Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha
Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu
A special blessing wasperformed to purify andenergize a collection ofManeki Neko which theowner has collected
throughout her lifetime.
The collection of Maneki Neko
imbued with renewedenergies will be displayed ather business to hopefullyincrease new clients andachieve business success.
The original Maneki Nekofrom the late 1700s is acalico, however now there isa rainbow of colors tochoose from to vitalize every
aspect of our lives.
Maneki Neko with its righthand up symbolizes wealth

AUGUST 2021

whereas a Neko with its left
hand up beckons customers
and a flourishing business.
In Pop culture, a Pokemon
named Meoweth isbased on Maneki Neko.
The mascot of the recent
Lollapalooza Festival inChicago is also a ManekiNeko.

DONATIONS
Keng-Hsien Chao
Bill & Keiko Doughty
Bryson Goda
Rodney & Sharon Isa
Linda Kaneshige
Bruce & Lynne Kauer
Carol Matsuwaki
Max Mendelson
Yoshinobu & Miki Misawa
Steve Miwa
Shinken & Marilyn Naitoh
Jeanette Nakata

Congratulations to Keng-Hsien Chao forreceiving a research grant from NASA !!
Keng-Hsien is a PhD candidate at theHawaii Institute for Geophysics andPlanetology at the University of Hawaii,
solving fundamental problems in Earthand Planetary Science.
Keng-Hsien was the shrine's 2020
Scholarship recipient.
Milena Naitoh - the shrine's 2015
scholarship recipient is presently headof Investor Relations and Corporate
Development at Validus, a financing
platform for small businesses,
institutional investors and individuals inSingapore.

Craig & Diane Nishida
Akiko Sanai
Gary & Linda Shinsato
Robert Stallings
Alice Sugimoto
Chester Sugimoto
Florence Sugimoto

Mahalo Nui Loa for your mostgenerous donations to HawaiiKotohira Jinsha - Hawaii Daaifu
Tenmangu, a 501(c)3 nonprofitchurch.
Your donation is tax-deductible tothe full extent of the law.
Our Federal ID# 99-6007158

Micah Tong, the shrine's 2018 scholarship
recipient is the Founder and Executive
Producer of AlohaMade MediaThe company is a social media platform
created to help aspiring athletes in Hawaii
who may need assistance in social media
exposure to reach out to scouts and coaches
on the mainland and around the globe.

Kazuumi Fujioka, the shrine's 2016 scholarship
recipient is presently a PhD candidate andTeaching Assistant in the Chemistry
Department of the University of Hawaii atManoa.
Kazuumi's research is on Theoretical andComputational Chemistry.

GOKITO - Private Blessings
Until further notice, Private Gokito blessings willcontinue to be by reservations only with a maximum
participation of 10 people. We urge fully vaccinatedpeople to continue to wear masks and practice social
distancing and other safety measures.

A House Blessing was performed for shrine
friends who recently purchased a home and will
be renovating it before moving in.

A Baby Blessing was performed on 7/27

The blessing is meant to express gratitude to thekami of the land, the contractor and workers thatwill be making the owner 's vision into reality anda safe and successful completion of therenovations.

An annual House Blessing was performed for the founding
family of Hawaii Otaki Jinja - one of the seven shrines on theproperty.
Otaki Jinja was established in the Iyagasako district of Otake
City, Hiroshima on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month in 597.
It then relocated to its present location in the Shidayama
district of Otake City in 1740.
A Gobunrei was brought to Hawaii in 1930 by Teiichi Sugimotoand enshrined at Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha.
The supporting organization - Otaki Jinja Hosan-Kai wasformed by the 129 Issei families from Otake City to perpetuate
their spiritual traditions.

O-ASA HEMP
Cannabis use and cultivation
finds its roots in ancient Japan.

and foods like Shichimi Togarashi
pepper flakes.

Archaeologists have found cave
paintings in Fukui Prefecture ofCannabis (Marijuana) plants,and Cannabis Sativa (Hemp)
dating back to the Jomon Period(10,000 BC - 300 BC) whichspanned the Stone, Bronze andIron ages.

Hemp was thought to havepowers of purification and wasused widely in Shinto.

Marijuana and Hemp are boththe same species. Legally,
Hemp is defined as a Cannabis
plant that contains 0.3% or less
THC, while Marijuana is acannabis plant that contains
more than 0.3% THC. Think ofMarijuana as being theintoxicating relative of Hemp.
Cannabis has played an
important role in Japaneseculture and was not used as arecreational intoxicant but
cultivated for use in medicine,religious practices, textiles, tools

Hemp fibers are used to make thetassels for shrine curtains

Hemp or Asa is still used inShinto ritual as are hemp fabrics
for offerings to the Kami,
priestly garments, bell ropes andGohei wands.
O-nusa (wand used in Shinto
purification rituals) is writtenwith the kanji characters for "BigHemp." The ofuda of the Grandshrine of Ise is called Otaima,
literally "Honorable Marijuana."
Prior to 1948, Cannabis andHemp were cultivated in Japanby over 25,000 farmers. Hemp
was used to produce rope for
the Imperial Navy and parachutecords for the Air Force.

Suzu-o or bell ropes are made of
Asa Hemp fibers
Hemp cultivation with an official
license is still legal in Japan.
however in 2019 there were only
35 hemp farmers.
The Hemp cultivated in Japan
has no psychoactive compounds
however in recent years, has
become difficult to obtain evenfor religious purposes.
Cannabis and Hemp are
intricately woven into Japan'srich cultural heritage, and many
shrines would prefer to use
genuine hemp instead of plasticoptions.

With the introduction of theCannabis Control Act penned by
GHQ (General Headquarters for
the Allied Occupation of Japan)
the sale and growth becamebanned in Japan.
Japanese politicians were able toconvince the US to issue permits
for Hemp production instead ofbanning both Cannabis andHemp.

This is a traditional Japanesepattern called Asa no Ha or Hemp
leaf and was used for baby
clothing to wish the infant ahealthy growth and good fortune.

HABUTERUSEPTEM BER
1CALENDAR

M ean in g: Habuteru, ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Habut or Habutz is a ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
local slang meaning ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
grumpy or to pout.

Or igin : The equivalent ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
5of Habuteru in standard ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Japanese is: okoru, hara wo tateru, orsuneru
Habuteru is a regional slang with thefollowing meanings:
Ehime - to be grumpy
Hiroshima - to be mad

8:30 amAccepting Online Reservations for
Shichigosan, Totose-no-Oiwai,
Jusan Mairi (www.jinja.us)
2:00 pm (INTERNAL)
Autumn Thanksgiving Festival

OCTOBER
15 & 16 10:00 am ~ 12 Noon
Shichigosan PreparationsYamaguchi - to sulk, to pout

17Fukuoka - to be moody

3:00 pm (INTERNAL)
Tsukinami-sai Monthly Service

Okayama - to be grumpy

17 - 31 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Shichigosan

Nagasaki - to be moody, to sulk

COVID-19 Updates
Governor Ige signed an executive
order on August 10 limiting social
gatherings to 10 indoors and 25
outdoors. Places of worshipmust be capped at 50% capacity.

Here, at the shrine, Monthly
services will continue to beInternal with only theattendance of our Board.

Although we are allowed toopen events up to the publicwith a maximum 25 people, weare not able to comply with the6-ft social distancing
recommendations with thepresent square footage in theshrine and on the grounds. Assuch, we have canceled theannual Back-To-School Blessing.
The Temizu wash basin is stillclosed and the Suzu bells thatwere removed in February 2020
will remain as such until furthernotice.
Mahalo for your kokua andunderstanding. Stay safe!

For m or e in f o: w w w.jin ja.u s/ sh ich igosan .h t m l