Last month, Gov. David Ige and First Lady Dawn Amano-Ige attended the King Kamehameha Day ceremony. Elijah Kala McShane, who participated in the ceremony, stands in the background.Members of The Royal Order of Kamehameha I which was established in 1865 by King Kamehameha V to honor the legacy of his grandfather, the unifier of the Hawaiian islands, King Kamehameha the Great.Representatives of the Kamehameha Schools offer lei at the statue of King Kamehameha.Elijah Kala McShane received a ho‘okupu (gift) from Gov. David Ige.The ho‘okupu is placed at the base of the King Kamehameha statue among an abundance of lei and floral arrangements.Members of ‘Ahahui Ka‘ahumanu of Honolulu paid tribute to King Kamehameha I with hula and mele.
JUNE 26: MANTÖ-E TRADITION
Decorating For Obon With 10,000 Lanterns
Editor’s note: Last month, the Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii held a lantern-decorating workshop in the temple’s Otani Center multi-purpose social hall. Members of the temple decorated their lanterns with flowers and motifs honoring loved ones who have passed.
The mantö-e tradition started in Japan about 1,200 years ago during the reign of Emporer Shömu when 10,000 lights, or mantö-e, were lit in honor of the Buddha around Tödaiji Temple in Nara.
Higashi Hongwanji celebrates the tradition of mantö-e every July as part of obon. Usually the lanterns are outdoors, radiating out from the yagura. With no bon dance being held this year, the lanterns will be displayed in the temple’s main hall for obon, hatsubon and mantö-e services held on Sunday, July 18, and through the following week.
Rinban (Bishop) Kenjun Kawawata and Higashi Hongwanji Mission President, Kenneth Saiki, discuss plans to display the finished lanterns to the Matsuura Family who also attended the workshop to assist. Marian Tsuji volunteered to decorate lanterns for those who ordered them for obon. Volunteers and members who came to the workshop used origami paper, pens paints, rubber stamps, stickers and markers to create heartfelt designs on lanterns to honor loved ones who have passed on.Jeanne Kawawata, wife of resident minister Rinban Kawawata, shows us one of the decorated lanterns. Rev. Steven Toyoshima decorating a lantern for a member who ordered one for obon.Mother-daughter team Rika and Itoku Matsuura teamed up to decorate lanterns ordered by members of the temple.
