Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha - Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu
APRIL 2022

The Spring Thanksgiving Festival was performed on Sunday, April 24

MAHALO for your generous Donations
Bill & Keiko Doughty

CALENDAR
MAY

Carly Fujinaka
Bryson & Reiko Goda

12 pm (INTERNAL)
Tsukinamisai Monthly Service

29

8 am (Rev. Tak izaw a on ly)
Memorial Day Service(Punchbowl, Makiki Cemetery,Moiliili Cemetery)

Miyoko Hanahara
Arthur K. Isa
Rodney & Sharon Isa
Seizo Imamura
Jaren Iwane
James & Melba Kurashige
Mike Lee
Yae Miko
Steve Miwa
Jake Nagasawa
Shinken & Marilyn NaitohCraig & Diane Nishida
Akiko Sanai
Gary & Linda Shinsato
Robert Stallings
Naomi Teramoto

Two wooden stands called An, using ahighly prized wood called Hinoki(Japanese Cypress) were fabricatedand donated by M ik e Lee.
An, also known as Hakkyaku An or
Hassoku An because of its 8 legs, wereused as tables and stands in shrines
since ancient times.
Hinoki has long been used in Japan for
its beauty, durability and natural
fragrance which wards off a host ofinsects.

JUNE
510 am - 2 pm (CANCELED)
Chinowa for People & Pets(Mark your calendars for
6/ 4/ 2023)
2 pm (INTERNAL)
Tsukinamisai Monthly Service

Visit our website at www.jinja.us

SPRING THANKSGIVING FESTIVAL
The Spring Thanksgiving Festival isa time to remember the bounties
that we receive from nature andthe friendships, kindnesses,
generosity and guidance received
from everyone who has touched
and shaped our lives.
Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha wasestablished in 1920, however, 2022
marks the 70th year since theGobunrei (essence of the kami )authorized for worship by Dazaifu
Tenmangu, Fukuoka was broughtto Hawaii.
At the urging of the Honolulu
Fukuoka Kenjin Kai and its
members - the Gobunrei washand-carried by the 38th Chief
Priest Nobu sada Nish it ak at su jiof Dazaifu Tenmangu by train fromFukuoka to Tokyo.

In 1985, the name of the shrine
was officially changed to Hawaii
Kotohira Jinsha - Hawaii Dazaifu
Tenmangu.

Nobusada Nishitakatsuji, Chief
Priest of Dazaifu Tenmangu ?
(1920 - 1987)

A few months later, Chief Priest
Nobusada Nishitakatsuji stopped
in Honolulu after receiving hisMasters from Harvard University toparticipate in a ceremony tocelebrate the new beginning.

The Gobunrei was then transported
via ship from Yokohama by Yot ar oFu jin o who arrived in Honolulu on
July 24, 1952.
Yotaro was the president of both
Fukuoka Kenjin Kai and Hawaii
Kotohira Jinsha and had a second
home in Denenchofu, Tokyo where
the Gobunrei was temporarily kept.

First Spring Thanksgiving Festival in
1953, after receiving the Dazaifu
Tenmangu Gobunrei in 1952.

SPRING THANKSGIVING FESTIVAL
The pandemic erupted in February
2020, just ahead of the 2020 SpringThanksgiving Festival.
Despite the continuing declines ininfections and easing ofrestrictions, this year 's ceremony
was performed on Sunday, April 24in the presence of the Board
members - without a congregation
and without any guests fromJapan.

The ceremony began with amoment of silence by president
Br yson Goda for the many victimsof COVID-19 and the victims ofongoing armed conflicts aroundthe globe.
The annual scholarships will beawarded to 5 students by mail Stirling Sakashita, Danielle Sato,Madisen Yasui, Tiffani Muramotoand Sara Tash.
Deaths from COVID-19 surpassed 6million globally with nearly 1
million of those deaths in the US.
Rates of infections, hospitalizationand deaths have dropped - hopefully indicating that we aretransitioning from a pandemic toan endemic state of being morepredictable and manageable.

It is with humility that we thank theBoard, Officers and our supporters
for keeping this shrine spiritually
healthy for the past two years.
We hope to be able to once again
share the spiritual traditions of ourannual Spring Thanksgiving
Festival with the community inSpring 2023.

2022 SCHOLARSHIPS
Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha- Hawaii Dazaifu
Tenmangu believes
that education is
crucial to thedevelopment of future
leaders.
The Hawaii Dazaifu
Tenmangu Scholarshipwas created in 2012
to award scholarships
to qualified applicantsattending an
accredited highschool, university or
vocational school
regardless or race,religion, sex or
national origin.
This year marks our
11th year and we are
happy to award five
outstanding students.

St ir lin g Sak ash it a and his
family have been devoted
volunteers at the shrinefor over a decade.
Stirling attended Iolani
School since Kindergarten
and was named Defensive
Player of the Year - leading
his team last year to thechampionship games ascaptain.
Stirling will be attending
the University of Chicago
this fall.

Dan ielle Sat o is an alumnaof Maryknoll High Schooland graduated from UH
Manoa in 2014 with a BA in
Psychology and a Minor inHistory.
She volunteers regularly at
the shrine and is currently
studying Japanese throughUH Manoa's OutreachCollege. She is pursuingordination and licensing asa Shinto cleric through one
of Japan's Jinja-based
Training Centers.

M adisen M ar ik o Yasu i isa senior at MoanaluaHigh School and will
graduate with honors thissummer.
Madisen will be attending
San Diego State
University as a Biology
major with plans tobecome an orthodontist.
She is a Varsity
Cheerleader at school, as
well as on the All Star
Cheer Team.

2022 SCHOLARSHIPS
Past Scholarship Recipients
2012

2016

Dakota Rei Chun

Bryson Teruo Goda

Kazuumi Fujioka

Kilala Hall

Kai Aaron Igarashi

Kyle Ling

Brenna Imada

Lucas Mattice

Stuart Pang

Zeph Kaneshiro

Tatiana Omokawa

Bethany Schwartz

Jordan Kimura

James Yonemura

Konner Uratsuka

Jeffrey Ga Min Fujioka

20172020

Geraldine Gambalan

Cassandra Carlyle

Keng-Hsien Chao

Lukela Los Banos

Cherie Ishihara

Rayce Manriki

Jill Mari MishidaSkye Sakashita

Kaylee Rafol

Daniel Song

Staci Shimamoto

Skye Miyauchi

2013

Tif f an i U'ilan iM u r am ot o is currently inher graduate year at UH
Manoa, majoring in
Computer Animation andminoring in English.
She has been with theHanayagi Dancing
Academy Hawaii Fdn
since 2012 and initiallytook shamisen beforeodori. She looks forward
to continuing with odori
and shamisen for manyyears to come.

Sar a Tash is presentlyattending PunahouSchool.
She has studied piano for
13 years and is an
excellent pianist. Sara
also loves drawing andJapanese anime.
She is planning to go tocollege on the mainland to
study aviation and to
become a professionalpilot. Sara is currently
training for her private
pilot's license.

Jensn Yasui
2014

Kody Watanabe
Dorthea Yoakum

Stacie Akemi Hata

2018

Calvin Mai

Gavin Desamito

2021

Melvin Monces

Victoria Hallett

Kody Watanabe

Scott Okamura

Taylor Suzuki

Landon Kimura

Kylie Tamashiro

Becky Isa2015

Micah Tong

Skye Miyauchi

Alexandria Carlyle

Katherine Yoakum

Dorthea Yoakum

Milena Sayaka Naitoh
John Sunahara

2019

Dane Yamada

Joseph AgagGOKITOMAINTENANCE

A House Blessing wasperformed for a brand new
home in Koa Ridge.

A car which was involved in a hit-andrun in the Moanalua area in the earlymorning hours of 3/27 was towed toand abandoned in front of the shrinea few hours after the incident.

Many of you have gone to ahome or business and felt
"bad" feelings or vibes.
House Blessings promotes
spiritual healing for yourresidence and surrounds
your environment withpositive energies.

Shattered glass, plastic and metal
debris from the wrecked vehicle wasscattered on the sidewalk and street.
Six police vehicles responded to the911 call reporting the suspicious
vehicle.

Cleaning was done on April 22, in
preparation for the 70th SpringThanksgiving Festival