Photo courtesy of the Kie Family
Rev. Soshin Kie, right, and Mrs. Akiko Kishi Kie on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1997: Their gift will support the legacy of advancing Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in Hawaii, an aspiration they worked toward all their lives.

VOLUME 5 • ISSUE 1 • MARCH 2025

The Kie Family’s Gift Lights the Way Toward a Promising Future

BY JOSH HERNANDEZ MORSE,
HEAD OF SCHOOL, PACIFIC BUDDHIST ACADEMY

On May 17, 2024, Bishop Toshiyuki Umitani, President Dr. Warren Tamamoto, Business Manager Derrick Inouye, Mō‘ili‘ili Hongwanji President Joanne Kealoha and Head of School Josh Hernandez Morse, representing the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii (Kyodan), Mō‘ili‘ili Hongwanji Mission and Pacific Buddhist Academy respectively, formalized the gift acknowledgement of the Soshin and Akiko Kie’s Revocable Living Trust, a gift of Kalihi real estate and rental proceeds whose total value exceeded more than $3 million.

Rev. Soshin Kie and Mrs. Akiko Kishi Kie’s daughters, Lily Masuda, Ayumi Kie Weissbuch and Emma Kie, the Trust finalized the transfer of the Kalihi Street property and rental proceeds according to the terms of Mrs. Kie’s Last Will and Testament.

The transfer accomplished, it became known as the Rev. Soshin and Akiko Kie Gift, which enabled the creation of named endowed funds for the Kyodan, Moiliili Hongwanji and PBA.

“Rev. and Mrs. Kie directed that the trust support the legacy of advancing Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in Hawaii, an aspiration they worked toward all their lives,” Bishop Umitani said.

“Given the instrumental role they played in establishing a Jodo Shinshu temple in Okinawa and their ministerial work in Hawaii, the legacy gift they made was very purposeful.

“Designating that a portion of their gift be used to support ministers and the study of Buddhism through educational programs of the Kyodan, the programs of the Moiliili Hongwanji sangha that they loved, and Pacific Buddhist Academy’s mission to nurture its students with Buddhist values, ensures that our organizations will provide more opportunities for people to encounter the Dharma.”

In estate planning, the Rev. Soshin and Akiko Kie Gift is what is referred to as a “planned gift” which can take many forms – property, as in the case of the Kie Trust – or gifts of equity, life insurance, personal property, cash and so on.

“After taking care of family, many individuals and families work with estate planners to structure planned gifts to promote the interests and causes dearest to them. Working with their attorney and estate planner, Rev. and Mrs. Kie established the revocable trust that will carry on the work they did when they were alive.

“Buddhism teaches us that all things are impermanent,” Mr. Hernandez Morse said, “but through planned giving and legacy gifts such as the one made by Rev. and Mrs. Kie, members of the temple community can ensure the BuddhaDharma persists in Hawaii.

“At PBA, though conversion to Jodo Shinshu Buddhism is not a goal of the school’s mission, the encounter with Buddhist teachings most certainly is. PBA looks to the proud achievement of ministerial training by alumni like Rev. Blayne Nakasone Sakata and 2018 PBA alumna Kano Hashimoto as examples we hope other PBA graduates will follow.

“The support of bequests such as the one made by Rev. and Mrs. Kie will help the Buddhist mission persevere in the islands. They leave a profound legacy.”

The third recipient of the Kie gift is Mō’ili‘ili Hongwanji Mission.

“Two of Rev. and Mrs. Kie’s daughters and their families are very active at Mō’ili‘ili Hongwanji, a testament to how their parents inspired them to put Jodo Shinshu teachings and values into action,” Joanne Kealoha, President of Mō’ili‘ili Hongwanji, said.

“The Kie sisters envision their parents’ gift will carry on the work that their parents dedicated their whole lives—that is, sharing the Dharma with others.”

“From the perspective of our organizations,” said Kyodan President Dr. Warren Tamamoto, “we feel that the Rev. and Mrs. Kie Gift provides a beautiful template for others to follow who might wish to leave a planned gift.

“Ask yourself, which temple sangha sustained you in this world? How might you perpetuate Buddhism in Hawaiʻi? Through a specific temple? Through one of our schools, the network of Buddhist preschools, Hongwanji Mission School, Pacific Buddhist Academy?

“Our temple’s history weaves deeply through the fabric of our islands, and we want it to continue. Consider making a planned gift.”