江戸時代末期に、11月15 日にそろって祝う風習が生まれました。
3歳・髪置き（かみおき）の儀それまで剃っていた髪を伸ばし、まげを結う男女の儀式。5歳・袴着（はかまぎ）の儀初めて袴をはく男女の儀式。やがて袴をはくのは男子だけとなり、男の子の儀式に。
7歳・帯解（おびとき）・紐落（ひもおとし）の儀帯のかわりにしていた付け紐を取り、初めて帯を結ぶ、女の子の儀式。
七五三の歴史は古く、七才までは神の子として扱われ、すくすくと無事に育ち、又これからの将来の成長と幸せを祈るためのものとして行われてきた。そんな日本の良き伝統的な儀式はきっとお子さん
自身も幼い頃の懐かしい大切な思い出となるはずです。
Mahalo for yourShichi-Go-San (七五三, literally "seven-five-three") is a traditional rite ofvolunteering yourtime and talents
passage in Japan for three and seven year-old girls and three and five year-old boys, held
annually on November 15.
Karen Fujishima-Lee
Shichigosan is said to have originated around the 12th century amongst court
Bryson Goda
nobles who would celebrate the rites of passage of their children. The ages three, five andBob Harada
seven are consistent with Japanese numerology, which dictates that odd numbers are lucky.
Stacy Hata
The practice was set to the fifteenth of the month during the Kamakura Period.
Kyoko Isa
Over time, this tradition passed to the samurai class who added a number ofSachiko Kele
Diane Nishidarituals. Children - who up until the age of three were required by custom to have shaven
Shinken Naitoh
heads - were allowed to grow
Diane Ogasawara
out their hair. Boys of age
Kumiko Sakai
five could wear hakama, theMiyono
Shimodaskirt-like garment for the firstIrene Takizawa
time, while girls of age sevenreplaced the simple cords
they used to tie their kimono with the traditional obi.
By the late 1800s, the practice was adopted amongst
commoners as well, and included the modern ritual ofvisiting a shrine to wish for a long and happy life.
Mahalo to Kumiko Sakai, Shinken Naitoh,
Bob Harada, Sachiko Kele, Kyoko Isa, Miyono
Shimoda and the instructors and students of Hanayagi
Dancing Academy for helping to make this event one
that is spiritually enriching and culturally exciting.

Tatsuya & Kimie AbeHenry Abeshima
Doug & Yuki Adams
Mike & Miyoko Adams
Susan Comes Anno
Keiko Asai
Andrew & Chiho Boyle
James Brand
Makoto & Junko Cameron
Daniel & Tomomi Dawson
Mitsue Dean
Steve & Chiharu Dreyer
Lauren Freregill
Miho Fujii
Myles & Scheryl Fujiwara
Noriko Fujisaki
Bob Harada
Lloyd & Michelle Hataishi
Greg & Leanee Hayashi
Shinichi Hiratsuka
Yoshitetsu Hirokawa
Ranelle Ho
Jennifer Holm
Ken Ikeda
Stan & Carol Imai
Kyoko Isa
Ronald & Kathleen Iwao
Harol Lyn Iwata
Alan & Keiko Jang
Kalihi YMCA Judo Booster Club
Jody KatoKyle & Yoko Kawasaki
Chris Komatsu
Tammy Kuniyoshi
Ed & Chiyoko Lau
Lillian Lee
Joe & Holly Lyons
Miles & Kumi Matsuda
David & Keiko Matsumoto

Michael McGahey
Mari Miyasaki
Ken & Shauna Miyazono
Craig & Kendra Mizota
Mizuno Family
Roy Morioka
Helen Motoyama
Paul & Shizuko Mow
Motoya & Megumi Munekata
Shinichi & Michiko Murayama
Nagasaki Kenjin Kai
Tetsuro & Naomi Nagashima
Sharon Nakai
Pat & Jeanette Nakata
Christy Ng
Atsuko Okazaki
Junko Okino
Terril Owens
Leo & Stacie Peralta
Tim & Grace Pregana
Chie RaganitRandy & Kay Ro
Bryan & Kayoko Ross
Richard & Kumiko Sakai
Wes & Lisa Sakamoto
Daniel Sakuma
Natsuko Sakuma
Dean & Stacy Shigemura
Robert & Miyono Shimoda
Donard & Mari Sonoda
Henry & Hideyo Smalls
Yuki Stoddard
Susan Takamune
Michael & Joy Tamashiro
William & Monique Todebush
Tatsuhiko & Setsuko TokuminePaul & Masako Tomita
Kenji & Hitomi Tsuzaki
Robert & Satomi Turner

Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha－Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu is a
501(c)(3) nonprofit church. All contributions are tax
deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

MAHALOSUPPORTERSfor yourgenerous donations
Uchida Family
Keita & Yuka Umeda
Stanley & Nadine Uratsuka
Yumi Ushiroda
Gary & Kyoko Vogel
Byron & Tomoko Washington
Sherrie Weeks
George & Ryoko White
Brian & Jolinda Yamamoto
Ryan & Kara Yasui
Yoshio Yasumi
Jason & Yoshiko Ymas
Shinichiro & Mikako Yonekura

SHRINE SCHEDULE
神社スケジュールDECEMBER

2005

十二月

4

Tsukinami-sai Monthly Service 月次祭

5Visit by the Japan Religion Committee
世界宗教委員会正式参拝

7

Pearl Harbor Memorial Service
パ-ルハ-バ-・メモリアル・サ-ビス

TBA Clean Up & Mochi Pounding

煤払いと餅つき30 Hatsumode Preparations

初詣準備31 Toshi koshi no O-oharae 年越の大祓

JANUARY 2006
1

Hatsumode一月

初詣

22 Sagicho Burning of the old omamori
左儀長
Tsukinami-sai Monthly Service 月次祭

Chitose Ame Candy 千歳飴
Chitose Ame or Thousand-Year candy is a special candy given to children at
Shichigosan. Unfortunately, the long, stick-like millet jelly wasn’t too popular with local
children, so the shrine opted for familiar American treats instead. However, the traditional
Chitose Ame bags are still given to participants as part of the Shichigosan tradition.
Chitose Ame was first concocted by Shichibei, a candy merchant in Asakusa during
the early 1800s. The traditional bag is adorned with auspicious symbols that reflect thewishes of parents that the child live a healthy, prosperous and long life.
The large character at the top is kotobuki, which means a long and happy life.
The rays of the sun symbolizes Japan as it is traditionally known as “The Land ofthe Rising Sun” because the imperial family is said to have descended from the sun
goddess, Amaterasu Omikami.
For the Japanese, the crane or tsuru is considered a national treasure and a symbolof good fortune and longevity because of its fabled life span of a thousand years.
Evergreen and resistant to the wind, the matsu or pine symbolizes longevity, goodfortune and steadfastness.
Plum blossoms bloom in winter symbolizing perseverance, strength and beauty.
The old couple is from an ancient legend. The old man is Jo and the old woman,
Uba known together as Jotomba. They are said to appear from the mist at Lake Takasago.
The old man and his wife are usually portrayed talking happily together, signifying a couple
living in perfect harmony. The old woman is using a broom to sweep away troubles and Jocarries a rake to rake in good fortune.
The tortoise is said to live 10,000 years. During the sea-tortoise's long life a great
deal of seaweed grows on his shell, which streams out as he swims. The seaweed is reminiscent of the straw raincoats used in the ancient province of Mino, and this form of tortoise
is often called minogame.
千歳飴は、江戸時代に浅草の飴売りの七兵衛が、紅白の棒状の飴を「千年飴」「寿命糖」と名付け、長い袋にいれて売り歩いた事が始まりとされています。袋には、鶴・亀などの長寿を表す絵柄の袋に入れられ、長寿と健康を願う縁起物となりました。七五三も節分と同じで、年の数だけ袋に入れると良いとされています。

Kalihi YMCA Judo Club moves back to YMCA
The Kalihi YMCA Judo Club, headed by Axel Obara celebrated its
50th anniversary and homecoming on Saturday, November 12 with a Shinto
blessing by Reverend
Takizawa and a buffetluncheon.
The club, foundedby Theodore Ventula, has
moved back to the Kalihi
YMCA, which has a new
four-story building, after being displaced for two years byconstruction work.
Ventula's family and martial arts notables Pat Nakata
and George Tsubota were among the special guests whoKalihi YMCA Judo Club
Kalihi YMCA Director
attended the special celebration.
Tony Pfaltzgraff

Head Instructor Axel ObaraJapanese Surnames
Most commonsurnames in Japan

A modern Japanese name consists of a family name or surname, followed by a given
name. Japanese names are usually written in kanji, (Chinese characters). The kanji for aname may have a variety of possible pronunciations.
1SatoCommon surnames in Japan include Satō (佐藤), Suzuki (鈴木)and Takahashi (高2Suzuki橋). According to estimates, there are as many as 100,000 different surnames in use today in
3Takahashi
Japan. Surnames occur with varying frequency in different regions; for example, the names
4
TanakaTamagusuku (玉城),Higa (比嘉)and Shimabukuro (島袋) are common in Okinawa but not
5Watanabe
in other parts of Japan. Many Japanese family names derive from features of the rural land6
Itoscape; for example, Ishikawa (石川) means "stony brook", Yamamoto (山本) means "the7Nakamurabase of the mountain", and Inoue (井上) means "above the well".
8Yamamoto
Given names are much more diverse in pronunciation and character usage. Male9Kobayashi
names often end in -rō (郎 son) or -ta (太 great), or contain ichi (一 first son), ji (二second son) or dai (大 great) while female names often end in -ko (子 child) or -mi (美beauty). Since 1980, the popularity of female names ending in -ko has dramatically fallen for
new baby names and some women drop the -ko upon adulthood. Other popular endings for female names include -ka (香"scent" or 花 flower) and -na (奈).
Structurally, Japanese names are simple compared with names in many other cultures. All Japanese people have
one surname and one given name with no middle name, except for the royal family whose members bear no surname.
The given name in Japanese is called the namae (名前) or shita no namae (下の名前). The surname is called myōji (苗字 or 名字). When written in Japanese, the family name precedes the given name.
Japanese names are usually written in kanji, although some names use hiragana or even katakana. The vast
majority of surnames comprise one or two kanji. Some others consist of three characters. Examples are Shōji (東海林),Gushiken (具志堅) and Kindaichi (金田一).
Names, like other Japanese words, cannot begin with the syllable n (ん、ン). A final ending n is not rare, themale names Ken, Kon, Shin and Jun are examples.
One large category of family names can be categorized as -tō names. The kanji 藤(fuji), meaning wisteria, canalso be read as tō or dō. Many Japanese people have surnames that include this kanji as the second character. This isbecause the Fujiwara clan（藤原家）gave their samurai surnames ending with the first character of their name, to denote their status in an era when commoners were not allowed surnames. Examples include Atō, Andō, Itō , Udō, Etō,Endō, Gotō, Katō, Kitō, Kudō, Kondō, Saitō, Satō, Shindō, Sudō, Naitō, Bitō, and Mutō.
Kanji names in Japan are governed by the government's rules on kanji use. There are currently 2,232 “namekanji” or jinmeiyō kanji (人名用漢字) used in personal names, and the government plans to increase this list by 578
kanji in the near future. This would be the largest increase since World War II. Only kanji which appear on the officiallist may be used in given names. This is to ensure that names can be written and read by those literate in Japanese. Rules
also govern names considered to be inappropriate; for example, in 1993 two parents who tried to name their child
Akuma (devil) were prohibited from doing so.
Because these restrictions have been confusing to say the least, many recent changes have been made to increase
rather than to decrease the number of kanji allowed for use in names. The plan to increase the number of name kanji has
been controversial, largely because Chinese characters for "cancer", "hemorrhoids" and "corpse", as well as other seemingly inappropriate kanji are among the proposed additions to the list. The government will be seeking input from thepublic before approving the list.
Most Japanese people and agencies have adopted customs to deal with these issues. Address books, for instance,
often contain furigana or hiragana characters to clarify the pronunciation of the name.
The current structure (family name + given name) did not materialize until the Meiji restoration (1868) when thegovernment made the new family registration system. Until the Meiji Restoration, only aristocrats and samurai hadsurnames. Commoners used the name of their birthplace. For example, Ichirō born in Asahi-mura (Asahi village) in theprovince of Musashi would say "Ichirō from Asahi-mura of Musashi". Merchants were named after their brands (forexample, Denbei, the owner of Sagamiya, would be Sagamiya Denbei), and farmers were named after their fathers (forexample, Torazo, whose father was Soji, would be "Torazo, son of Soji").
After the Meiji restoration of 1868, the government ordered all commoners to assume surnames in addition totheir given names: many people adopted historical names, while others simply made names up or had a local priests
make up a surname. This explains, in part, the large number of surnames in Japan, as well as their great diversity ofspellings and pronunciations.

GIFT GIVING IN JAPANThe occasions for ritual gift giving are specific andwell defined. The words for gift is okurimono (a present),
usually reciprocated by an okaeshi (return gifts) . Okurimono
means things bought, while Okaeshi, meaning return,encompasses the meaning of obligation to acknowledge eithera previous gift or previous help. The term ‘presentation’ isperhaps more appropriate for defining these gifts, because it
includes the meaning of a little token, the obligation to makea gift and to return it. Foodstuffs, sake and money are
preferred gifts.
An individual is made the recipient of gifts from anearly age, starting with the infant being taken to the local Shinto
Shrine for Hatsumiya Mairi or baby blessing and being given his or her first toys. A presentation called Shichiya isgiven on the seventh night after a child’s birth.
Gifts are offered to children at Shichigosan when a child is three, five and seven years old, traditionallyconsidered the critical years of a child’s growth. City offices offer gifts to commemorate coming of age, old age andlong marriages. Presentations are also offered to deceased ancestors at mid-summer or at the anniversaries of thedeaths of individuals.
The celebration of life events also includes the celebration of educational and work achievement. Preparing
for an exam is an occasion for giving money and omamori. Passing an exam and moving from one grade to the nextalso requires a series of gifts, diplomas and medals. These occasions are called gokaku-iwai (celebration of passing anexam).
Shushoku-iwai is usually presented to those who have landed their first full-time job. Omimai or gifts of sympathy are are offered on occasions of illness and misfortune such as fire, earthquake and robbery. Gifts called koden
are offered at funerals and returned with okaeshi, or simply ‘return gifts’. Gifts for weddings or kekkon iwai also havean okaeshi.
The offering of presents encompass more than the life cycle. Opening a new store, taking a trip, returningfrom a trip, receiving visitors, visiting friends also prompt gift-giving. Gifts of departure and arrival, senbetsu andomiyage are the most important among people who work together. Office life is full of daily giving and receiving of
cakes, drinks and tea that people bring back from a trip as omiyage souvenirs.
The annual cycle is divided into two major gift-giving seasons - mid-summer and year-end. The midsummer
gift is called ochugen, and the end of year gift is called oseibo. According to Sanwa Bank, 88.3% of people sent gifts
at ochugen, giving an average of 4.2 gifts per person; 93.3% sent oseibo at year end, giving up to 5 people, usuallyrelatives and superiors at work. These gifts cost approximately ¥3,000 each ($30), with an average of ¥4,800 ($43)
per family .
Gift exchange in these two seasons is also punctuated by the sending of greeting cards to business associates
and relatives with some households sending up to 300 ofthem.
All these gifts are complemented with the manyyear-round commercial seasons such as Mother’s Day,Father’s Day and Christmas.
Valentine’s Day is the commercially and sociallymost successful of the new gift giving seasons. The 2005
sales of chocolate gifts went up to 24.4 million tons ofchocolate or about ¥50.9 billion worth of chocolates which
women gave to their male acquaintances and superiors atwork.

Local Kine Grindz いなり寿司 Cone Sushi
いなり寿司の語源は、稲荷神の使いである狐の好物に由来する。狐の好物は、古くから鼠の油揚げとされており、狐を捕まえる時にも鼠の油揚げが用いられた。そこから、豆腐の油揚げが稲荷神に供えられるようになり、豆腐の油揚げが狐の好物になったとされる。その豆腐の油揚げを使うことから、しのだ寿司、おいなりさん、いなり寿司やきつね寿司と名付けられた。いなり寿司の発祥は、愛知県豊川市にある豊川稲荷の門前町で、天保の大飢饉の頃に考え出されたといわれる。
Cone Sushi or Inari-zushi finds its roots in the Shinto deity Inari, the god of rice. Inari
not only protects the rice harvest -- he is also the patron of prosperity for farmers and merchants,
especially those involved in rice production and food service. Inari's messenger is the magicalfox, and a pair of foxes typically flank the entrance to Inari shrines. Fox statues are found ingreat number inside and outside the twenty thousand shrines dedicated to Inari.
Inari-zushi is sometimes referred to as Kitsune-zushi (fox sushi), Shinoda-zushi, oinarisan and in Hawaii, cone sushi. A typical Inari-suzhi in Japan is actually rectangular, not the triangle-shaped sushi that we are familiar with in Hawaii. The rice that is stuffed in the sushi is also
plain vinegared rice in comparison to the vegetable mixture served in the islands. Inari-zushi issaid to have been first served in the mid-1800s at the Toyokawa Inari shrine in Aichi prefecture.

Kyushu National Museum 国立博物館
The 4th National Museum of Japan opened in October in Dazaifu, Fukuoka
Prefecture on Kyushu island. The new museum was named Kyushu National Museum and nicknamed Kyuhaku. It is the first national museum in Kyushu, which includes national art and thematic museums.
Its three sister museums are over 100 years old and specializes in fine arts.
The new museum in Dazaifu will focus on history, and the development of Japaneseculture from prehistoric times to the mid 19th century. It boasts a magnificent collection of some 920 items.
Dazaifu, has been a historic site in Japan since the 7th century, serving as themilitary and administrative center of the government as well as the diplomatic centerof Japan, hosting East Asian emissaries and guests. It also became a fierce battleground during the Mongol and Korean invasions of the 14th century. Dazaifu is also
known for its religious significance since the establishment of the Dazaifu Temmangu
Shrine. The new Kyushu National Museum is five minutes away by escalator from thegrounds of the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine.

明治26年、第36代太宰府天満宮宮司西高辻信厳公によって「鎮西博物館の太宰府設置」が提唱されて以来、百年来の念願であった「九州国立博物館」が平成17年10月に開館の運びとなりました。
九州では初めて、全国で四番目の博物館で、「アジアとの交流史から見た日本文化の形成」をテーマに開館予定となりました。太宰府天満宮
境内からエスカレーターとトンネル（動く歩道）で博物館まで5分。

Escalator from the grounds of theDazaifu Tenmangu Shrine