The Making of Aloha Buddha: A Film about Japanese Buddhism in Hawai‘i

Originally brought over by Japanese plantation workers, Japanese Buddhism in Hawai‘i has been reshaped in surprising and unique ways by the pressure of politics, Americanization, and Christianity. By the early 1900s, Buddhism had become a major religion in Hawai‘i, with close to half of the population holding family memberships with any one of our 180 temples. Today, however, the religion is fading and the temples are closing.

This presentation will show excerpts from Aloha Buddha (2011, winner of Hawai‘i International Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary) and discuss the research, four-year editing process, and public response to the film. We will also present the Aloha Buddha website, which holds historical information and photos of each temple in a searchable database.

Speaker bio: Dr. Lorraine Minatoishi is the founder and owner of Minatoishi Architects, Inc, an architecture firm which specializes in residential, commercial, and historic preservation projects. She earned her Doctor of Engineering from the prestigious Waseda University in Tokyo where she focused her studies on ancient traditional Japanese architecture and the preservation thereof. Lorraine is a certified Historic Architect and Architectural Historian leading her firm to successfully complete rehabilitation projects and historic inventories throughout the State.

Event Sponsor
Center for Biographical Research, Mānoa Campus

More Information
956-3774, biograph@hawaii.edu, http://www.facebook.com/CBRHawaii

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