The Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaiʻi, one of the principal institutions of Japanese Shin Buddhism in the US state, is facing declining membership, temple closures, and questions over how the tradition can adapt to a changing religious and cultural landscape.

Membership in Hawaiʻi’s Hongwanji temples has fallen from roughly 10,000 in the 1970s to about 3,300 today. Four years ago, the organization reported approximately 4,300 members. The Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism has suggested that the mission could effectively disappear by 2036 if the current trend continues.

Several temples have already closed or consolidated. Waiʻanae Hongwanji Mission on Oʻahu closed in 2025 and its property is now listed for sale. Waialua Hongwanji is scheduled to hold its final service in November, while news website Civil Beat reported that the ʻEwa Beach temple could also face closure. In 2022, temples at Hanapēpē and Waimea on Kauaʻi merged, as did Pāpaʻaloa and Honohina Hongwanji temples on Hawaiʻi Island. Kahuku Hongwanji on Oʻahu closed in 2013.

“It’s not only the closing of the temple but to not have that Buddhist presence in those communities anymore,” said Rev. David Fujimoto of Mōʻiliʻili and ʻEwa Hongwanji. “It’s very unfortunate.” (Civil Beat)

The Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaiʻi traces its history to Japanese plantation workers who arrived in the islands in the late 19th century. Ministers were subsequently dispatched from Nishi Hongwanji in Kyoto to serve the growing immigrant population. The temples became important religious, social, educational, and cultural centers for Japanese American communities.

Today, however, some members and scholars say the institution must become more accessible to people without Japanese ancestry.

The co-president of Jikoen Hongwanji in Honolulu, Pieper Toyama, 79, said the tradition’s historical relationship with Japanese culture could make reaching new communities difficult.

“How can we share it with non-Japanese now that they are gone?” Toyama said. “Nobody likes to talk about that, even though it’s the elephant in the room.” (Civil Beat)

“Our original close ties with Japanese culture is making it very difficult for us to look outward,” he added. (Civil Beat)

Professor emeritus of religion at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, George Tanabe, president of the non-sectarian organization BDK Hawaiʻi, pointed to earlier efforts to adapt Buddhism to local conditions. Bishop Yemyo Imamura, who became the mission’s second bishop in 1900, recognized that Buddhist practice in Hawaiʻi would necessarily develop differently from practice in Japan.

“You cannot practice Buddhism in Hawaiʻi like you do in Japan,” Prof. Tanabe said. “You cannot expect that people are going to take to a very traditional Japanese form of religion, when they’re not Japanese, culturally.” (Civil Beat)

The challenge also extends to language and clergy. Hawaiʻi currently has approximately 20 active Hongwanji ministers serving 30 temples, according to Civil Beat. Services have increasingly shifted toward English, although Japanese-language chanting and other cultural elements remain important to many members.

Efforts to broaden participation are already underway. Some temples have adopted more locally oriented language and programming, while Hongwanji educators have introduced resources addressing sexual orientation and gender identity. Younger members have also emphasized preserving Japanese American heritage while making temples more welcoming to Hawaiʻi’s wider population.

“It’s important to say ‘Yes, we are Japanese, we are proud of that,’” said 21-year-old Ty Wakahiro, who assists with Mililani Hongwanji’s website. “But we also have to adapt so these temples continue.” (Civil Beat)

According to the Washington, DC-based Pew Research Center’s 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study, 5 per cent of adults in Hawaiʻi identify as Buddhist, compared with 8 per cent in 2014, although Buddhism remains considerably more prominent in Hawaiʻi than in most US states.

Toyama argued that adaptation need not mean abandoning the tradition itself.

“No one wants to admit it, but the fear is that when you begin to adapt, you’re going to change the doctrine,” he said. “But I know deep in my heart that’s not true . . . you can evolve in a way that resonates with local people.” (Civil Beat)

Buddhism in Japan has faced similar trends for years, as populations there trend toward a more secular outlook.* As these trends persist, Buddhist leaders there also continue to seek out new ways to connect with younger generations. As Gyosen Asakura, a Jodo Shinshu priest at Shoonji Temple in Fukui, recounted this week, the priests who get into history books are precisely the ones who have broken the existing rules of their time.

“If there’s something you want to try, just challenge it,” he said. “You’ll usually fail. Take that as a given.” (Japan Today)

* Weekly Toyo Keizai: Buddhism Facing a “Life or Death Struggle” in Japan (BDG)

See more

This Form Of Japanese Buddhism In Hawaiʻi Could Disappear (Civil Beat)
Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaiʻi
Religious Landscape Study – People in Hawaii (Pew Research Center)
Faith, recoded: Japan’s temples are disappearing. Is Buddhism? (Japan Today)

Related news reports from BDG

Japan’s Temples and Shrines at Risk of Misuse amid Growing Sales
Japanese Zen Monk to Bring Innovative Buddhist Music to Taiwan
Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temple in Hawaiʻi Confronts Declining Attendance
Hawaii Buddhist Council Holds Hanamatsuri Celebration at Honpa Hongwanji

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