Kahului Jodo Mission marks 100 years

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Kahului Jodo Mission Centennial Celebration

* Nov. 6: 6 p.m. potluck dinner in the church social hall.

* Nov. 7: 10 a.m. service at the temple; 11 a.m. luncheon at the Maui Beach Hotel, Elleair Ballroom; 6 p.m. service at temple; 7 to 9 p.m. Matsuri with bon dancing at temple grounds along with celebratory mochi (rice cake) throwing.

* Nov. 8: 8 a.m. family service at the temple with breakfast to follow.

* The public is invited to all events. Luncheon costs $25 for adults; $12 for children ages 5 to 10. Checks for the luncheon along with the names of the attendees may be sent to Kahului Jodo Mission, 325 Laau St., Kahului, 96732. Deadline for payment is Friday.

* For more information, contact Iris Nitta at 244-4181; Jennie Hashiro, 877-3503 or the Rev. John Cho-On Hara, 244-0066. Or send e-mail to kahuluijodomission@gmail.com or patnitta7970@aol.com.

By MELISSA TANJI, Staff Writer

KAHULUI - A Buddhist church that began humbly in a room of a house in a Puunene plantation camp will celebrate its 100th birthday next month.

The Kahului Jodo Mission, formerly known as the Puunene Jodo Mission, will celebrate its centennial with a potluck, services, luncheon along with bon dancing and celebratory mochi (rice cake) throwing.

"It's a milestone . . . I'm very happy," said 79-year-old church member George Kubota of Kahului.

Kubota has witnessed the church's transformation over the years from its roots in Puunene, to its new location near Maui High School as well as a fire that destroyed the old church in the 1970s.

The church has seen four generations of the Kubota family pass through its doors since Kubota's parents first attended the Puunene church in the early 1900s.

The Rev. John Cho-On Hara, who splits his time between Kahului Jodo Mission and Wailuku Jodo Mission, said he hopes the celebration will be a "rejuvenation" for the congregation and help people remember what the temple means to them.

He hopes that through the celebratory events, members' families and friends also will become interested in the church.

The centennial celebration's theme is "Senzo Dai Dai, Remembering Our Ancestors," said church President Iris Nitta.

Nitta said church members such as Kubota as well as the other current and deceased church members made the mission what it is today.

The church was established in 1909, with the Rev. Shodo Hara (no relation to the current minister) starting his missionary work in a room of a house in Young Hee Village in Puunene. The church practices Jodo Shu Buddhism, which is the first independent school of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan and was established by Honen Shonin in 1175.

Eventually a temple was built in the camp. But in 1959, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. wanted to expand cane production and decided to close the camps and relocate the workers to a new subdivision in Kahului called "Dream City."

The workers slowly moved out of Puunene, and members decided to move the temple closer to their congregation in Kahului.

In July 1969, Puunene Jodo Mission opened its doors as Kahului Jodo Mission at its present location at the corner of Laau and Molokai Hema streets in the middle of "Dream City."

But it was a tough road for the congregation as members wrestled with the lengthy process of purchasing land and raising funds to build a new temple.

Nitta said it was especially hard to build the new church because its congregation members were also trying to build their new homes in "Dream City."

She has heard that some members put their own homes up for collateral to build the new church.

Kubota said that he along with other members all helped build the church along with the help of Arisumi Brothers Inc., the construction company that built the temple's foundation, social hall and minister residence.

Arisumi workers also donated their time to the project, which meant its cost dropped from around $150,000 overall to $75,000 for the construction materials only, he said. The rest of the work was done by the congregation.

The church used the rest of the money to pay off its debt, Kubota said.

"There were a lot of members who worked in the plantation and the cannery that had construction skills," Nitta said.

Soon after the new temple was built, an arsonist torched the old mission in Puunene, Kubota said.

He said he felt "kind of disappointed" after learning about the fire. The old church was supposed to have been torn down. A newspaper article said the fire occurred in 1973.

Kubota said that as a child in the 1930s he remembers playing in the Puunene church's yard, which was just one house away from his residence.

"I grew up in the yard. I learned a lot of things from them. The minsters were very nice to us," Kubota said.

He said the church's old rock wall still remains at the site today, which is less than a mile from the current Puunene Mill.

During the early 1900s in Puunene, Kubota said the church was a "full house" when services were held. But now the Kahului church is less full.

Currently, there are fewer than 100 church members, but in its heyday in Puunene, membership probably totaled around 300, Nitta said.

She said that at that time, people were free from modern distractions and went to church on Sundays.

John Cho-On Hara also sees the membership is dwindling.

"It's hard to relate (to the church) when the Japanese culture is so far away," said the 32-year-old minister, who was raised in Lahaina.

His father, Gensho Hara, is the minister at the Lahaina Jodo Mission.

John Cho-On Hara said he would love to have more members join, especially the younger generation, because Kahului Jodo's congregation is made up of about 70 percent retirees.

Nitta, who was raised in Hilo, said her parents were caretakers of a Jodo Shu church there, so she has especially strong ties to the church.

"To me, religion is important . . . It doesn't matter what religion. Religion is so important to give you the balance in life," said the retired Baldwin High School counselor.

Sunday services are held two times a month at the Kahului church, in addition to special services and the summertime bon dance.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.