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Paia Mantokuji to be honored for bell restoration work

The Maui News

Mantokuji Soto Zen Mission of Paia will receive a Preservation Honor Award later this month for its work to restore its historic bell tower, the Historic Hawaii Foundation announced Monday.

The 48th annual Preservation Honor Awards will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Hookupu Center in Honolulu.

Presented annually since 1975, the awards celebrate achievements in preserving and sharing Hawaii’s historic built and cultural sites. It was held virtually in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic and is being held in person again this year.

This year’s ceremony will recognize 14 Preservation Award honorees, including Paia Mantokuji, which was founded in 1906 and is the only Soto Zen Buddhist temple on Maui and the second oldest existing Buddhist temple on the island, according to the foundation. The two-ton bell was made for the temple and shipped from the Soto headquarters in Japan. It was listed on the Hawaii Register of Historic Places in 2008.

The mission undertook the project after the tower was damaged by termites and water. The roof was dismantled, repaired and resheathed with new cedar wood shingle roofing. All of the existing column and footings were replaced with epoxy injection, after which the repaired roof was reattached to the columns. Decorative kumimono (bracketing pieces) were repaired in accordance with the Secretary of Interior’s standards.

Paia Mantokuji will be one of several Maui organizations recognized. The event will also celebrate the major anniversaries of 26 local organizations and companies, including the centennials of Cades Schutte LLP, which operates on Maui and Oahu; Puunene School on Maui; St. Rita Catholic Church on Maui; the Hawaii Education Association, which is statewide; and the Hawaii Library Association, which is also statewide. The 125th anniversary of Bank of Hawaii, which began in 1897, will also be celebrated.

The event will also include special recognition for architectural historian Ann Yoklavich and historical architect Tonia Moy, as recipients of the Frank Haines Award for Lifetime Achievement.

For more information, visit historihawaii.org/awards-2022/.

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