Hilo Nichiren Mission
24 Makalika Street
Hilo, HI 96720
Tel 1-808-959-8894
E-mail hilo@nichirenmission.org
HISTORY
as publicized in https://churchesinusa.com/church/hilo_nichiren_mission/ which copied content from Hilo Nichiren Mission’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Hilo-Nichiren-Mission-203408976347471/
～ 1. The beginning of the first Nichiren Buddhism in Hawaii started at Kapapala
～ ～ The beginning of Nichiren Buddhism in Hawaii was at Kapapala on the island of Hawaii in 1902. The founder of the Kapapala Nichiren Mission is Reverend Gyoun Takagi. Upon arriving in Honolulu in October 1899, he visited the islands in Hawaii preaching and looking for a suitable place to build the base for spreading the dharma for three years. He visited a lot of camps in sugarcane plantations in the Hawaiian islands. Finally, he found many Nichiren followers at Kapapala in the Kau District on the island of Hawaii. There he decided to build the temple in the midst of a plantation camp. The dedication ceremony of the temple was held on May 18, 1902, and this date has been regarded as the birthday of Nichiren Buddhism in Hawaii. At that time, more than 200 followers gathered there. Nichiren Buddhism was fourth among the Japanese Buddhist orders in Hawaii. Rev. Takagi preached the teaching of the Lotus Sutra for ten years at Kapapala. He opened the Kapapala Japanese Elementary School in Hawaii. He taught how to read and write Japanese, Japanese calligraphy, Japanese style manner and so on to children who was born in Hawaii. But he had to go to Honolulu to build one more temple on the island of Oahu in 1912.
～ 2. From Kapapala to Hilo
～ ～ After Rev.Takagi left, several new ministers came to Kapapala. However, sugarcane workers were depopulated in Kapapala, because of the mechanized farming. Those who had supported the Mission as its members began to move out their camps to Hilo, the largest city on the island of Hawaii, or Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii. At that time, the Pacific War broke out in 1941. The Reverend Mochiduki and his family of Kapapala mission at that time were detained for four years by the U.S. government in the relocation camps on the mainland America. During the war, overseas Buddhist ministers from Japan were all forced to go into internment as the leaders of the Japanese American society, forcing all the Japanese Buddhist temples to be without their preaches. After the war, no members remained to take care of the temple except several members in Pahala. Those in Hilo wanted to move the temple to Hilo, but they were forced to abandon the plan because of the huge cost. The temple building became dilapidated, to become a hangout for hippies. In 1959, at last the temple was moving from Kapapala to Hilo. Rev. Kanryu Mochiduki, with the cooperation of the Nichiren Buddhist in the city, established the Hilo Nichiren Shu Branch Temple behind the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture building on Kilauea Street. The opening ceremony for this branch temple was held on April 1, 1959. In 1961, the members bought the land, 3 acres in size in this place with support of the Board of Directors of the Nichiren Mission. And then, the present temple building was completed in 1965.
～ 3. Current state of affairs at the Kapapala Temple
～ ～ For its part, the temple in Kapapala was ready to bury on bushes and weeds, and it seemed eventually disappeared into the ground. In October 1975, the Kapapala Temple was passed on to a Tibetan Buddhist Priest, Reverend Nevhung as free of charge. The Venerable Dalai Lama visited this temple on October 27, 1980, and stayed there for three days.
～ 4. About The Goddess Shichimen
～ ～ A stature of the Goddess Shichimen came to Hawaii from Minobu Japan in 1982. On November 30, 1985, Director General Reverend Issei Mochizuki of the Kuonji Temple on Mt. Minobu came to Hilo to preside over the Grand Ceremony Commemorating the Completion of the Goddess Shichimen Hall.
～ 5. About The Beginning of Bon Dance
～ ～ It was 1991 that the Mission began holding the Bon Dance initiated by Reverend Tsujimura for the purpose of activating the temple and spreading the name of the Nichiren Mission in Hilo. Even now many people not only Japanese people have enjoying our Nichiren Mission's Bon Dance every summer.
～ 6. 100th anniversary of Nichiren Buddhism in Hawaii, and until now
～ ～ In 2002, Nichiern Buddhism in Hawaii celebrated the 100th anniversary of its opening in 1902. Reverend Matsumoto built the "stupa for the Repose of All the Immigrants in Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Introduction of Nichiren Buddhism to Hawaii". This stupa was originally planned to be built at the Japanese graveyard near the Kapapala Mission, but the plan was changed due to the fact that there exist many graveyards for plantation workers with graves of unknown souls all over the island of Hawaii. Finally, it was decided to build it in the compound of the Hilo Nichiren Mission hoping that all those unknown souls will rest in peace in the place of practicing the Lotus Sutra. The present Reverend is just 10th minister that counting from Kapapala Mission. We had four ministers from the beginning the Hilo church, and the present Reverend is just 10th minister that counting from Kapapala Mission. Our member is small, but everybody is pure and dedicated followers. The history of Hilo Nichiren Mission is still run on from now on.