KOLOA — The Koloa Jodo Mission welcomed some 150 visiting Japanese Jodo Buddhists who joined Rev. Kosen Ishikawa and other Jodo Buddhist dignitaries in celebrating the 100th anniversary of the temple, Sunday. A Japanese garden created by Yoshiyuki Aoki of
KOLOA — The Koloa Jodo Mission welcomed some 150 visiting Japanese Jodo Buddhists who joined Rev. Kosen Ishikawa and other Jodo Buddhist dignitaries in celebrating the 100th anniversary of the temple, Sunday.
A Japanese garden created by Yoshiyuki Aoki of a Japanese landscape company was dedicated in commemoration of the anniversary.
“A Japanese garden is always changing,” Ishikawa said. “We can learn from the garden by becoming better for the future.”
Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. echoed those sentiments as he welcomed the visiting Japanese guests in the name of peace. He emphasized that point by rendering an acapella version of “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” ending with “Let it begin with ‘we.’”
The cultural exchange was completed when Ka Lei Mokihana ‘o Leina‘ala dancers performed a pair of contemporary hula, adding the final touch to the dedication of the garden that features four Japanese lanterns created by Japanese artisans.
The Koloa Jodo Mission was built in 1910 by Rev. Jissei Muroyama. The immigrant Japanese workers used the building not only as a place of worship, but to learn the Japanese language and culture, martial arts, and for social gatherings, states the Jodo website.
The latter point was brought home recently when the temple hosted its annual bon dance, opening the gates to the community to celebrate the return of ancestral spirits.
A specialist in temple architecture from Japan was utilized to build the temple’s interior. Hand-painted wooden ceiling tiles were a gift from the Japanese artist who rendered them, states the Heritage Trail marker.
In 2007, the Koloa Jodo Mission was reportedly declared one of nine Most Endangered Historic Sites in Hawai‘i in a list compiled by the Historic Hawai‘i Foundation in cooperation with the State Historic Preservation Division.
Lorraine Minatoishi-Palumbo, an architect with expertise in Hawai‘i’s traditional Japanese architecture, describes the temple as a fine example of early period Japanese temples built in the Islands — one of only a handful still standing, a Honolulu Magazine article states.
“Our membership is small, but very proud that the original temple still exists,” Ishikawa said.
Plagued by the vestiges of age, the temple has been converted for use as a columbarium by the temple’s membership, but Ishikawa said the ceiling is falling down and there is termite damage.
Rev. Kodo Tanaka, who served as the temple’s resident minister from 1976 to 1987, spearheaded the efforts to build the new temple.
The new temple, which sits adjacent to the original temple, was dedicated in the 1980s. On a visit to the original temple in 2007, Tanaka, who was with the group of dignitaries, raised the possibility of bringing in skilled carpenters from Japan to repair the temple.
