First Minister: Soma Senri (1904-1907)
On January 17th, 1904, Soma Senri was appointed as a minister and landed on Laupahoehoe from April of that year. He stayed in the church there for a while, then moved to Hakalau, which is located at the midpoint between Hamakua church and Olaa church. In July he rented one room in a bakery in Down Camp (Hakalau Lower Camp) to start teaching Japanese language. Later a member of Sei Ren Ji temple in Yashiro Mura, Oshima Gun, Yamaguchi-prefecture, named Yokoyama Kikuchiro (author’s note: he was the first one to take care of Okabe there) and others helped him to establish a school with $600. On November 3rd, on the auspicious day of Japanese Emperor’s birthday, they had a school opening ceremony. There were 50 students at the time of opening, and it is said that the members asked Minister Soma to find a wife in order to pursue the mission of spreading the teaching and education.
Then Minister Soma quickly launched on the construction of church and school building with the budget of $2,000, and completed the two story church of 30 feet by 20 feet. The top floor was the church and the lower floor, school. The one acre land was given to him with no rent or time limit. On February 19, 1905, he humbly performed a ceremony of receiving the sacred buddha statue into the church and a mourning ceremony for soldiers killed in Russo Japanese War. Minister Shimizu of Honolulu, Minister Ikeda of Hamakua, Minister Kobayashi of Laupahoehoe, and Minister Haneda of Olaa all welcomed and appreciated his effort.
On July 8, 1905, the wife of Minister Soma joined him as the members always had wanted. The landowner of Hakalau was very happy and offered a small amount of monthly support for the church in the future. The wife’s arrival speeded up the educational effort and the students staying at the dormitory quickly grew over a dozen. So some of the applicants had to be declined due to lack of space.The population of Honohina camp in the area was approximately 300. The schooling children either commuted to Hakalau Elementary School attached to the church or boarded at the dormitory. In response to the demand for kindergarten for over 30 preschoolers, from 1906 the wife took a horse carriage to Honohina to teach them in the morning, and came back to Hakalau school to teach Japanese with her husband in the afternoon.
In 1906 the school building became too small to house all the students and a new two story building with seven rooms including the kitchen was built. On July 8 of that year a ceremony to open this building was performed.
Minister Soma resigned in June, 1907, left for the US mainland in order to observe the religious status of the country, stayed in San Francisco for nine years and returned to Japan.
On January 17th, 1904, Soma Senri was appointed as a minister and landed on Laupahoehoe from April of that year. He stayed in the church there for a while, then moved to Hakalau, which is located at the midpoint between Hamakua church and Olaa church. In July he rented one room in a bakery in Down Camp (Hakalau Lower Camp) to start teaching Japanese language. Later a member of Sei Ren Ji temple in Yashiro Mura, Oshima Gun, Yamaguchi-prefecture, named Yokoyama Kikuchiro (author’s note: he was the first one to take care of Okabe there) and others helped him to establish a school with $600. On November 3rd, on the auspicious day of Japanese Emperor’s birthday, they had a school opening ceremony. There were 50 students at the time of opening, and it is said that the members asked Minister Soma to find a wife in order to pursue the mission of spreading the teaching and education.
Then Minister Soma quickly launched on the construction of church and school building with the budget of $2,000, and completed the two story church of 30 feet by 20 feet. The top floor was the church and the lower floor, school. The one acre land was given to him with no rent or time limit. On February 19, 1905, he humbly performed a ceremony of receiving the sacred buddha statue into the church and a mourning ceremony for soldiers killed in Russo Japanese War. Minister Shimizu of Honolulu, Minister Ikeda of Hamakua, Minister Kobayashi of Laupahoehoe, and Minister Haneda of Olaa all welcomed and appreciated his effort.
On July 8, 1905, the wife of Minister Soma joined him as the members always had wanted. The landowner of Hakalau was very happy and offered a small amount of monthly support for the church in the future. The wife’s arrival speeded up the educational effort and the students staying at the dormitory quickly grew over a dozen. So some of the applicants had to be declined due to lack of space.The population of Honohina camp in the area was approximately 300. The schooling children either commuted to Hakalau Elementary School attached to the church or boarded at the dormitory. In response to the demand for kindergarten for over 30 preschoolers, from 1906 the wife took a horse carriage to Honohina to teach them in the morning, and came back to Hakalau school to teach Japanese with her husband in the afternoon.
In 1906 the school building became too small to house all the students and a new two story building with seven rooms including the kitchen was built. On July 8 of that year a ceremony to open this building was performed.
Minister Soma resigned in June, 1907, left for the US mainland in order to observe the religious status of the country, stayed in San Francisco for nine years and returned to Japan.