The Hilo Hongwanji Buddhist Women’s Association invites the public to a service at 9 a.m. April 24 to commemorate the lives of Lady Eshinni and Kakushinni, wife and daughter, respectively, of Shinran Shonin, founder of the Jodo Shinshu sect of
The Hilo Hongwanji Buddhist Women’s Association invites the public to a service at 9 a.m. April 24 to commemorate the lives of Lady Eshinni and Kakushinni, wife and daughter, respectively, of Shinran Shonin, founder of the Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism.
The service will take place at the Honpa Hongwanji Hilo Betsuin temple at 398 Kilauea Ave.
K.T. Cannon-Eger, president of the Hawaii Island United Hongwanji Buddhist Women’s Association for 2015-16 and Puna Hongwanji Mission BWA past president, will be the guest speaker. Cannon-Eger recently attended BWA world conventions in Honolulu and Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Cannon-Eger is the founding member of the North American Japanese Garden Association and editor of its annual Journal Nos. 2 and 3, which features photos and stories about Hilo’s Liliuokalani Japanese garden. She is president of the Friends of Liliuokalani Gardens and a member of the board of directors of the Japanese Gardening Organization, which operates an online forum for professional and amateur gardeners.
Her other credentials include East Hawaii master gardener emeritus, life member of the Navy League of the United States Hilo Council and partner in Cannon and Eger, a public relations company.
Officiating ministers for this service will be Rimban Jeffrey Soga and the Rev. Daido Baba.
Lady Eshinni was born in Niigata Prefecture and married Shinran Shonin in 1210. Little is known about her except for the 10 letters she wrote to her daughter during the waning years of her life.
These letters were discovered in the archives at the mother temple of the Jodo Shinshu sect in Kyoto, Japan, in 1921. The letters uncovered much about her life and Shinran’s as well. Eshinni died at age 89.
As Eshinni is revered for her dedication to Shinran during his productive years, Kakushinni is known for being her father’s caregiver in his final years. She was about 30 years old when Shinran died at the age of 90.
After Shinran’s death, Kakushinni is revered for planting the seeds that were to grow into today’s Hongwanji.
Ten years after Shinran’s passing, Kakushinni built a memorial hall for his remains, and established the means for ensuring the hall and the property it was built on would belong to the Jodo Shinshu Sangha in all future generations. A monument stands in front of the Butsuden (Hondo) at the Ohtani Mausoleum to pay tribute to Kakushinni’s contributions.
In 1978, the World BWA (comprised of BWA organizations in Japan, mainland U.S., Hawaii, Canada and Brazil) met in Sao Paulo and passed a resolution to conduct annual services in memory of Lady Eshinni. In 2002, the World BWA passed a resolution to similarly honor Kakushinni.
The Honpa Hongwanji Hilo Betsuin Buddhist Women’s Association is led by president Carole Tsutsumi.
