The document provides information about upcoming events at the Jodo Mission of Hawaii, including a Jodo-E service on December 4th at the Soto Mission of Hawaii and New Year's Eve and New Year's Day services. It also discusses the meanings and traditions of these annual Buddhist ceremonies. Additionally, it shares details about omamori charms available for purchase and offers home New Year blessings. The final pages recognize volunteers and the success of the mission's recent bazaar event.

1. JODO MISSION OF HAWAII
BULLETIN - DECEMBER 2011
(#1181-1211)
Jodo Mission of Hawaii
1429 Makiki St.
Honolulu HI 96814
Address Service Requested
JODO-E SERVICE
Jodo-E (sometimes referred to as Bodhi Day) is the day that Shakyamuni Buddha at-
tained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree.
The Hawaii Buddhist Council*, invites everyone to join in the Jodo-E Service: This
year it will be held at the Soto Mission of Hawaii.
Sunday, December 4, 2010
9:00 a.m.
Soto Mission of Hawaii
1708 Nuuanu Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
Parking: Limited, carpooling encouraged
*The Hawaii Buddhist Council is comprised of the following Buddhist Temples: Nichiren Mission,
Soto Mission, Higashi Hongwanji Mission, Honpa Hongwanji Mission, Jodo Mission of Hawaii,
Koyasan Shingon Mission and Tendai Mission..

2. NEW YEAR’S EVE
At this time of the year, Buddhist temples observe two kinds of special ser-
vices to welcome the New Year. They are New Year’s Eve service and New
Year’s Day service. Have you attended these services before? If not, the follow-
ing are meanings for these services.
New Year’s Eve Service. New Year’s Eve service is one of the most familiar
annual ceremonies for Buddhists in Japan. Here in Hawaii, New Year’s Eve Ser-
vice is observed with the ringing of the Temple Bell at each Buddhist Temple.
When we listen solemnly to the sounds of the bell in the silent midnight atmos-
phere, we reflect in ourselves, and have a feeling of deep meditation. Do you
know why the temple bell rings 108 times on New Year’s Eve? To ring the bell
108 times signifies the dispelling of 108 evil passions which all human beings
have. According to Buddhism we have 108 different kinds of evil thoughts in our
minds. While the temple bell is rung, we pray to dispel our evil passions and
thoughts. Japanese people call that night “Joya”. Joya means the very night when
we should try to dispel all evil things in our lives.
The New Year’s Eve service gives us a good opportunity to meditate and re-
flect on our life on this last day of the year. And it is also a time to express our
gratitude to every blessing which we have received in our lives and at the same
time to our ancestors, parents, our country and our Lord Amida Buddha. In so do-
ing, we can welcome a most Happy New Year!
New Year’s Day Service. New Year’s Day Service is another special service
held on January 1st. New Year’s Day has three beginnings. It is the beginning of a
new day, a new month and a new year. Therefore, it is a very important and sig-
nificant day. Buddhist temples have a special service which is called Shusho-e.
This service means a religious gathering to reflect on the past life (year) and cor-
rect it and think of the New Year with hopes of a better life. We can reflect on our
past lives (years), confess to past deeds, and resolve for a better life by following
the teachings of Amida Buddha. And we can begin the New Year with hopes for
the future. These two services have long been the practices for Buddhists to finish
the old year and begin the first day of the New Year. In so doing, you can begin
the New Year with strengthened faith in Amida Buddha.
Page 2

3. JOYA-E
(New Year’s Eve Service)
During Joya-e Service, we thank Amida
Buddha for a safe year and to purify ourselves
for the coming year. Then, the Temple bell is
rung 108 times to erase all of our sins from
the past year. We invite everyone to join us in
ringing in the New Year at our Joya-e Service
on Saturday, December 31st at 11:30 pm.
SHUSHO-E
(New Year’s Day Service)
During this service we will pray for our
safety, happiness, and world peace for the New
Year. Our senior Minister, Rev. Narashiba will
also bestow his New Year’s address in English
after the chanting. Please join us on Satur-
day, January 1st, 2012 at 10:00 am - Happy
New Year!
OMAMORI
Omamori are spiritual charms, talismans, and amulets in Japanese
religious tradition that possess the power to ward off misfortune and
procure good luck. They can be made of pieces of wood, patches of
cloth, strips of paper, or rings of metal and come in various sizes
though the majority found in Hawaii tend to be no larger than the size
of one’s palm.
Omamori can often be seen dangling from car rearview mirrors or pasted on bumpers
and windshields where they are at once expressions of faith and portals of magical power.
They can also be worn on the body or placed in the home as symbols of protection of the
Buddhas. It is even fashionable to attach omamori to handbags and schoolbags.
Omamoris are available at Jodo Mission. Please call Jodo Mission at 949-3995 for more
information.
NEW YEAR BLESSING AT HOME
During January, 2012, New Year blessing at homes is available for those who can-
not attend the New Year service at the Temple.
Let’s start the wonderful New Year in the love and compassion of Amida Buddha.
Please call Jodo Mission at 949-3995.
Page 3

4. Bits of Knowledge of Buddhism
Vol. 13 The Tokugawa Shogun’s Crest (Dec. 2011)
By Rev. Yasushiro Watanabe
第13回 徳川家康と浄土宗（2011年12月）
本堂の入口には二つの家紋が掲げられています。右は法然上人の杏葉の御紋，左は徳川家
の葵の御紋です。江戸幕府の初代将軍として名高い徳川家康（1542-
1616）は，「念仏将軍」と称されるほど熱心な念仏信仰の持ち主でした。家康自身が「南
無阿弥陀仏」と書写した陣中名号が，今でも多数残っています。また，一日に六万遍もの
お念仏をお称えしたと伝えられています。家康は，増上寺を徳川家の菩提所と定め，知恩
院をはじめ浄土宗寺院の整備に貢献しました。そのため，私たち浄土宗では，徳川家の葵
の御紋を掲げて感謝の意を表しています。
当時は戦国時代と呼ばれる戦乱の世が長く続いていました。親兄弟の争い，部下の裏切り
も当たり前で，国土は荒れ果てて人々は疲れ切っていました。平和は全ての人々の願いで
もありました。徳川家康は，関ヶ原の戦いに勝利して，その戦乱の世に終止符を打ちまし
た。1615年から250年余り，日本人は世界にも稀にみる太平の世を享受します。この平和が
もたらした教育水準の向上や商工業の発達は，人々の生活を豊かにして近代日本の礎とな
りました。
徳川家康の天下統一の偉業と忍耐強い人格には，篤い念仏信仰の裏付けがありました。家
康は，終生浄土宗の教えを忘れず，戦場でもお念仏を称え続けました。そして，様々な困
難を乗り越えて，人々に平和をもたらしました。戦争のない世の中は，私たちにとってか
けがえのないものです。徳川家の「葵の御紋」は，念仏と平和の象徴といえるでしょう。
Vol. 13 The Tokugawa Shogun’s Crest (Dec. 2011)
Over the inside entrance to the sanctuary, you can see a big banner showing two
family crests. The right one is St. Honen’s crest, and the left one is Tokugawa Shogun’s
crest. Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) became the first Shogun of the Edo government in
1603. He was a religious man and was called the “Nembutsu” Shogun. Even now, we can
find many Nembutsu writings by Ieyasu. He is said to have chanted “Namu Amida Butsu”
60,000 times a day. Ieyasu and the Shogun family supported Jodo Shu and donated to tem-
ples such as Chion-in in Kyoto and Zojoji in Tokyo. That is why we display the Shogun’s
crest to honor this family.
Ieyasu lived in a turbulent age called “Sengoku.” Conflicts between relatives and re-
bellions against the rulers were common. The country fell into ruin and the people were ex-
hausted. People desired peace for a long time. Finally, Ieyasu won the battle of Sekigahara
and unified Japan. He ended the wars and built a peaceful world. For 250 years after 1615,
the Japanese enjoyed a peaceful world without war. The peaceful Edo period led to the
prosperity of modern Japan.
Please remember that religion was behind Ieyasu’s achievements and personality.
He was devoted to his faith in Nembutsu for life. The teaching of Jodo Shu gave him great
Page 4

5. Cont’d from page 4;
spiritual strength during this turbulent age. You should also remember that peace is pre-
cious and priceless. The Tokugawa Shogun’s crest, or “Aoi,” is a symbol of Nembutsu
and eternal peace.
Photo: Tokugawa Shogun’s crest (left) and St. Honen’s crest (right)
*********************************************************************
Honolulu Jodo Shu Fujinkai Appreciation Party
The Honolulu Jodo Shu Fujinkai held its annual Appreciation Party on Sunday, November
6. In attendance were Fujinkai members and supporters. Bishop Hara and Mrs. Hara came
from Maui to attend the appreciation party and had fun with the games at the party. The ladies
work hard throughout the year and it was a treat for the ladies to meet and talk with our Bishop
and Mrs. Hara who is such a gracious lady. Below is a group photo of those in attendance.
Page 5

6. The Birth of a Banyan Tree [Respect for your elders]
Once upon a time, there was a big banyan tree in the for-
est beneath the mighty Himalayas. Living near this banyan
tree were three very good friends. They were a quail, a
monkey and an elephant. Each of them was quite smart.
Occasionally the three friends got into a disagreement.
When this happened, they did not consider the opinion of
any one of them to be more valuable. No matter how
much experience each one had, his opinion was treated
the same as the others. So it took them a long time to
reach an agreement. Every time this happened, they had
to start from the beginning to reach a solution.
After a while they realized that it would save time, and
help their friendship, if they could shorten their disagree-
ments. They decided that it would certainly help if they
considered the most valuable opinion first. Then, if they
could agree on that one, they would not have to waste
time, and possibly even become less friendly, by arguing
about the other two.
Fortunately, they all thought the most valuable opinion was the one based on the most experience.
Therefore, they could live together even more peacefully if they gave higher respect to the oldest
among them. Only if his opinion were clearly wrong, would they need to consider others.
Unfortunately, the elephant and the monkey and the quail had no idea which one was the oldest.
Since this was a time before old age was respected, they had no reason to remember their birthdays
or their ages.
Then one day, while they were relaxing in the shade of the big banyan tree, the quail and the monkey
asked the elephant, "As far back as you can remember, what was the size of this banyan tree?"
The elephant replied, "I remember this tree for a very long time. When I was just a little baby, I used to
scratch my belly by rubbing it over the tender shoots on top of this banyan tree."
Then the monkey said, "When I was a curious baby monkey, I used to sit and examine the little seed-
ling banyan tree. Sometimes I used to bend over and nibble its top tender leaves."
The monkey and the elephant asked the quail, "As far back as you can remember, what was the size
of this banyan tree?"
The quail said, "When I was young, I was looking for food in a nearby forest. In that forest, there was a
big old banyan tree, which was full of ripe berries. I ate some of those berries, and the next day I was
standing right here. This was where I let my droppings fall, and the seeds they contained grew up to
be this very tree!"
The monkey and the elephant said, "Aha! Sir quail, you must be the oldest. You deserve our respect
and honor. From now on we will pay close attention to your words. Based on your wisdom and experi-
ence, advise us when we make mistakes. When there are disagreements, we will give the highest
place to your opinion. We ask only that you be honest and just."
The quail replied, "I thank you for your respect, and I promise to always do my best to deserve it." It
just so happened that this wise little quail was the Bodhisatta the Enlightenment Being.
The moral is: Respect for the wisdom of elders leads to harmony.
Page 6 [Reprinted story from Buddhist Studies for Young and Old.]

7. BAZAAR NEWS
MAHALO NUI LOA
Thank you, thank you to everyone who vol-
unteered their precious time to make our annual
Bazaar held on October 23, a great success.
This year the Bazaar was co-chaired by JoAnn
Matsuo and Kay Oshiro. It was an event of
dedicated members and friends who unselfishly
came for days to prepare the merchandise for
the Bazaar. The preparation involved dona-
tions by members and friends; the collection Lots of people and lots of things!
and storage of these donations, the sorting, dis-
playing, pricing, selling and the overall clean-
up; the parking attendants; the planning and co-
ordination of every phase of the Bazaar; the
pre-Bazaar preparation, i.e., the buying of foods
for the pickles and meals for the volunteers for
the whole week; and all the other incidentals
that come with a great project.
It may have been a little overwhelming but
the camaraderie, the fellowship, the
renewing of old friends; the meeting of new
Lots of interesting things!
friends, the sharing of stories and meals more
than anything overcame all the sweat and hard
work. Thank you JoAnn and Kay for a very
successful Bazaar! Thank you again to the
many people who worked so hard for this event
to happen. Also thank you to the many people
who donated plants, baked goods, produce,
household items, children’s clothing, toys, and Variety of plants. Can I see
the red T-leaf plant back Two happy volunteers shar-
all types of clothing and the Sewing Circle’s there? ing their love of plants.
craft work and so many others. ARIGATO!
Tons of clothing were available! The day started out Such beautiful fabrics in the craft area
with clothes stacked neatly by volunteers but as people
searched through the stacks they became mountains! Page 7

8. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Sunday School End of Year Temple Cleaning
Sunday School invites
Everyone to their We will be doing general cleaning at the
End of the Year Party. temple on Sunday, December 11, at
8:00 a.m. We NEED YOUR HELP. If
Date: Sunday you have time on December 11,
December 11 please come and help clean the temple.
Time: 10:30 a.m. After temple cleaning you may join the
after Temple General Clean-up Sunday School with their Annual End
of the Year Party.
Malama Children’s Choir will perform
***********************
before Sunday School Year End Party
begins. ♫ ♪ ♫ Fujinkai
No Fujinkai Meeting in December
Please come and join
our Sunday School YBA
as they celebrate No YBA Meeting in December
the end of 2011.
************** Sewing Circle
Sunday School will also meet again on
No Sewing Circle in December
Sunday, December 18 at 10:45 a.m.
Sunday School
Halloween Party
On October 30th the Sunday School
celebrated Halloween. Photo at left
shows the students having a lot of
fun! If you have grandchildren or
children who would like to join our
Sunday School, please call or see
Rev. Watanabe.
Front row: Takeru, A’Marie, Himaware, Sophie
Back row: Raistlih and Taylori
Page 8

9. MOCHI
With the New Year just around the corner it is once again
time to order our delectable mochi. This year, we will be
selling Okasane and Komochi. Please fill out the mochi
order form below or call at 949-3995. The deadline to submit your mochi order form is
Thursday, December 8th.
Mochi can be picked up on:
Thursday, December 29, 2011
From 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
And to those who would like to learn
how to make mochi, we will be making
mochi on Thursday, December 29th
from 7:00 am. This is a fun and memo-
rable experience for all, especially fami-
lies (a family who makes mochi together
sticks together). Please come and join
us. It is a time to meet new friends and
renew old acquaintances. We look forward to seeing you!!
MOCHI (Dec. 29) ORDER FORM おもち注文表
Deadline for order is Thursday, December 8, 2011
注文締め切り１２月8日
PLEASE PRINT NAME 名前 HOME PHONE NO. 電話番号
OKASANE おかさね KOMOCHI こもち TOTAL
$4.00/SET 3” SIZE $3.50/POUND 合計
SETS LBS
DOLLARS DOLLARS DOLLARS
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY
Order accepted by: _______________ Date accepted: _____/_____/_2011 (In person/ Mail / Phone)
Received by: _______________ Date paid: _____/_____/_2011 (Cash / Check# )

10. What is “Perpetual Memorial
Service?” (Eitaikyo)
Obituaries
This record of a perpetual memorial service and
is called Eitaikyo in Japanese. When the date of
The Jodo Mission of Hawaii extends
death occurs for a person listed on this record, the its sincere condolences to the family
ministers pray for that individual during the morn- members and loved ones of the following
ing service. The prayers will continue each year for members who have recently left this
as long as Jodo Mission exists. world for the Pure Land.
Anyone can be included in it. You may put your
own name on the list, too. This also helps when it
Raymond Shigeo Kishida 88
is difficult to have memorial services. We also wel-
Wayne Shoji Nakata 64
come you to attend the morning service at 8:30am.
Fudeko Simeona 83
How to apply Shigenobu Tamashiro 86
Stop by the office, and fill out the application
form. Each name costs $200. After the application
is accepted, the name will be listed on the record.
Wedding Services, Baby Blessings,
House Blessings are available
upon request.
If you are planning to get married or
Jodo Mission Office Hours: know someone who is planning a wedding
or if you would like to renew your wedding
vows, you are welcome to recommend our
Monday to Saturday: 8am—5pm Temple. To pledge eternal love between
husband and wife to Amida Buddha is very
Sunday & Holidays: 8am—3pm important.
Baby Blessings: May Amida Buddha’s
Phone: 949-3995 love surround our children with love.
House Blessings: May your new house,
apartment, home be blessed.
Please call for an appointment.
Rev. Kanjun Nakano Rev. Yasuhiro Rev. Dwight
Rev. Yubun Narashiba
Head Minister Resident Minister Watanabe Nakamura
Retired Minister
Resident Minister
Page 10

11. Perpetual Memorial Service (Eitaikyo) for December
1 Jusaku Kimura Takaichi Tamakawa Hideo Moritsugu Hisayo Doris Imaguchi
Sato Imaguchi The Wakaki Family Kona Matsuda
27 Tsunesuke Yamamoto
Isamu Matsumoto The Nakamura Family Kaya & Shimazaki Family
Tamito Yasuda
Masayoshi Tanigawa The Tanimura Family
18 Bishop Kyodo Fujihana Evelyn Hideko Yagi
The Kimura & Muroshige
9 Genjiro Shimabukuro Alice Y. Fukunaga (2)
Family 28 Ichiro Sagawa
Tora Aoki Kiyoko Kagihara
The Imaguchi Family Saichi Ikeda
Ichiro Kishi (2) Taichi Ebisuzaki
The Kawahara Family
2 Kame Aoki (2) Yutaka Onaga (2)
19 Tsunesuke Yanagihara (2) The Ikeda Family
Kame Yano (2) The Shimabukuro Family
Iwa Yanagihara
Ayako Yokoyama The Aoki Family 29 Kiku Yanagihara
Jane Takabayashi
Shizue Matsuda The Kishi Family Shotaro Nose
Jeanette Asako Hayashi
Shizue Nakano Kamato Akamine
10 Hyoichi Sugihara The Yanagihara Family
Hisashi Kochi Chiyoe Kameoka
Asa Nanba 20 Satoshi Yasumoto
Tose Terada Teruo Gushikuma
Chokichi Nakamura
The Aoki & Kimura Family 21 Tokutsuchi Saeki 30 Seiichi Tsuchiya
Hiroshi Hayamoto
The Yano, Konaka & Masao Yano Hatsuyo Yoshioka
Ito Kawanishi
Hayashi Faimily George K. Kimoto The Tsuchiya Family
Matsu Gushiken
The Yokoyama & Morita Seiichi Kimura
Jiro Saiki 31 Hira Yamane
Family Judith K. Kodama
The Sugihara Family Teruyo Kishii
The Matsuda Family The Saeki Family
Michiko Miyao 11 Asajiro Inada Yoshikazu Wada
22 Emiko Hirai Frances S. Johnson Ito
Zenshiro Sato
3 Fumie Chinen Kama Chinen The Yamane & Harada
Paul Tanigawa
Fumiko Hayashi Tsurumatsu Miyamasu Family
Edward Yokoyama
Fujino Masatsugu Umekichi Yamachika
Hanako Uchiumi
The Chinen Family Kikuyo Goto
Inada & Morimoto Family
4 Ryuichi Higashimura Harold T. Hamasaki
Grace Saiki Beringer
Gunichi Morioka The Hirai Family
12 RokuichiYanagihara The Chinen Family
Nobusuke Shinagawa
Jisaku Yanagihara The Miyamasu Family
The Higashimura Family
The Morioka Family 13 Mosaku Hayashi The Yamachika &
Hana Imai Matsushige Family
5 Tatsuji Kusunoki
Sachiko Fujikami 23 Tsuru Nakamura
Yuichi Kanayama
The Yano, Konaka & Teruo Asai
Yasuyo Hirano
Hayashi Family Hideko Wada
Kane Otani
Rice Ishii 14 Umetaro Ogata Giichi Kawamura
Kameyo Morimoto Yuichi Nose The Nakamura Family
Irene Nishida Tamikichi Yasuda 24 Totsuchi Nanba
Kiyoichi Kishida Naoji Nishimura Tokutsuchi Muranaka
The Kusunoki Family Yoshiko Tanigawa Matsu Yokomichi
The Hirano & Kaneko Tsuruko Gushikuma Kame Yanagihara
Family 15 Masagoro Kitagawa Ryuichi Ipponsugi
Tane Oda Yoshio Miyao Hatsuno Hirai
Masami Kawamura Michika Umeda Gaines
6 Tokuemon Imamoto
Hideo Morita The Kitagawa Family The Nanba Family
Kiyoko Maehara Ichiji Kiyuna The Muranaka Family
Imamoto & Kawakami Kisei Takara The Nanba Totsuchi Family
Family Manabu Omura 25 The Sato Family
7 Matsujiro Tanimura 16 Fusakichi Okawa Robert Mitsuyasu
The Shigeoka & Okawa 26 Haru Ogawa
8 Reisuke Wakagi
Family Seiji Minehira
Seiichi Nakamura
17 Yasukichi Kaya Maurice Bungo Udo
Yoshio Higashimura
Matsuyo Tanimura Rinsuke Uesugi Shinemon Toishigawa

12. 8:30am Morning Service Jodo Mission of Hawaii
Everyday December 2011 Phone: 949-3995
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3
**3:15 pm Jodo Shu
Hour
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
9:00 HBC Jodo-e Service Deadline to
at Jodo Mission Order Mochi
11 8:00 Temple Clean-up 12 13 14 15 16 17
10:30 Sunday School End **3:15 pm Jodo Shu
of the Year Party Hour
11:45 Board Meeting
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
10:00 Sunday Service
10:45 Sunday School
25 26 27 28 29 7:00 am 30 31
Mochitsuki
10:00 Sunday Service 1 pm to 4 pm 11:30pm
Mochi Pick up Joya-e Service
**Jodo Shu Hour Radio K-ZOO (AM1210Khz, Japanese
COMING EVENT: Shusho-E or New Year’s Day Service
station) on January 1, 2012, at 10 am
Sunday, January 22, 2012—New Year’s Party and General
Membership Meeting