Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha
Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu
VOLUME 4 ISSUE 7 JULY 2014

CUSTOM SOLUTIONSAloha, Reverend Torako Arine
Reverend Torako Airne, priestess ofMaui Jinsha passed away at the age of100, on May 16, 2014.
Maui Jinsha was established in 1914
by Rev. Masaho Matsumura of Hiroshima, who also helped establish Izumo
Taisha in Kona.
When Rev. Matsumura arrived fromthe Big Island in 1914, the Shinto
shrines in Wailuku included Kotohira
Jinsha, Lahaina Daijingu and Izumo
Taisha. There were none in Kahului
despite the large Japanese population.
Rev.Matsumura decided to establish
a shrine in Kahului, on land that wasleased from the Hawaii Commercial &Sugar plantation. The small 150-foot by
175-foot lot was located next to a Japa-

nese elementary school, near the Kahului
Fairgrounds.
A committee was formed, headed by aMr. Kaneko and $5,000 in donations
were collected from the plantation laborers.
Construction began in 1915 by volunteers, under the direction of head carpenter Seiichi Tomokiyo, an Issei fromWailuku, who also built the Paia Mantokuji Temple in 1921.
A second fundraising campaign followed for a ceremonial hall, which wascompleted under the direction of Ichisaburo Takada, of Wailuku.
Harry and Frank Baldwin contributed$500 and 1,014 individuals each pledged$1. To honor the donors, Seppo Sawada

of Wailuku was commissioned to paint"The 1,000 Horses," a large plaquewith the name of the donors painted
onto each horse. The painting still
hangs at the entrance of Maui Jinsha.
With the help of the congregation,
the shrine complex was completed inAugust, 1917.
More land was leased from Kahului
Railroad and two houses, one for theminister and another for guests, werebuilt..
In 1924, the Maui Jinsha Kyodan
formally applied for religious organization status and was recognized as an
official religious organization on September 22, 1924 by the Territory ofHawaii.
Continued on Page 6

MAHALO for your generous donations
Akiko AbikoThomas & Linda Agawa
Preston Chibana
Doughty Ohana
Yasumi Gojo
Bob Harada
Mitsuru & Pam Igarashi
Arthur K. Isa
Kyoko Isa
James & Melba Kurashige

The Fourth at the Shrine

Upcoming Events

Mike Lee
Rev. Takakazu Maeda
Matsumoto Ohana
Shinken & Marilyn Naitoh
Travis Nakamura
Chadwick & Kanako Ngai
Craig & Diane Nishida
Akiko Sanai
Sayumi Bridal

Celebrate America,a country inclusive ofdiversity and dedicated toadvancing the basic
principles upon which thisnation was founded - - establishing the equalityand dignity of all people.

September 28
3:00 pm

Visit www.e-shrine.org for
updated information

Maintenance Projects
Maintenance projects were done on
Friday and Saturday, July 4 and 5.
Mahalo Nui to Bob Harada and Ivan
Sugawa for installing motion sensor lights
under the shrine eaves and painting overgraffiti on the Olomea Street rock wall.

Wedding Joy Repeats Itself
History repeated itself when Emi Matsumoto and Yohei Wasa of Tokyo weremarried at the shrine on June 25, 2014.
Mr. and Mrs. Matsumoto, Emi’s parents were also married at the shrine
36 years earlier, in 1978. Not many Japanese tourists were married in Hawaii in thelate 1970s, especially at a Shinto shrine.
Mr. and Mrs. Matsumoto said that all the memories of their trip to Hawaii andwedding day in 1978 were revived. Their Best Man and Maid of Honor who are residents of Honolulu, joined them in celebrating the marriage of their daughter Emi.

Mr. & Mrs. Matsumoto at the wedding
ceremony on June 25

Mr. & Mrs. Matsumoto in 1978 at the shrine. Their close friends who still
reside in Honolulu were Best Man and Maid of Honor

Tanabata

Tanabata is also read as Shichiseki is an ancient Japanese festival which is celebrated by writing wishes on small pieces of paper
called Tanzaku and hanging them on bamboos with colorful paper decorations.
It is also the one day every year that the ill-fated stars, Orihime and Hikoboshi meet at the Milky Way.
Combined with traditional local customs, Tanabata became an popular event among commoners during the Edo period, who developed distinctive ways of celebrating July 7th.
Tanabata is actually a combination of several rituals:
1) the ancient Japanese ritual of Tanabata
2) the Chinese legend of Orihime and Hikoboshi
3) Chinese tradition called Kikoden4) one of the Five Sekku (1/7 Jinjitsu, 3/3 Joshi , 5/5 Tango, 7/7 Tanabata, 9/9 Choyo

Tanabata - the ancient Japanese ritualTanabata or Shichiseki is an ancient Shinto purification ritual. Shrine maidens wove a special cloth on a loom called Tanabata which were offered to the kami in hopes of a bountiful harvest and to protect the crops from natural disasters.
The chosen maidens were called Tanabata-tsume and isolated themselves in little huts near the river or ocean so they could
focus on weaving cloth for the kami. The maidens underwent rites by isolating themselves overnight near water so they would
be spiritually purified to create cloth that was worthy to be offered to the kami.

Chinese Legend of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair)
Tanabata is said to have been inspired by the famous Chinese folklore, "The Princess and theCowherd".
Emperor Tentei, ruler of the heavens had a daughter, Orihime, who was an accomplishedweaver.
One day, Tentei arranged a marriage for Orihime with Kengyu who lived across the MilkyWay. Their marriage was one of happiness but Tentei became very angry, because in spending
so much time in her happy marriage, Orihime was neglecting her weaving.
Tentei decided to separate the couple, so he placed them back in their original places, separated
by the Milky Way and allowed them to meet once a year on the 7th day of the 7th month. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies promised to make a bridge with their wings so that she
could cross the river on the 7th day of the 7th month.

Chinese tradition of Kikoden
Kikoden or Qiqiao is a Chinese festival that was observed by womenso they may excel in weaving and other skills.
The festival originated from the legend of the two stars - Altair andVega and was imported to Japan by Empress Kōken in 755. The festival was celebrated at the Imperial courts during the Heian Period (7941185)
The Japanese version was similar to the Chinese Kikoden ritual. On
the seventh day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar, women
would leave needles on an altar in the yard and pray to the stars so thatthey become accomplished weavers, artisans and calligraphers.

Tanabata - one of the Five Sekku
From ancient times, the Japanese have embraced the awes of nature bycelebrating the changing of the seasons. Among them are five major festivals called "Gosekku" or Five Sekku (Jinjitsu 1/7, Joushi 3/3, Tango 5/5,Tanabata 7/7, Chouyou 9/9).
Until 1873, the Five Sekku were recognized as formal events observedby most of the population. Even after its’ repeal, the Five Sekku continues
to be celebrated by many Japanese families.

JINJITSU (January 7)
January 7th is when the Japanese eat "Nanakusa-gayu", a rice porridgewith seven kinds of herbs. It is said that one would be blessed with health
if this porridge is eaten on this day.

JOUSHI (March 3)
Joushi is known as Girls Day or Momo no Sekku, the Festival of Peaches. Families with daughters celebrate this day by displaying Japanese dolls
to pray for their daughter's healthy growth.

TANGO (May 5)
Tango is also known as Tango no Sekku or Boy’s Day. Families withsons celebrate this day by displaying dolls or flying koinobori carp streamers which symbolizes the vigorous growth of their sons.

TANABATA (July 7)
July was thought to be an unfavorable month by the ancient Chinese because of the natural disasters like floods, drought, and pestilence. Rites
were performed by Chinese Emperors to quell the wrath of the gods.

CHOYO (September 9)
The ancient Chinese believed that 9 was a number of good luck and fortune. Since this day is a double 9, it was said to be an extremely auspicious day. On this day, the Japanese drank sake with chrysanthemum petals for good fortune and longevity. Choyo is celebrated at the shrine together with the September Tsukinami-sai.

The shrine
celebrated
Tanabata on
Sunday, July 6.
Mahalo Nuito Allan T. forproviding thebamboo, which
was used tohang the tanzaku wish tags
and also as
tamagushi offerings.

See event photos at: www.flickr.com/photos/kotohira-dazaifu

Continues from Page 1
Rev. Matsumura returned to Japan
in 1936 and was replaced by Rev.
Hatsuhiko Koakutsu of Ise Jingu.
In November 1941, Rev. Masao
Arine replaced Rev. Koakutsu as Chief
Priest of Maui Jinsha.
Rev. Masao Arine was born andraised in upcountry Maui and was sent
to Japan in 1941 to receive formal training as a Shinto priest.
There, he met and married Torako
before returning to Maui later that year
to begin his ministry.

Torako Yamaguchi was born on January 7, 1914 in Waipahu. When she
was seven, her mother returned to Hiroshima with Torako and her sister while
their father remained in Hawaii to complete his contract.
Less than six months after the couple
returned to Maui, Pearl Harbor wasattacked on December 17, 1941.
Japanese community and religious
leaders were rounded up by the military
police and held for questioning. The
Arines escaped internment on the Mainland camps as they were secondgeneration Japanese born in Hawaii.

”1000 Horses” painted by Seppo Sawada
Like all other Shinto shrines, Maui
Jinsha was closed.
In 1942, Kahului Railroad evicted
the Arines, claiming that the two cottages on the property were illegallybuilt. Unable to find the lease agreement, the Arines moved into theshrine hall and continued to live there
for ten years.
In 1944, Rev. Arine was internedin a military camp in Haiku, Maui.
He was the only internee and his family was given limited visitation rights
until his release in March, 1945.
In 1951, the Arines were told by
their landlords A&B Corporation thatthe shrine must move to make way foran upcoming development project .
With the help of Itsuo Hamada ofHawaii Times, the Arines found andpurchased a half-acre lot in Paukukalo, from Wailuku Sugar Company
with their own money in 1953.
Once again, their faithful congregation helped build a shrine and houseusing lumber from a disassembled
Naval barracks donated by HaroldRice.
Every day after work, the congregation helped the Arines relocate andrebuild the meeting hall from the Kahului site to the new site, board byboard.
The head carpenter was Asao
Yasuda, assisted by Masatoshi Uchi-mura and Tokujiro Tomooka.
On November 7, 1954, a ceremony was held to celebrate the relocation of the shrine and the Autumn
Thanksgiving Festival
As other Maui Shinto shrines
closed after the war, their goshintai
or symbols of the kami, werebrought to Maui Jinsha.
In 1954, the Kotohira Jinsha in
Wailuku merged with Maui Jinsha.
In 1957, upon the death of Rev.
Abe, Izumo Taisha was also moved
to Maui Jinsha followed by Paia
Inari Jinsha in 1959, and Futenmagu of Okinawa in 1961.
When Rev. Masao Arine died in1972, his wife Torako was determined to continue serving Maui
Jinsha as well as the Ebisu Kotohira
Jinsha, in Maalaea.
Torako received formal training
in Japan and returned to serve as
Chief Priestess of Maui Jinsha.
Maui Jinsha was listed in theU.S. National Register of Historical Places in 1978 and added to theState list in 1981. In 2008, Maui
Jinsha made the Historic Hawaii
Foundation's list of endangered
historic sites.
Rev. Arine’s passing is a tremendous loss not only for Maui
Jinsha but for the entire Shinto
community.