Source: Star Bulletin

http://starbulletin.com/2006/09/16/features/story02.html

On September 16, 2006 the Star Bulletin reported, "A small Shinto shrine in downtown Honolulu was the destination of about 10,000 people during the New Year holiday weekend. People of many ethnic and religious backgrounds flocked to the Izumo Taishakyo Mission at 215 N. Kukui St. seeking good-luck amulets and blessings on their endeavors and relationships. Many recognize the annual New Year's pilgrimage as a Japanese cultural experience but don't know a thing about the religion they are observing by the visit. Early Japanese immigrants built a shrine near the present site 100 years ago, bringing to Hawaii the Shinto religion, an indigenous faith that dates back more than 2,000 years. It teaches that gods, or 'kami,' are found in all living things and emphasizes the need to be in harmony with all nature... The greatest thing the members, some descendants of the founders, will celebrate is the shrine's survival. Like other aspects of Japanese culture, it was shut down by the federal government after the Japanese strike against Pearl Harbor. The late Bishop Shigemaru Miyao and most of the church officers were confined in mainland relocation camps during World War II. The property was 'given' to the City and County of Honolulu, and part of the wooden shrine was stored out of sight. In 1952, members gathered 10,000 signatures on a petition to get the property restored. It took nine years, legislative intervention and a state court judgment to restore ownership of Izumo Taisha to the Shinto congregation. In a land exchange, the shrine was moved from the current site of Kukui Gardens to the location beside Nuuanu Stream."