“Rally of the Temples” // Summit 3.1, Feature

“Over the last 100 years, Buddhism in Hawaiʻi has been transformed from a traditional, ethnic religion at the center of community life for Hawaiʻi-born Japanese plantation workers to one that has been adapted to modern styles of worship, surviving periods of tumult and political persecution to welcome new generations today. Like the gently bobbing lanterns of the Tōrō nagashi (summer lantern festival), a Japanese ritual to honor one’s ancestors now much-beloved in the islands, this venerable faith ebbs and flows in the tide toward unknown territory, lighting the way for the faithful.”

The 7th edition of Summit includes a feature story by Karen Shishido centered on the legacy of Buddhism in the Hawaiian islands today. I accompanied Karen on a number of interviews on location at various temples in Honolulu, and I also took the opportunity to visit the Byōdō-in Temple at the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park in Kāneʻohe to participate in the Obon festival (with camera in tow). A replica of the 10th century Kyoto Byōdō-In, this temple—located right across the street from the neighborhood I grew up in—was dedicated in August 1968 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaiʻi.

Photographed: Summer, 2017

Locations: Mō‘ili‘ili Hongwanji; Byōdō-in Temple, Kāneʻohe; Shingon Shu Hawaiʻi, Kāheka