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Where ancient traditions thrive Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu Volume 4, Issue 7 Autumn Thanksgiving Festival 秋季感謝大祭 For thousands of years, people In the United States, this day have set aside a day to celebrate the au- of thanks is called Thanksgiving, a na- tumn harvest, giving thanks for a plenti- tional holiday observed in November where family and friends get together ful growing season. Ancient Hebrews held a special for a feast to celebrate their good for- eight-day feast to celebrate their harvest tune, relax and enjoy one another's season. People in ancient Greece dedi- company. cated a nine-day harvest festival to De- The Festival of the Autumn meter, the goddess of agriculture. Moon, is the Chinese celebration of Pre-Christian Europeans also thanksgiving. The Moon Goddess is marked a good harvest with a large feast honored with mooncakes, and at night, before crops were gathered. children parade with colored lanterns. Celebrations surrounding the Rice has long been the main autumn harvest have continued through- staple of the traditional Japanese diet. out history, and many cultures have set It is not only consumed daily as a sta- quest for more refined ways of eat- aside a specific day to give thanks. ple food but also used to brew sake. ing rice and drinking sake. The date and customs may vary Japanese cuisine has devel- Japanese culture is insepa- from country to country, but the desire oped the art of providing side dishes to rable from rice cultivation and to take time and reflect on life's bless- complement consumption of rice and many festivals evolve around rice ings remains the same. table manners were established in the cultivation. The shrine’s Autumn Thanksgiving Festival, meant to express gratitude to the bounties that we receive from nature was held on Sunday, September 28 of- ficiated by Rev. Masa Takizawa and assisted by Rev. Akihiro Okada of Daijingu Temple of Ha- waii, Rev. Daiya Amano of Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii and Rev. Naoya Shimura of Hawaii Ishizuchi Jinja. Our heartfelt mahalo goes out to the members for their kokua in the preparations, Shawna Ara- kaki for the miko mai, Hanayagi Mitsutamae sensei and the students of Hanayagi Dancing Academy Hawaii Foundation and Chika Mi- yazono sensei and her students for the fabulous lineup of classical and modern Japanese dances. MAHALO for your generous donations Shrine Calendar Thomas & Linda Agawa Craig & Diane Nishida Rev. Daiya Amano Diane Ogasawara October Lois Arakaki Gregory & Emiko Perez 1 Reservations accepted for Shichigosan David & Anri Bui Kenneth & Kumiko Saiki 七五三予約受付開始 Daijingu Temple of Hawaii Robert & Miyono Shimoda 月次祭 Robert & Yuuki Franklin Mitsuru & Umeko Suehisa 12 Tsukinami-sai Monthly Service Toshiko Fujisaki Alice Sugimoto 25–31 Shichigosan 七五三 Honolulu Hiroshima Kenjinkai Sugimoto Family Miya Honsho Takuma & Yukino Tanizaki November Igarashi Family Paul & Linda Tanoue 1-30 Shichigosan 七五三 Hawaii Ishizuchi Jinja Mayumi Togashi 2 Tsukinami-sai Monthly Service 月次祭 Robert Iida Nishie Tomiyama Kyoko Isa Toshiko Tougas December Max Katsumi Iwazaki Roberta Uesugi 7 Tsukinami-sai Monthly Service 月次祭 Izumo Taishakyo Mission of HI Eiko Wong Masao & Ikuyo Kawamura TBA Mochi pounding 餅つき Sachiko Kele Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha-Hawaii TBA Susubarai Clean-up 煤払い Dazaifu Tenmangu is a 501(C )(3) Toshiaki Kimura nonprofit church. 30 Hatsumode Set-up 初詣準備 Elaine Komatsu All contributions are tax 31 Year End Purification Ritual Kotohiragu deductible to the fullest extent 年越しの大祓い James & Melba Kurashige allowed by law. Meiji Kai Thelma Mitsuyoshi Roy Morioka Shinken & Marilyn Naitoh Shichigosan 七五三 Nakazato Fish Market Masateru & Hatsuko Nakazato John & Edlyn Niimi October 25 - MAHALO November 30 Give Five Campaign August Volunteers Arthur Isa Go to: www.e-shrine.org Arthur MJY Isa or call 841-4755 for details Mathew Mason & Rev. Takizawa manning the shrine booth at the annual the Kapahuu Community Center Bon Dance Festival on August 23 Autumn Thanksgiving Festival MAHALO Festival Volunteers 大祭あれこれ Shawna Arakaki Yumi Hoshino Kyoko Isa Rev. Daiya Amano Emi Igarashi Masao Kawamura Jeff Fujioka Kai Igarashi Miyazono Chika Dance Studio Melissa Hamada Pam Igarashi Shinken Naitoh Rev. Akihiro Okada Hanayagi Dancing Academy Arthur Isa Hatsuko Nakazato Rev. Naoya Shimura Ryuji Hoshino Arthur MJY Isa Axel Obara Eiko Wong Rice - Japan’s Essential Food By Jaclyn Landry When the word rice is the word for "cooked rice" as well as mentioned, most people visualize a "meal." The fact that the Japanese sticky white food commonly served use the word for rice and meal inter- with meat and vegetables. To some changeably reveals the significance people, however, rice is not just part of this food to the Japanese people. of a meal, but a fundamental part of The word gohan is also used who they are. with prefixes to give us asagohan The Japanese are a group of (breakfast), hirugohan (lunch), and people that would never refer to rice bangohan (dinner). as a “side dish.” Not only is rice These multiple words reveal quantitatively Japan’s most impor- to us that it was impossible for the tant food, but it is the heart of their Japanese to think of a meal without culture. One cannot possibly appre- rice. amae to refer to the dependency they ciate the Japanese people and their The Japanese indigenous have on others. These strong ties to rich culture until they recognize the name for Japan also makes reference family and friends are still valued in fundamental role rice has played in to the importance of rice. Japan today. shaping it. The early settlers called the Even though it has been By studying something as country Toyo Ashihara no Mizu ho many decades since Japan was a pre- tiny as a grain of rice, and its influ- no kuni or land of the water stalk dominantly agricultural society, and ence on social behavior, language, plant. Rice was such a crucial part of most of the nation's citizens now live religion and traditions, one can be- Japanese life that they referred to in urban environments, the ideal of gin to understand the Japanese peo- their land as the land of rice. the village community still remains ple and their unique culture. Another aspect of the Japa- powerful. Rice has a long and meaning- nese lifestyle that rice has signifi- Another aspect of Japanese ful history in Japan. It was first in- cantly impacted is that of social culture that has been shaped by the troduced to the country two thou- structure and behavior. dependence on rice is religion. sand years ago during the Yayoi There are two specific social One cannot begin to under- Period. behaviors of the Japanese that origi- stand a group of people without un- During these early periods, nate from the cultivation of wet rice. derstanding their religious beliefs. Japanese people’s lives were gov- The cultivation of wet rice is To the Japanese, rice is the erned by the seasonal rhythms of an extremely labor intensive task, grain that links Heaven and Earth, rice growing: sowing, planting, fer- and cannot be completed easily. As a gods and mortals. tilizing, weeding, flooding, harvest- result, families pooled their labor. Not only was the cultivation ing, threshing, hulling, and polish- They worked together with of rice sacred, but the grain itself was ing. other families sharing water re- considered holy. The Japanese be- Their lives from birth to sources, irrigation facilities and di- lieved that each grain of rice had a death were bound to rice. This dedi- viding up the laborious tasks. soul and that it’s soul was alive while cation to the crop would enter every The families built their in the hull. part of the Japanese life, shaping the houses clustered together, depending In order to ensure that the culture we know today. heavily upon each other during the soul was alive when it was con- One of the most important growing process. sumed, the Japanese would thresh characteristics that help to define a This dependence on others the plant right before serving it. They culture or group of people is their was the foundation of the Japanese believed that hulled rice soon be- way of communicating. Language people’s belief in group harmony. came lifeless and therefore would not is what allows a group of people to The people avoided any con- replenish the Japanese soul if eaten . share ideas, and therefore interact flict between families, for they were Not only was rice a source of with other members of their society. not only neighbors, but workmates worship, but it was the foundation of Language provides clues to for life. worship in the Japanese community. a culture’s core values and beliefs. The Japanese idea of group Rice was slowing shaping all Japanese language alone, signifies unity is an important characteristic aspects of Japanese culture, and de- the enormous influence rice has on that defines the Japanese people. fining who they would become. Japanese life. They use the word wa to refer to The final aspect of Japanese In Japanese "Gohan" is both their need for group harmony, and culture that has been influenced by rice are the celebrations and traditions a prosperous year to come. Takikomi-gohan that have evolved from the cultivation These celebrations demon- Rice is boiled with various ingre- of this crop. strate that the Japanese lifestyle still dients and seasonings. Traditions and celebrations revolves around rice. It is so much a provide a glimpse into the hearts and part of who they are and what they O-kayu (rice porridge) minds of the Japanese people. These value that they hold rituals and celebra- Plain rice is simmered very soft.

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