Jodo Mission Lahaina Maui

Aug 2023 WAILUKU, Hawaii — A Buddhist temple established more than 100 years ago to provide spiritual support for islanders migrating from Japan has been destroyed in the recent wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui.

Among them is the Lahaina Jodo Mission, a temple founded in 1912 on the tip of a cape in Lahaina, western Maui. A scenic temple overlooking three islands, the mission was a popular tourism spot.

However, the wooden Hondo main hall, three-story pagoda and Kanetsukido facility where a large Buddhist bell was struck were swiftly enveloped in flames and collapsed.

Valuable ceiling and wall paintings in the main hall were all lost. The only things that survived the fire were the temple’s copper Great Buddha statue, the Buddhist bell and a wooden statue of Amida Buddha, the temple’s principal object of worship.

“The temple was burned down, but our spirit is still there, ” said Gensho Hara, the 87-year-old resident minister of the mission.