The Early Years
The emphasis of the early years, during the time of Ministers Soma, Suzuki, Matsui and Tachikawa, was building the Japanese Language School, recruiting students and supporting the educational mission.
The role of the Japanese language schools in Hawaii changed over time and is described in Kodomo no tame ni: For the sake of the children:
The role of the Japanese language schools in Hawaii changed over time and is described in Kodomo no tame ni: For the sake of the children:
One of the first language schools had been founded in 1896...Soon the idea of teaching the Japanese language to Nisei became extremely popular, especially since the schools facilitated communication and cultural transmission within the Issei family and provided a child-care center for working parents. With the proliferation of Buddhist institutions, the Japanese language schools came under the control of a more "Japanesey" leadership. Besides instruction in the language, reverence for the emperor and a strong attachment to things Japanese dominated the curriculum of the Buddhist-operated language schools. Many young Nisei would therefore attend not only public school, learning American culture and language, but would study the ways of Japan at the language schools. (Source: Dennis M. Ogawa, Kodomo no tame ni: For the sake of the children, The University of Hawaii Press, 1978, p. 141)
1904-1907: Hakalau Jodo Mission Established by First Minister Soma Senri
On January 17, 1904, Soma Senri was appointed as a minister and landed at Laupahoehoe in April. In July he rented one room in a bakery in Down Camp (Hakalau Lower Camp) to start teaching Japanese language. This bakery, the site of the initial Japanese language school, was owned by Shotaro Shimizu.
A member of Sei Ren Ji temple in Yashiro Mura, Oshima Gun, Yamaguchi-prefecture, named Hakalau Upper Camp resident, Yokoyama Kikujiro, and others to help him establish a school with $600. The school opening ceremony was held on November 3rd, 1904, the auspicious day of Japanese Emperor’s birthday. There were 50 students at the time. Members asked Minister Soma to find a wife in order to expand the mission of teaching and education. With the budget of $2,000, Minister Soma quickly embarked on construction of a church and school building. The Hakalau Plantation provided one-acre land with no rent or time limit. The two-story church of 30 feet by 20 feet was built on the site of the current Hakalau Jodo Mission. The church was located on the top floor and the school on the lower floor. On February 19, 1905, Minister Soma performed the ceremony to receive the sacred Buddha statue into the temple as well as a mourning ceremony for soldiers killed in Russo-Japanese War. On July 8, 1905, Minister Soma’s wife joined him. At this point, the the Hakalau Plantation Manager offered a small monthly stipend for the church. The wife’s arrival advanced the educational effort. The number of students staying at the dormitory quickly grew to over a dozen and some of the applicants had to be declined due to lack of space.
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The population of Honohina camp was approximately 300. The school-age children either commuted to Hakalau Elementary School attached to the church or boarded at the dormitory. Beginning in 1906, in response to the demand for kindergarten for over 30 preschoolers, Mrs. Soma 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 and left for the US mainland in order to observe the religious status of the country. He stayed in San Francisco for nine years and then returned to Japan. |
About the portraits of Rev. and Mrs. Soma:
On Thursday, December 10, 2015, Mrs. Mariko Yamasaki, the granddaughter of the first minister of our church Rev. Senri Soma, her friend, her second cousin and the second cousin’s haole husband visited our church. The second cousin is a great grandniece of Rev. Senri Soma’s wife and lives in California with her husband. According to Mrs. Yamasaki, the pictures of a minister in Japanese style robe and a lady in kimono hanging on the Hamakua side wall of Hondo are that of Rev. Senri Soma and his wife Mine. Mine’s maiden name is Tao. When Rev. Soma built the temple, he called his and Mine’s relatives to come to Hakalau to help them. One of Mine’s brothers didn’t go back to Japan and his great granddaughter is now in Hilo. Rev. and Mrs. Soma then moved to San Fransisco to build a temple there. Some of relatives went with them. They couldn’t build a temple and went back to Japan. One of the relatives settled down there. (Source: Hakalau Jodo Mission Bulletin, January-February, 2016, as reported by Jan Nakamura, President of the Kyodan (Board of Directors)
1907-1909: Hakalau Jodo Mission Grows Under Second Minister Suzuki Ozen
Minister Suzuki Ozen, who became the principal of Hawi Elementary School in March 1906, came to Hakalau church to be the second resident minister in November 1907.
On April 25, 1909 he started the construction of a new two story building for church and school of 66 feet by 31 feet with $3,000, $500 of which is a contribution from Motoyama and $1,000 of which is a contribution from Consulate General Kamino. The construction was contracted to a member Moritani Shinsaku and was completed in late June.
On July 4, 1909, Independence Day, Minister Suzuki performed a ceremony to receive the sacred buddha statue into the church. He returned to Japan on August 13, 1910. |
1909-1912: A Period of Maintenance for the Hakalau Jodo Mission Under Third Minister Matsui Kido
Matsui Kido, came to Hawaii to teach in March 1909 and took over Hakalau Mission in July 1909 after Minister Suzuki resigned. His wife Noriko also supported him as an appointed minister assistant from June 21, 1910. However, Minister Matsui resigned and returned to Japan in April 1912, and later moved to Taiwan to engage in missionary work there.
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1912-1920: Hakalau Jodo Mission Grows to Accommodate More Students Under Fourth Minister Tachikawa Shinkyo
Tachikawa Shinkyo, who resigned and returned home to Japan due to his illness, came back to Hawaii, and was appointed to take over Minister Matsui on June 15, 1912 with his wife Sae.
In 1918 due to the increase in the number of boarding students in the dormitory he newly built another two story dormitory for girls in the back of the existing dormitory building with $1,500. For the following 10 months he and his wife temporarily returned to Japan for illness and came back the next year. During this break assistant minister Yamaguchi Ryukai was in charge. In order to re-establish Men’s Association, which was unrelated to the church and was not as active at the time, a meeting was held among the young men and was concluded to rename it as Young Men’s Buddhist Association and Minister Tachikawa was appointed as the president. Meanwhile, his wife orchestrated a birth of the Young Ladies Buddhist Association. During this Tachikawa era, Yamaguchi Ryukai, who came to Hawaii in May 1917, became the assistant minister of Hakalau church and assisted Minister Tachikawa, who was struggling with his illness, let alone taking over the church during his absence due to his return to Japan for his illness. |
In July 1920, Minister Tachikawa moved to Honolulu to take on his assignment as Fourth District Minister from the central church.
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About the Map
The map to the left was copied from a book entitled Hawaii Ichiran which means "a table of Hawaii". The book by Nekketsu Takei was published on 5/15/1914.
Takei was from Kudamatsu-shi, Yamaguchi-ken and lived in Honolulu. He visited and drew maps of areas on Oahu, Hawaii, Kauai and Maui where many Japanese lived. This book was discovered at the Hakalau Jodo Mission in September 2017 by the Thirteenth Minister Junshin Miyazaki, (2009-present). |
In the period 1918-1920, as depicted in the pictures below, men wear western attire, while many of the women choose to wear traditional Japanese attire in their official Japanese Language School picture.
Hakalau Japanese Language School circa 1918-1920. Rev. Tachikawa is sitting in the front row to the right of center. Assistant Ministers Yamaguchi Ryukai and Soga Tetsuzui stand behind him. Note: men wore Western attire, while many of the women chose to wear traditional Japanese attire in their official Japanese Language School picture. Photo courtesy of Jaime Yugawa, great grandson of Tetsuo and Yae Yugawa