Lahaina Jodo Mission
Saturday, February 14th, 2009
I recently had the opportunity to go to Maui and hang out in Lahaina to check out all the historical points of interests. The one I want to share today is the Lahaina Jodo Mission. While again, this is not exactly an antique, it does have historical meaning.
The main attraction has got to be the large Amida Buddha statue which was cast in Kyoto during 1967-68. The statue is made of copper and bronze and weighs around 3 1/2 tons. It was brought to Hawai’i to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to the island. The statue was once purportedly the largest cast Buddha outside of Japan.

The grounds also house a three tiered pagoda, a traditionally built temple with beautiful paintings by Hajin Iwasaki, and the largest ceremonial bell in Hawai’i. Unfortunately my photographs of the temple and bell structures didn’t turn out, but I do have a nice one of the pagoda. If you’re ever in Lahaina, I highly recommend giving the Mission a visit, and remember to recite the Nembutsu, “Namu Amida Butsu”, if you ever expect to enter the Pure Land.
