Where ancient traditions thrive

Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha
Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu
Volume 4, Issue 6

Back-to-School Education Blessing

てんじんさん学業成就
As our children start the newschool year, we wish we could weave aprotective cape for them. In fairy tales,
the magic cape was often knitted with agenerous hood or would sometimes
make the wearer invisible.
Designs may differ with eachtale, however, the magic cape always
saved the child from danger.
If only we can give our children
such protection. If only we can create
for him or her a magic cape that would
ward off all of life’s dangers.
Perhaps we can. Perhaps theinvisible shield we can give our children
is made up of the values we instill inthem and our love, caring, and prayers
for their safety.
A new school year is a newbeginning. New adventure awaits themas they prepare for school. Excitement
for new possibilities and fear of the unknown mingle in their hearts.
Whether your children are starting kindergarten, entering high school,or leaving the nest for college, we invite
you to have them specially blessed at
our annual Back to School Education
Blessing, as they go out to face theworld.
Our special Back to School Education Blessing is offered to bring positive blessings to students, teachers andsupport staff as they begin this new
school year - so they are surrounded by
love, hope, vision, and protection andthe courage to persevere in all they undertake and the gift of joy and wonder inall things.
Sugawara no Michizane was a
9th century scholar and nobleman who

was falsely accused of improprieties atcourt and sent into exile where he died
before being exonerated.
Later, his spirit was deified
and today is venerated as the god oflearning and scholarship at the 11,000
or so Tenmangu shrines dedicated tohim throughout Japan.
Dazaifu Tenmangu in Saifu
City, Fukuoka is the main shrine of all
the Tenmangu shrines in Japan andmillions of students flock to the shrine
every year to receive blessings andeducation omamori amulets. We are
the only branch shrine of Dazaifu Tenmangu outside of Japan.
This year, our Back to School
Education Blessing was held on Sunday, August 3 from 10 am to 2 pm.
A big Mahalo goes out toevent chair Axel Obara and the many
volunteers who helped to make thisspecial blessing available to the community.

MAHALO for your generous donations
Thomas & Linda Agawa
Toshiko Fujisaki
Kuumeaaloha Gomes
Mitsuru & Pam Igarashi
Dawn Isa
Kyoko Isa
Sachiko Kele
Milton & Kathy Kwock
Glenn & Naomi Lau
Jay & Narumi Matsumiya
Roy Morioka
Shinken & Marilyn Naitoh

Eric & Emiko Nakagawa
Norman Nakashima
Craig & Diane Nishida
Pacific GeotechnicalEngineers, Inc.
Christine Pang
Steven & Mayuki Park
Justin & Miyako Pilling
Jay & Pauline Sakashita
Yi Wah Tan
Kathy & Darren Tsuru
Ernest & Miwa Yokota

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.

MAHALO Give Five August Volunteers
Arthur Isa

Arthur MJY Isa

MAHALO Education Blessing Volunteers
Bryson Goda
Melissa Hamada
Ryuji Hoshino
Yumi Hoshino
Emi Igarashi
Kai Igarashi
Pam Igarashi
Arthur MJY Isa
Dawn Isa
Brandon Lee

Shinken Naitoh
Norman Nakashima
Diane Nishida
Jill Nishida
Axel Obara
Jay Sakashita
Pauline Sakashita
Skye Sakashita
Stirling Sakashita
Irene Takizawa

We would like to express our deepest
condolences to the family of the late

Ricke K. Fujino
Mary Y. Obara
Gary Mason
Glenn Matsuoka
Peggy Lou Nakahara

Shrine Calendar
September
7

Tsukinami-sai Monthly Service 月次祭

27 Clean-up & Mochi Pounding 掃除と餅つき
28 Autumn Thanksgiving Festival 秋季感謝大祭

October
1

Reservations accepted for Shichigosan
七五三予約受付開始

12 Tsukinami-sai Monthly Service 月次祭
25–31 Shichigosan 七五三

November
1-30 Shichigosan 七五三
2Tsukinami-sai Monthly Service 月次祭

Back-to-School Education Blessing てんじんさん学業成就

O-tsukimi - Moon Viewing お月見
お月見の由来は、中国にあります。中国では陰暦７月を初秋、８月を中秋、９月を晩秋と呼び、それぞれの時期の満月を拝み、めでる風習がありました。なかでも陰暦８月１５日の満月を「中秋の名月」と呼び、一年で最も美しい月をめでて、お供え物をし、詩歌を詠みました。
平安時代の日本でも、欠けても満ちる月を生命や不死の象徴とみなし、詩歌を詠んで称えたり、江戸時代には一般家庭でも「お月見」として定着していきました。
ちょうどお月見シーズンは、農作物の収穫期直前ということもあり、豊作を祈る初穂祭としての意味合いもあります。
お月見の夜には団子、さといもなどの丸いものやすすき、秋の七草などを東に向けて供えます。サトイモは米が伝わる前の日本の主要作物であり、無事に収穫を終えたサトイモを供えたわけです。ススキは稲に見立てられ豊作を祈願しました。
The 15th of August on theLunar Calendar (September 14th in2008) is known as Jugoya - the day
Japanese traditionally celebrate thefirst autumnal full moon.
Moon-viewing, or otsukimi

was introduced from China in the
Heian era (794-1185), and celebrates
the end of harvests.
People make offerings to thefull moon of mochi, dango (ricedumplings), sato-imo (Japanese taro)
and other autumnal fruits and vegetables, which are arranged on small,decorative stands and placed near thewindows of Japanese homes.
Before rice became a staple
in the Japanese diet, sato-imo orJapanese taro was imported to Japan
from China and was widely grown
and consumed.
At night, people gather withfamily and friends to view the moonand try their best to find the 'rabbiton the moon'. Similar to our 'man on
the moon', Japanese believe there is arabbit on the moon making ricecakes for Jugoya - a myth derived
from a Chinese folk tale that tworabbits live on the moon. Something
to consider next time you gaze up ata full moon....

Chinese Moon Festival
In China, the Moon festival
also called Mid-Autumn festival iscelebrated on the fifteenth day of theeighth month of the lunar calendar,
when the moon is at its maximum
brightness for the entire year, theChinese celebrate "zhong qiu jie."Children are told the story of
the moon fairy living in a crystal palace, who comes out to dance on themoon's shadowed surface.

The legend surrounding the"lady living in the moon" dates backto ancient times, to a day when ten
suns appeared at once in the sky.
The Emperor ordered a famous archer to shoot down the nine
extra suns. Once the task was accomplished, Goddess of Western Heaven
rewarded the archer with a pill thatwould make him immortal.
However, his wife found thepill, took it, and was banished to themoon as a result. Legend says that
her beauty is greatest on the day of
the Moon festival. There are several
other legends surrounding the originof the Moon Festival.

Overthrow of Mongol Rule
According to a widespreadfolk tale, the Mid-Autumn Festivalcommemorates an uprising in China
against the Mongol rulers of theYuan Dynasty (1280–1368) in the14th century.
As group gatherings werebanned, it was impossible to makeplans for a rebellion.
Noting that the Mongols did
not eat mooncakes, Liu Bowen(劉伯溫) of Zhejiang Province, advisor to the Chinese rebel leader Zhu
Yuanzhang, came up with the idea oftiming the rebellion to coincide with
the Mid-Autumn Festival.
He sought permission to distribute thousands of moon cakes to
the Chinese residents in the city to
bless the longevity of the Mongolemperor.
Inside each cake, however,was inserted a piece of paper withthe message: "Kill the Mongols on
the 15th day of the 8th Moon"(八月十五殺韃子).
On the night of the MoonFestival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming Dynasty (13681644). Since, the Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated with moon cakes
on a national level.

Old Shrine
Photos
The top photo wasfound on the internet and wastaken on July 26, 1936.
Pictured are membersof the Hawaii Chapter of theDai Nippon Butoku Kai (GreatJapan Martial Virtues Association ) which was established in
Kyoto in 1895 to solidify, promote and standardize martial
arts disciplines and systems
throughout Japan.
The shrine can be seenin the left, adorned with theKotohira curtain. The oldshrine is said to have been on
the Eastbound lanes of H-1 andthe large 2 storey building tothe right is the Social hall,which was situated on theWestbound lanes of H-1, next to the Queen
Liliuokalani Center.
Pictured second from the left in thesecond row is the famous Sensei Harry Seishiro Okazaki.
There was a Renbujo martial arts
dojo across the shrine, on the Diamond
Head side of the property and a sumo ringnext to the Renbujo dojo.
The photos in the middle and thebottom is of Sensei Tomu Arakawa. Sensei
Arakawa established the Hawaii Senbukan
Karate Dojo in 1963 and had dojos at theJikoen temple and Kotohira Jinsha.
The photo is said to have beentaken in 1967, a few years after the completion of the 20B Houghtailing exit on H-1.
A very young Sensei Alan Lee and Sensei
Tomu Arakawa are pictured in the firstrow. H-1 can be seen on the right.
The bottom photo was taken in theearly 1970s. The H-1 side of the property iscovered with a rather large mock orange
hedge and trees.
The Kotohira shrine still stands
alone in this photo. The Dazaifu shrine wasadded to the Kotohira shrine building pictured here, in the late 1970s, creating theL-shaped shrine building that stands today.

Faith Restored
Hiroki Fuchino from Tokyo felt sick on Wednesday, August 20,
when he realized what a big mistake he'd made - he'd left his wallet in theshrine, on the table next to the omikuji tray.
Credit cards, hotel key, and over $500 in cash. All gone.
Unable to find his wallet in the car, Mr. Fuchino rushed back tothe shrine an hour later and spoke to Rev. Takizawa who, along with Mr.
Fuchino searched high and low, throughout the shrine and the shrine
grounds for the wallet.
Rev. Takizawa suggested that Mr. Fuchino submit a police reportat the Waikiki station. Rev. Takizawa felt that there was a good chancethat the wallet would be turned in if it was left somewhere IN the shrine.
Mr. Fuchino immediately drove back to Waikiki and submitted alost property report at the Waikiki station, when the attending officer notified him that his wallet was turned in a few hours ago.
Hosoya-san, also a tourist and visitor to the shrine found Mr.
Fuchino’s wallet next to the omikuji tray and handed it over to the Waikiki
police station with all the contents untouched. Mahalo to Hosoya-san forbeing honest and forthright!
Losing a wallet can happen to anyone. When away from home, on business or vacation, one of the worst things
that can happen is to have your wallet lost or stolen. Here are some helpful hints on what you can do before a trip tominimize a possible problem.
1. Make two photocopies of everything, including passports and credit cards, and write down crucial phone numbers.
One set of copies should be left with a trusted friend or relative; the other you should keep in your carry-on. Once you
check in to your hotel, keep the copies and other valuables in the in-room safe (if available). For some extra handiness,make this document electronically available by placing it on an online source such as Google Notebook.
2. Store some backup cash in the hotel room safe. If you’re not a cash carrying person, this tip can give you a bit ofpeace of mind while you’re stranded without your ATM or debit card.
3. Limit the amount of confidential information you carry in your wallet. Experts recommend that you not carryaround bank account numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs), passports, birth certificates, and most importantly, Social Security cards.
4.
Don’t keep more than what’s necessary in your wallet. This is the easiest way to avoid headaches. You may
have 10 credit cards, gas cards, etc., but how many do you really need to use when you travel? Putting less in yourwallet not only means less hassle when it’s is lost.
5.
Take along a list of the toll-free telephone numbers for your bank and credit card companies - not your card numbers - and keeping the list in a safe place other than your wallet.
6.
Don't take out your wallet until you actually need it, and never set down your wallet unless your hand is attached
to it.

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