 Welcome to Think Tech on Spectrum OC-16, Hawaii's weekly newscast on things that matter to tech and Hawaii. I'm Raya Salter. And I'm Helen Hayden. In our show this time, we'll go to downtown Honolulu and be part of the Hiroshima Peace Bell Ringing Ceremony at Izumo Taisha Shrine. We'll meet the people participating in the Hiroshima Peace Ceremony from a wide range of faith-based organizations, including the YMCA of Honolulu, the Hampa Honwangi Temple and Izumo Taisha Kyo Mission. Our Think Tech on the Street host, Rei Tsuchiyama, a co-chair of the Hiroshima Peace Ceremony event, along with our on-the-street cameraman, Ian Davidson, we're at the Izumo Taisha Shrine in downtown Honolulu. Its design was inspired by the Izumo Taisha Shrine in Shimane Prefecture in Japan. My name is Rei Tsuchiyama for Think Tech. We're at the Izumo Taisha Shrine or Izumo Taisha Kyo Mission of Hawaii. It's located near Chinatown at the corner of College Walk here and Kukui Street. It has a very long history dating back to when it was established as a shrine for Japanese immigrants in 1906 by Bishop Miao, who came from Japan to spread the word about Shintoism. Shintoism is a very ancient religion in Japan, predating Buddhism that came from Korea via China and India. It is an animistic religion with many kami or spirits or gods, and it reflects nature. You can see that we are in front of a torii right here. That kind of is the separation of the shrine and the world beyond. You can see over there a place to wash your hands, to cleanse yourself, to become more presentable to the spirits or gods. And to my right is the shrine itself that was rebuilt with donations from the Hawaii community. It was, of course, shut down during World War II, and it was done in a replica of the Izumo Taisha Shrine in Shimane Prefecture in Japan. And it is a beautiful symbol of harmony, of peace, and also, as you can see, a decorative shrine where weddings are performed, blessings for children, and of course for good luck in many ways. And it's for really a peaceful religion in Hawaii and throughout the world. And it is one of the few shrines in the state of Hawaii. Others are on Maui and on the island of Hawaii. There are none on Kauai now. And there used to be many, many more Izumo Taisha shrines throughout Hawaii. But due to the war and the post-war attitudes towards Shintoism, unfortunately, this Izumo Taisha is left in Honolulu. There is a ritual in approaching a Shinto shrine. I pointed out a kind of a cleansing of your hands before approaching the shrine. Here are bells that you ring in order to get the attention of the gods to really look upon favor on yourself. When you go up the steps, there is a box, a wooden box, and that's for offerings. You kind of cost in coins or paper money or anything of value there. And again, it's kind of a relationship with the kami spirits. And then you, in this sect of Izumo Taisha Shintoism, you clap four times, four times, and then you take a deep bow. And that is the end of kind of a approach and ritual when you come to a Shinto shrine of this sect. Ray interviewed Reverend Jun Miyasaka of Izumo Taisha, which was one of ten Izumo Taishakyo shrines throughout Hawaii before World War II. After the war, the city and county of Honolulu appropriated the shrine, and it was not until 1961 when it was returned to the religious order. It was renovated and opened in 1968. No other Izumo Taishakyo shrines were restored. Ray reported from the site of the Honolulu Hiroshima Peacebell, a replica of the Hiroshima Peacebell in Hiroshima. In 1985, the Hiroshima Prefectural Government presented a replica of the Hiroshima Peacebell as a gift to the people of Hawaii in recognition of their long-standing and strong relationship. These bonds include a Sister City relationship established in 1959 between Honolulu and Hiroshima. The Hiroshima Peacebell was dedicated and placed next to the Izumo Taisha Shrine in 1990. Since 1990, a Hiroshima Commemoration and Peace Service has been held annually. This year, 2017, marks the 28th annual service. We are standing in front of a replica of the Hiroshima Peacebell, which is in Hiroshima. Hiroshima and Hawaii have a long history. The largest number of immigrants from Japan is from the Prefecture of Hiroshima. In 1985, the City of Hiroshima donated this bell, a replica of the Hiroshima Peacebell, to the people of Honolulu. In 1990, the bell was installed in front of the Izumo Taisha Shrine. But as you can see, the bell is more Buddhist in style, not Shinto. But what it did was to have a convergence of the relationship between Hawaii and Hiroshima, and also bring the YMCA, which is, of course, a faith-based organization in the world, to become part of an inclusive ecumenical ceremony that started in 1990. And we are here today in 2017, in the 28th time, that this ceremony of the ringing of the Hiroshima bell takes place. And so it brings together representatives from the Buddhist community, the Shinto community, the Christian community, Native Hawaiian, and also the Jewish community this year. And so the bell did something really great, which was to foster an inclusive, broad kind of community response and ceremony honoring and, of course, really promoting the relationship between Hawaii people and the people of Hiroshima. And it brought together many kind of waves and integration of history, of memory. And therefore, this ceremony really evokes that memory of the past, but looking toward the future, especially with the cranes that was donated, made and donated by young people from the YMCA of both Honolulu and Hiroshima. So you can see that the cranes are a symbol of, again, youth really participating and fostering peace for the future of the world. Probably the highest number of Japanese Americans in Hawaii can trace their ancestry back to Hiroshima, so there's a strong familial relationship between Hawaii and Hiroshima. There is also a local Hawaii personal connection. And Tomi Peterson, a retired Punahou Japanese language teacher and the daughter of Hiroshima A-bomb survivors, gave the keynote address on peace. Due to her efforts, the Hiroshima Atomic Bombing is included in Japanese language textbooks and dozens of Hawaii high school students have traveled to study at Hiroshima. She was the recipient of the 28th Kiyoshi Tanimoto Peace Prize, named after a Methodist Minister who worked with Hiroshima Atomic Bomb survivors. It may be that President Barack Obama, while a Punahou student, was influenced by Hitomi Peterson and she was the inspiration for his Hiroshima speech in May 2016. If that was true, that's a really exciting linkage since Hawaii would have played a key part in the post-World War II Japan-US reconciliation process. Local Hawaii faith-based organizations were also at the forefront of establishing relationships with Hiroshima Atomic Bomb survivors. There are photos of the Hiroshima City Mission to the Nuuanu YMCA in 1961, and a continuing dialogue exists to today. That is the reason why the YMCA has been part of the Hiroshima bell ringing ceremony from its inception. In the ceremony opening, we were amazed to hear Ava Maria by Austrian composer Franz Schubert sung by Buddhist minister, the Reverend Takamasa Yamamura. It turns out that he studied Italian opera for four years in Rome. Along with native Hawaiian and Jewish community representatives, the Hiroshima Peace Bell ceremony is perhaps one of the most inclusive, ecumenical, or universal faith-based events in Hawaii. I'd like to thank you all for joining us today in this service to observe this 72nd anniversary of the August 6, 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Seventy-two years later, we are commemorating a very tragic time in our history, which resulted in one of mankind's greatest self-inflicted disasters. Two hundred thousand died within five years, and this does not include those who survived with physical and spiritual wounds. However, in years to follow, the people of Hiroshima and Honolulu move forward in friendship and dedication to peace between our two cities. It is the commemoration of a symbol of that peace, the Hiroshima Peace Bell, that brings us all here today. The Hiroshima Perfectural Government presented this smaller replica of the Hiroshima Peace Bell in 1985 as a gift to the people of Hawaii in recognition of their long-standing and strong relationship. In Shinto-Richo, the purification and blessing are performed in all services. Now Bishop Amano is offering him prayer in both his purifications, bowing, cropping, and performing routine rituals at the door of the dance. I bring greetings along with Council Member Anne Kobayashi and Kiro Fubunaga. Senator Rose, it's good to see you again. Hiroshima and Honolulu established sister city relations in 1959. It's 58 years ago. This ceremony today marking the 72nd anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima is especially meaningful in light of last year's events that concerned Hiroshima and Honolulu, concerned all of us directly. 72 years ago on August 6th, my family was living in Hiroshima. And the atomic bomb was dropped. They lived close to the hypocenter, but they were protected by a small hill called Hijiama. Decades later, my mother and my older sister died from leukemia. My older brother recently died from blood disease affecting the immune system. And my second older sister is still suffering from the same disease. I believe the cause of all of these diseases was radiation exposure. I'm the only sibling born after the war. We must never forget the tragedy of war that cost the lives of so many. At the same time, we must try not to create conflict at war with this world. This ceremony beyond its traditional blessings and special messages from the community also serves to commemorate our sister city relationship with Hiroshima. The bridges built by this effort are recognized and celebrated. The Jewish community has also recognized and celebrated a special connection with one very courageous man, Chiyone Tsungihara, who against the orders of his superiors chose peace over war, trust over hate, life over death. Because the traditional Jewish toast of leukema signifies exactly this choice for life over death. Indeed, Lithuania was a well-known repository of Talmudic scholars, so with the extirpation of the Jews in that small country alone, a lot of Jewish heritage would have died forever. In many Christian churches, we read from the Gospel of Jesus in Matthew the story of the tiny mustard seed. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like a tiny, tiny mustard seed, mustard seed so small, almost invisible. Makali is the word, the Hawaiian word, that describes something that's very tiny, which is interesting because Makali is also the name for the planet is the star constellation that is so important in many cultures. But Jesus says when this tiny, tiny seed is planted and it grows and takes root and becomes a huge tree, a big tree, a tree so accommodating, so inclusive, becomes a tree with big branches and a tree so inviting that many, many birds of many colors and shapes and sizes and the chirpers and the warblers and the whistlers and the singers and the humbers, they all make this in this wonderful tree and their home will bring forth new life, new life will come forth. This is the story that we had last Sunday. So for those of you who don't know, the Hiroshima Let's Get Together program is an exchange program. It runs, of course, for about two years where one summer a group from Hiroshima comes out to Hawaii and they kind of experience Hawaii's culture and learn about the history of Pearl Harbor and the following year a group from Hawaii goes up to Hiroshima and then they learn about Japan's culture and about atomic bombing and I've been to Hiroshima many times before this program. My mom was born and raised in Kure, Hiroshima and I absolutely love the city but I haven't gone on a trip quite like this. We wish to express our deepest appreciation to all the speakers and volunteers and to all the attendees who came today. Today's ceremony is about history and memory. With the passage of 72 years, memory itself becomes less clear with less instructive meaning for us to define memory's timeless value. The late Holocaust writer Elie Wiesel wrote, quote, without memory there is no culture, without memory there will be no civilization, no society, no future. Yes, it truly reflects Hawaii and its multi-ethnic and multicultural community, full of aloha a model for the entire world. To my right is Reverend Jun Miyasaki and he's going to tell in Japanese what this all is about, the meaning of the ceremony. I'm Miyasaka from Hawaii, and I'm here for a new ceremony. Today, I'm going to talk about the history of Hiroshima, Peace, Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima is a peaceful state, but in Shinto, there is a lot of thought about other communities, so I think there is a lot of meaning in the ceremony. Especially in Hawaii, there are a lot of people from all over the world, from all over the world, and from other communities all over the world, and a lot of people live here. There are many communities, many religions, many ethnicities, and a lot of people live here, so there is a lot of meaning in the ceremony. Shinto is a great flexibility of the Shinto community in order to be able to be part of the world and to be able to develop the Shinto community. Shintoism is an inclusive religion, and also with the ceremony, he really appreciates all the different religions, all the people who attended, and that he is grateful for the role that the Shrine, the Ismotaisa Shrine, and Shintoism played in the promotion of peace for the world, and it could be used for the benefit of Shintoism. The bell was placed here without our knowing. The city placed it without giving notice to us, but we welcomed the bell as a guardian. We adopted the bell, and I guess this is the 27th year. And you are the carry-over to take over the Ismotaisa role. Well, it's a great honor, Richard. And how has it changed from the first time to now? What are the big changes of the ceremony? I think this year was the best. It keeps on evolving, and we try to get some other singers like the ecumenical aspect of Yamamura, and YMCA individually had been doing it for over 60 years now. And YMCA came in, and Sister City came in also. We've been talking to Richard Miao, son of the bishop, who was a bishop of Ismotaisa for many, many years, and your grandfather started the Shrine, am I correct? Yes, 1906, located elsewhere, but it survived a war, and it's thriving at this point in time. So what a history to the shrine with the bell going off behind us. Thanks to Ray Tsuchiyama and cameraman Ian Davidson, the world will know of the 28th annual Hiroshima Peace Bell ringing ceremony in Honolulu. We thank all the local faith-based organizations for their great efforts for global peace. For a small state, Hawaii shows how so many different races, religions, and cultures can live in harmony and work together for global peace. Hawaii is certainly a special place. And now let's take a look at our ThinkTech events going forward. There's so much happening in Hawaii. Sometimes things happen under the radar, and we don't hear much about them. But ThinkTech will take you there. 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Thanks for being part of our ThinkTech family and for supporting our open discussion of tech, energy, diversification and global awareness in Hawaii, and of course, cultural and community ceremonies which enrich our lives. You can watch this show throughout the week and tune in next Sunday evening for our next important weekly episode. I'm Raya Salter. And I'm Helen Heiden. Aloha everyone!