The monthly newsletter of the Jodo Mission of Hawaii for December 2013.

1. JODO-E SERVICE
Jodo-E (sometimes referred to as Bodhi Day) is the day that Shakyamuni Buddha attained
enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree. Although Buddha’s enlightenment took place about
2500 years ago, his teachings are with us and continue to lead us to a life of
true peace and happiness.
The Hawaii Buddhist Council*, invites everyone to join in the Jodo-E
Service: This year the service will be held at our Betsuin so please come
and enjoy this beautiful service. The guest speaker is Professor Soho
Machida. Professor Machida is an excellent speaker. He spoke to our
members in February 2012. If you missed that event, please do not miss
this Jodo-E Service:
Date;
Time:
Place:
Sunday, December 8, 2013
10:00 a.m.
Jodo Mission of Hawaii
1429 Makiki Street, Honolulu, Hawaii
PH: 949-3995
Guest
Speaker: Professor Soho Machida
Parking: Limited, carpooling encouraged
*The Hawaii Buddhist Council is comprised of the following Buddhist Temples: Nichiren Mission, Soto
Mission, Higashi Hongwanji Mission, Honpa Hongwanji Mission, Jodo Mission of Hawaii, Koyasan
Shingon Mission and Tendai Mission.
Address Service Requested
Jodo Mission of Hawaii
1429 Makiki St.
Honolulu HI 96814
(#1205-1213)
Bulletin - DECEMBER 2013
Jodo Mission of Hawaii

2. NEW YEAR’S EVE
At this time of the year, Buddhist temples observe two kinds of special services to welcome the
New Year. They are New Year’s Eve service and New Year’s Day service. Have you attended these
services before? If not, the following are meanings for these services.
New Year’s Eve Service. New Year’s Eve service is one of the most familiar annual ceremonies for Buddhists in Japan. Here in Hawaii, the New Year’s Eve Bell ringing service is observed at each Buddhist Temple. When we listen solemnly to the sounds of the bell in the silent midnight, we reflect in ourselves, and have a feeling of deep meditation. Do you know why the temple
bell rings 108 times on New Year’s Eve? To ring the bell 108 times signifies the dispelling of 108
evil passions which all human beings have. According to Buddhism we have 108 different kinds of
evil thoughts in our minds. While the temple bell is rung, we pray to dispel our evil passions and
thoughts. Japanese people call that night “Joya”. Joya means the very night when we should try to
dispel all evil things in our lives.
The New Year’s Eve service gives us a good opportunity to meditate and reflect on our life on
this last day of the year. And it is also a time to express our gratitude to every blessing which we
have received in our lives and at the same time to our ancestors, parents, our country and our Lord
Amida Buddha. In so doing, we can welcome a most Happy New Year!
Joya-e Service: Everyone is invited to New Year’s Eve Service or Joya-e Service on Tuesday, December 31st at 11:30 p.m. Please come and help ring the temple bell 108 times.
New Year’s Day Service. New Year’s Day Service is another special service held on
January 1st. New Year’s Day has three beginnings. It is the beginning of a new day, a new month
and a new year. Therefore, it is a very important and significant day. Buddhist temples have a special
service which is called Shusho-e. This service means a religious gathering to reflect on the past life
(year) and correct it and think of the New Year with hopes of a better life. We can reflect on our past
lives (years), confess to past deeds, and resolve for a better life by following the teachings of Amida
Buddha. And we can begin the New Year with hopes for the future. These two services have long
been the practices for Buddhists to finish the old year and begin the first day of the New Year. In so
doing, you can begin the New Year with strengthened faith in Amida Buddha.
Shusho-e or New Year’s Day Service: Please join us on Wednesday, January 1, 2014 at
10 a.m. for the first service of the year and pray for our safety, happiness and world peace for
the coming new year. Rev. Narashiba will also give his New Year’s address in English - Happy
New Year!
NEW YEAR BLESSINGS AT HOME During January, 2014, New Year blessings at
homes are available for those who cannot attend the New Year service at the Temple. Let’s start the
wonderful New Year in the love and compassion of Amida Buddha. Please call Jodo Mission at
949-3995.
Omamori are spiritual charms, talismans, and amulets in Japanese religious
tradition that possess the power to ward off misfortune and procure good luck. They
can be made of pieces of wood, patches of cloth, strips of paper, or rings of metal and
come in various sizes though the majority found in Hawaii tend to be no larger than
the size of one’s palm. Omamoris are available at Jodo Mission.
Page 2
Please call Jodo Mission at 949-3995 for more information.

3. Fairwell Message
By Rev. Yasuhiro Watanabe
Thank you for the kindness and support that you have shown to
me over the past three years. I especially offer special thanks to Bishop
Hara, Rev. Narashiba, Rev. Nakano, the other ministers in Hawaii, and
the many people who helped me to come and stay here. I also would
like to thank the Jodo Mission president, the board members, the members who
attend Sunday services, and all of the Jodo Shu members.
I enjoyed many events at Jodo Mission like Buddha Day, Bon Dance, bazaar, and the mochi sale. I was amazed that many local people came together
each year at the Bon Dance. I also enjoyed the refreshments served by Fujinkai
members and the activities with Sunday school children. It was a big surprise
that a kind of skinny Santa Clause with glasses came to our temple for three
years.
I really had a meaningful time in Hawaii. I did funeral and memorial services at temple and at mortuaries. It was a precious experience to be able to officiate at inurnment services at Punchbowl. I learned American culture through
the temple activities, Thanksgiving dinner, and English lessons. I went to shopping centers, local restaurants, and movie theaters wearing aloha shirts. I also
traveled to the neighbor islands and enjoyed the beauty in Hawaii.
I plan to do many things when I return to Japan. I will reconnect with my
family and friends, and I will find a new position. Hopefully, I will continue to
serve in a temple as a minister. Hawaii has helped to prepare me for this.
It was my honor to be a minister at Jodo Mission of Hawaii. I look forward
to seeing you again some day.
Mahalo and Aloha!
Rev. Yasuhiro Watanabe
Visitation by Jodo Shu Dignitaries from Japan:
Bishop Yugen Miyabayashi,
Chief Minister of Jodo Shu International and Social Affairs Department and Rev. Dosho Takeda of
Taisho University visited the Betsuin on October 23 and 24, 2013. Rev. Takeda & Bishop
Miyabayashi above
Some Board members and members met with the two dignitaries on October 23 and
on October 24, the dignitaries interviewed two Board members and a former Kyoku president
regarding the future of Jodo Shu and the type of ministers we would like to have in Hawaii and
are there ministers willing to come to Hawaii.
Page 3

4. BAZAAR NEWS
MAHALO NUI LOA
Thank you, thank you to everyone who
volunteered their precious time to make our
annual Bazaar held on October 27, a great success! This year the Bazaar was chaired by
Jon Riki Karamatsu and Rev. Narashiba.
It was an event of dedicated members and
friends who unselfishly came for days to prepare the items for sale at the Bazaar. The
preparation involved donations by members
and friends, the collection and storage of these
donations, the sorting, displaying, pricing,
selling and the overall clean-up; the parking
attendants; the planning and coordination of
every phase of the Bazaar; the pre-Bazaar
preparation, i.e., the buying of foods for the
pickles and meals for the volunteers for the
entire week; and all the other incidentals that
come with a great project.
Here are some photos. The Craft section
outshined all the others. The beautiful quilts
hanging near the stage area. Doris Soma who
has Sewing Circle classes twice a month sold
some beautiful things they made.
Donations of baked goods, spam musubis,
tsukemonos, plants were also good sellers.
ARIGATO! To all who came to shop, to
the workers who worked so hard and tirelessly, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Hope you had
fun! See you again next year!
Lots of items for sale: dishes, pots & pans,
clothing, toys, books, etc.
Page 4
Neatly folded clothes; signs for people to see
Cashiers were kept busy with many purchasers.
Crafts were the most profitable: All the beautiful quilts,
blankets, rugs, etc.
Smiling ladies Dorothy Murashige & Amy
Yano selling musubis, tsukemonos, sushi vinegar. Missing from this photo was Dorothy’s
husband Richard Murashige. THANK YOU
Mr. and Mrs. Murashige who spent most of
their time in this section.
Men selling
plants had fun:
Teruto Soma,
Herbert Fujikawa
and Richard
Karamatsu
Rev. Narashiba was
directing traffic

5. Visitors from Japan:
Rev. Hiroyoshi Oeda and his family
recently came to Hawaii for a visit.
His sons have grown up. Some
friends and members gathered for a
dinner one night and everyone had a
wonderful time! Hope to see him
and his family again soon!
Rev. Hiroki Maeda and
his family also visited the
Betsuin. Photos can be
seen in the November
Bulletin. Rev. Maeda also helped in
Bazaar prep day.
Rev. Yoshitaka Hatanaka
and his wife also visited
the Betsuin recently.
Hopefully he will come
again soon and stay long enough for
the members to meet him and his
wife.
MOCHI (Dec. 28) ORDER FORM おもち注文表
Deadline for order is Saturday, December 7, 2013
注文締め切り１2月7日
HOME PHONE NO. 電話番号
PLEASE PRINT NAME 名前
OKASANE おかさね
$4.25/SET
TOTAL
合計
KOMOCHI こもち
$3.75/POUND
SETS
LBS
DOLLARS
DOLLARS
DOLLARS
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY
Order accepted by: _______________
Received by: _______________
Date accepted: _____/_____/_2013 (In person/ Mail / Phone)
Date paid: _____/_____/_2013 (Cash / Check#
)
Page 5

6. TOWNHALL DISCUSSION
Sunday, December 22 after 10 am Service
As part of the Ministers and Ministers’
Wives’ Seminar December 21 and 22, there will
be a townhall discussion with all ministers from
13 Jodo Shu temples. Rev. Dosho Takeda of
Taisho University will return for this Seminar
and will be part of the Townhall Discussion.
Also coming to this Ministers and Ministers’
Wives Seminar is Archbishop Shogen
Miyabayashi of Komyoji Temple in Kamakura.
Please mark your calendars for this Townhall Discussion (or brainstorming session) which
will cover the subject of the future of Jodo Shu
in Hawaii. As many of you heard from the
“Aloha Buddha” film, membership at Buddhist
temples are declining. Your opinions are important so please come for this interesting discussion. Sunday, December 22, after 10 a.m.
Sunday Service. Refreshments will be served
and everyone is invited.
Jodo Mission Office Hours:
Monday to Saturday: 8am—5pm
Sunday & Holidays: 8am—3pm
Phone: 949-3995
MOCHITSUKI DAY
Please come and help make
mochi beginning at 7:00
a.m. on Saturday, December 28,
2013. It is hard work AND also lots of fun
to make mochi and a
wonderful
experience
for families
and friends.
Bring your
friends and family! There are lots of
things to do in preparing for the orders
taken—mochi rice needs to be steamed,
shaped, packing, etc.
Obituaries
The Jodo Mission of Hawaii extends
its sincere condolences to the family
members and loved ones of the following
members who have recently left this
world for the Pure Land.
Tatsui Oshita
Henry Kazuto Hayamoto
James Yutaka Nakatsuka
Gladys Kazue Ebisuya
Kenji Matsuo
Website: www.jodo.us
Rev. Yubun Narashiba
Rev. Kanjun Nakano
Rev. Dwight Nakamura
Head Minister
Resident Minister
Bishop Emeritus
Page 6
98
84
95
95
100

7. Perpetual Memorial Service (Eitaikyo) for December
1
2
3
4
5
6
Jusaku Kimura
Sato Imaguchi
Isamu Matsumoto
Masayoshi Tanigawa
The Kimura & Muroshige
Family
The Imaguchi Family
Kame Aoki (2)
Kame Yano (2)
Ayako Yokoyama
Shizue Matsuda
Shizue Nakano
Hisashi Kochi
Tose Terada
The Aoki & Kimura Family
The Yano, Konaka &
Hayashi Faimily
The Yokoyama & Morita
Family
The Matsuda Family
Michiko Miyao
Fumie Chinen
Fumiko Hayashi
Fujino Masatsugu
The Chinen Family
Ryuichi Higashimura
Gunichi Morioka
Nobusuke Shinagawa
The Higashimura Family
The Morioka Family
Tatsuji Kusunoki
Yuichi Kanayama
Yasuyo Hirano
Kane Otani
Rice Ishii
Kameyo Morimoto
Irene Nishida
Kiyoichi Kishida
The Kusunoki Family
The Hirano & Kaneko
Family
Tane Oda
Tokuemon Imamoto
Hideo Morita
Kiyoko Maehara
Imamoto & Kawakami
Family
Kazue Ukeda
7
Matsujiro Tanimura
8
Reisuke Wakagi
Seiichi Nakamura
Yoshio Higashimura
Matsuyo Tanimura
Takaichi Tamakawa
The Wakaki Family
The Nakamura Family
The Tanimura Family
9
Genjiro Shimabukuro
Tora Aoki
Ichiro Kishi (2)
Yutaka Onaga (2)
The Shimabukuro Family
The Aoki Family
The Kishi Family
10 Hyoichi Sugihara
Asa Nanba
Chokichi Nakamura
Hiroshi Hayamoto
Ito Kawanishi
Matsu Gushiken
Jiro Saiki
The Sugihara Family
11 Asajiro Inada
Zenshiro Sato
Paul Tanigawa
Edward Yokoyama
Hanako Uchiumi
Inada & Morimoto Family
Grace Saiki Beringer
12 RokuichiYanagihara
Jisaku Yanagihara
Robert Wong
13 Mosaku Hayashi
Hana Imai
Sachiko Fujikami
The Yano, Konaka &
Hayashi Family
Mutsuko Reed
14 Umetaro Ogata
Yuichi Nose
Tamikichi Yasuda
Naoji Nishimura
Yoshiko Tanigawa
Tsuruko Gushikuma
Curtis Tokue Uehara
15 Masagoro Kitagawa
Yoshio Miyao
Masami Kawamura
The Kitagawa Family
Ichiji Kiyuna
Kisei Takara
Manabu Omura
16 Fusakichi Okawa
The Shigeoka & Okawa
Family
Robert Mitsuyasu
17 Yasukichi Kaya
Rinsuke Uesugi
Hideo Moritsugu
Kona Matsuda
Kaya & Shimazaki Family
26 Haru Ogawa
Seiji Minehira
Maurice Bungo Udo
Shinemon Toishigawa
Hisayo Doris Imaguchi
18 Bishop Kyodo Fujihana
Alice Y. Fukunaga (2)
Kiyoko Kagihara
Taichi Ebisuzaki
27 Tsunesuke Yamamoto
Tamito Yasuda
Evelyn Hideko Yagi
19 Tsunesuke Yanagihara (2)
Iwa Yanagihara
Jane Takabayashi
Jeanette Asako Hayashi
The Yanagihara Family
20 Satoshi Yasumoto
21 Tokutsuchi Saeki
Masao Yano
George K. Kimoto
Seiichi Kimura
Judith K. Kodama
The Saeki Family
22 Emiko Hirai
Kama Chinen
Tsurumatsu Miyamasu
Umekichi Yamachika
Kikuyo Goto
Harold T. Hamasaki
The Hirai Family
The Chinen Family
The Miyamasu Family
The Yamachika &
Matsushige Family
23 Tsuru Nakamura
Teruo Asai
Hideko Wada
Giichi Kawamura
The Nakamura Family
Setsuko Onaga
24 Totsuchi Nanba
Tokutsuchi Muranaka
Matsu Yokomichi
Kame Yanagihara
Ryuichi Ipponsugi
Hatsuno Hirai
Michika Umeda Gaines
The Nanba Family
The Muranaka Family
The Nanba Totsuchi Family
Roy Toyosuke Ohnaga (2)
25 The Sato Family
28 Ichiro Sagawa
Saichi Ikeda
The Kawahara Family
The Ikeda Family
29 Kiku Yanagihara
Shotaro Nose
Kamato Akamine
Chiyoe Kameoka
Teruo Gushikuma
30 Seiichi Tsuchiya
Hatsuyo Yoshioka
The Tsuchiya Family
31 Hira Yamane
Teruyo Kishii
Yoshikazu Wada
Frances S. Johnson Ito
The Yamane & Harada
Family
Wilfred Masaichi Taira
The Agari Uebaru Family
The Naka Uebaru Family
The Uebaru Guwa Family

8. 8:00 Temple Cleaning
10:30 Sunday School
End of the Year Party
10:00 Sunday Service
10:00 Sunday Service
10:45 Townhall Discussion
Ministers & Ministers’
Wives Seminar (cont’d)
30
23
16
9
2
Mon
31
24
17
10
3
New Year’s
Eve Service
11:30 pm
Tue
25
18
11
4
26
19
12
5
Thu
27
20
13
6
Fri
Mochi can be picked up on:
Saturday, December 28, 2013
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Deadline to
Order Mochi
Mochitsuki
Day
Dec 1 at 10:30 am
Sunday School
28
Ministers & Ministers’ Wives
Seminar 12/21 &
12/22
21
14
7
Sat
Phone: 949-3995
Jodo Mission of Hawaii
NO MEETINGS IN DECEMBER:
Fujinkai; YBA; Sewing Circle
Wed
December 2013
Dec 1 at 8:00 am General Clean-up—We need your help!
Dec. 8 at 10:00 am HBC Jodo-e (Bodhi Day) at Jodo Mission
Dec. 28 Mochitsuki Day
Dec. 31 at 11:30 pm New Year’s Eve Service
Jan 1 at 10 am—New Year’s Day Service
Jan 26 at 10 am Sunday Service, including memorial service for
St. Honen; General Membership Meeting; New Year’s Party
HIGHLIGHT OF EVENTS:
29
22
10:30 Sunday School
End of the Year Party
Service
10:00 HBC Bodhi Day
15
8
1
Sun
8:30am Morning Service
Everyday