By Francis Okano After seven years, the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii Music Committee ended its long COVID pause to stage a choralfest at the Hawaii Betsuin on the weekend of September 20-21, 2025. Eager for music, one hundred brave singers from as far east as Denver, Colorado, and as...
See the September 2025 Headquarters Update for the following articles: Message from Bishop Toshiyuki Umitani 39th Ministers’ Spouses’ Association Seminar (report) Minister’s lay assistant retreat (10/25, registration form available) Committee on Social Concerns (report) CBE: Poster Contest & Dharma School Gathering Shining Spirit Award (11/15 nomination deadline) PBA Lighting Our...
The Hawaii State Lay Association (HSLA) is the successor to the Hawaii State Federation of Honpa Hongwanji Lay Associations. The organization held the 62nd annual Lay Convention from September 12 to 13 on Oahu. Delegates and observers from Hongwanji districts throughout Hawaii converged for business meetings, services, presentations, and fellowship....
Links in the article list below go right to posts formatted for online viewing. You can also view the full, print-style layout of the September 2025 edition of Ka Leo Kāhea (2 MB) as a PDF file. Contents: Lahaina: Anniversary of the Fires Resilience and Hope Lives On in Lahaina...
Photo courtesy of Carol Yamamura Gathered with compassion at Wailuku Hongwanji, from left: Rev. Kerry Kiyohara of Makawao Hongwanji, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen, Bishop Toshiyuki Umitani, Rev. Shinkai Murakami of Wailuku Hongwanji, Rev. Gensho Hara of Lahaina Jodo Mission, Lahainaluna High School principal Richard Carosso, State Senator Troy Hashimoto and...
Photo courtesy of Irene Nohara Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor Sadae Kasaoka, right, addressed those gathered at Honpa Hongwanji Hawai’i Betsuin, assisted by translator Mayumi Miyahara, left, and Ai Nishimoto of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation. VOLUME 5 • ISSUE 3 • September 2025 80 Years Later, Hiroshima’s Horror Still Haunts...
VOLUME 5 • ISSUE 3 • September 2025 BISHOP’S CORNER Gratitude on the White Path As we welcome the autumn Ohigan season, a time when the lengths of day and night are nearly equal, we are reminded of the balance and harmony found in nature. It is also a time...
VOLUME 5 • ISSUE 3 • September 2025 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Hoping Obon Has Meaning for You Aloha kākou! I hope that you are well, physically and spiritually. At Aiea Hongwanji, we enjoyed our annual Obon dance and celebration last Saturday, July 26. It was one of the largest Bon celebrations...
Courtesy of Alan Kubota Ewa Fukushima Bon Dance Club members Ann Inouye, left, Gail Yabuki and Chihiro Okawa, right on taiko, perform at Waiʻanae Hongwanji’s final Obon. VOLUME 5 • ISSUE 3 • September 2025 ‘It’s So Sad to See This All End’ 121-year-old Waiʻanae Hongwanji holds its last Obon...
VOLUME 5 • ISSUE 3 • September 2025 Choralfest Returns to Hawaiʻi Betsuin Singers from Colorado to Kanazawa will perform at the biennial event for the first time since 2020 BY FRANCIS OKANO HONPA HONGWANJI MISSION MUSIC COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN With the pandemic shutdown of 2020 behind us, Choralfest will resume...