Examining Prewar Tôgô Worship in Hawaii Toward Rethinking Hawaiian Shinto as a New Religion in America

Daijingu Temple of Hawaii, a Shinto shrine founded by Japanese immigrant workers in the early twentieth century is unique among shrines in American territory for holding the only recorded pre-Pacific War worship services for a Japanese war hero. Admiral Tôgô Heihachirô was deified for defeating a Russian naval force in the Battle of the Sea of Japan, and was worshiped at Daijingu in services attended by members of the Japanese Imperial Navy as well as Japanese-Americans from the local community. Although this could suggest that the Japanese-American Shinto community was cheering on the Japanese Imperial navy in their military endeavors, this is not the best explanation for their participation. These rituals benefited the shrine community economically. Furthermore, these activities and the rest of Daijingu Shrine history suggest that Shinto in Hawaii requires consideration as a new American religion rather than as Japanese Shinto in diaspora

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