Culture

Rev. Bert Sumikawa Helps Descendants Honor Ancestors at the Bellows Japanese Cemetery Gregg K. Kakesako Special to The Hawai‘i Herald This year, obon — the 500-year-old Japanese Buddhist custom honoring ancestors’ spirits — will deepen Ann Nakata’s connection with her family roots. Just two months ago, 72-year-old Nakata, a retired Kapahulu florist, discovered she had....

The annual Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaii event attracts over 40,000 people to Ala Moana Beach Park from around the world every year. However, this year, due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival...

Around mid-April, The Hawai‘i Herald starts calling Japanese Buddhist temples and community organizations across the state. And this issue would normally include a four-page pull-out section filled with information including Hatsubon and obon services, Töro nagashi (lantern floating) and bon dance festivals. Regretfully, this is the first summer in decades that the schedule seems up....

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Young Students Learn to Be Mindful In A Fast-Moving World Jodie Chiemi Ching The tradition of Chadö, or the Way of Tea, is a practice of cultivating harmony, respect, purity and tranquility. These are universal principles that can help ease some of the anxiety caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last fall, I visited a children’s....

Editor’s note: This year the local Buddhist temples will not hold Hanamatsuri services due to COVID-19. Twenty-nine-year-old Bishop Cosmo Hirai brings a young new perspective to the community. We have also added two previously published essays by Rev. David Fujimoto and Bishop Chishin Hirai because they provide insight relevant to the current struggles of the....

The Omotesenke Domonkai held a Hatsugama tea ceremony in the Seiköan Tea House at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi on Feb. 15. The ceremony commemorated the 65th anniversary of the establishment of the Hawaiʻi branch.

WHO/WHAT: The Ikenobo Ikebana Society of Honolulu Hawaii Chapter will feature an exhibit of various ikebana arrangements from local and Japanese members. This year the organization celebrates its 40th anniversary. WHEN/WHERE: Friday, March 6, 8:30...

WHO/WHAT: The Pacific Buddhist Academy presents its 14th annual taiko festival, entitled “Aspirations,” featuring Hyaku Sen Ki Kai Taiko. Taiko drumming is an integral part of the course offerings at PBA, the only high...

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