Honohina Temple is a mission with a big heart

A small small temple with a big big heart is a sharing kine of story that a “little birdie” told yours truly.

Honohina Temple is probably the smallest temple in the entire state of Hawaii. Built in 1927, in the classic plantation style green-with-white-trim architecture, it sits right next to the Hamakua Belt Highway. Cars, trucks, motorcycles and buses whip past the old building, at one time a “branch” temple for the original Honohina temple, which was located beside the thriving town of Honohina, a town that exists only in the memories of the large plantation population who lived there.

But as sugar declined, the workers moved to Pepeekeo where they were offered affordable land by the plantation, and this small “branch” temple became the Honohina temple, serving the needs of the few families who chose to remain.

Three Saturdays ago, the Honohina Temple celebrated its O-Bon service, the second to the last in a string of O-Bon services, which have been celebrated at Big Island Buddhist temples, throughout the summer.

The little temple was packed! At least 50 or more folks crowded in. We all sat on old wooden pews or benches made a long time ago. Dress was informal: shorts, aloha shirts, jeans, summer wear, mostly slippers, some shoes; truly a family and country style gathering. There was an array of ages from older Japanese people, many of whom were born and raised here or married someone that was, folks in their 60s and 70s who were raised here and then moved away, their children who were in their 30s and 40s and whose spouses were “local” and not necessarily Japanese, and their children, 8-12 years and older, who were mixed race — Japanese and something else.

The service began with Lena Kishaba playing a prelude on the temple organ. Lena is an elder who not only plays the organ, but is a lively bon dancer as well. That was followed by the other-worldly and ethereal Buddhist chanting by three Japanese ministers: Rimban Jeffrey Soga; his wife, the Rev. Kumika Soga, and the Rev. Shinji Kawagoe. Their combined full deep voices filled this tiny temple, and inspired and soothed the spirits of all those present — both the living and their deceased loved ones.

As we sat during the service, there was much happening: the drone of the ancient Buddhist chanting; the whizzing and buzzing of the zipping cars, big trucks and Labor Day motorcycles; the chattering and bursts of laughter of those outside waiting for the Bon dance to begin. It felt like heaven and earth, human beings and cars, and the presence of all the many Honohina people who had once worshipped in this tiny temple were all here together, on a Saturday night! LIVE!

At the conclusion of the service, Harold Uyeno, emcee and Kyodan president, invited everyone to go downstairs to the social hall for food that had been prepared for the evening. The service was over.

The CD player came on, the pre-recorded O-Bon music started, and dancers rushed out to begin dancing on the lawn, under the lights and Japanese lanterns. Other went to get some food and sat at tables and chairs loaned by temple members, under the many canopy tents loaned by Honomu Hongwanji. Some of the elders sat on old wooden benches or on the temple porch and concrete steps, watching the younger dancers and reminiscing of a time when they could still dance and run up and down the temple steps.

Down in the social hall, in the basement of the temple, there were tables covered with food. Some had been made by the temple women that morning and others were donations from temple members, community people, and members of other Hongwanji temples.

Andthe food just kept coming! The tables were always full of food: sushi rice, musubi, nishime, somen salad, shoyu butter fish (Jane Uyeno marinated the fish for five days), hijiki, kuromame (Mr. Takazaki grew the beans), three varieties of koko pickles, smoked meats, homegrown healthy big-kine soy beans, and on and on and on. Plus homemade desserts.

A visitor from Maui happened to see the O-Bon sign on the road, stopped and got invited. He came with “a pocketful of money” to buy food, and was told, “No need buy. Church too small. No more room for vendors. Just help yourself. The food is aloha.” He was overwhelmed, like so many of us, by the generosity and genuine kindness of the temple folks.

At Honohina, the “soul” of the temple thrives. Those who came to the service, ordinary folks, came to pay their respects to their recently deceased loved ones, as well as those ancestors and family members who had worked very hard on the plantation, who had struggled with being Japanese following Pearl Harbor, and who quietly and selflessly dedicated their lives whether as American soldiers or farmers or teachers or civil servants or business people to assure that their children would not have to struggle as hard as they did. And they persevered relentlessly.

At Honohina Hongwanji, that commitment and dedication began Saturday morning, O-Bon day, 7:30-11 a.m.: setting up tents and parking lot barricades, installing signs, sound systems, stringing lights and “chochin” lanterns, arranging chairs and tables, altar and flowers, and readying the organ. Then there was prep for cooking, and cooking.

There was an outpouring of “kokua” from temple members, friends, and folks from neighboring Hongwanji temples. Haruo Takasaki, Mitsuko Takasaki, Caroline Doi, Leatrice Uchida, Lillian Fujimoto, Audrey Asato, Ingrid Nishimoto, Rev. Shinji Kawagoe and Noriko Kawagoe, Jerry Broughton, Rose Broughton, Isamu Fukui, Roy Uyeda, Earl Kaku, Alice Tamayoshi, Pat Tanoue, Melvin Kunimoto, Leonard Chow and his Hilo Bon Dance Club drummers, Dance Sensei, Jane Heit and her Odori Kai dancers.

On Sunday morning, the day after O-Bon, some who had come on Saturday to help, returned to conclude the cleanup. Robert Nishimoto, Glenn Takemoto, Ken Fujimoto, Mits Une, Reggie Une, Ken Maesato, Gail Maesato, George Araki, Doris Araki, Morris Takemoto, Jane Uyeno and Harold Uyeno were there to clear and pack up the tents, chairs and tables, and to do the final cleaning. Most of them grew up in Honohina and Ninole. Some of them married someone from here. A few still live here.

As Robert Nishimoto said: “Roots are strong.” Obviously their love for Honohina is strong and their gratitude is deep. And they have much aloha for this very special place they love, and that aloha is shared with us all.

Email Carol at waiukahenutz@gmail.com to submit items for her weekly column.