CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Jane Nishimoto, left, Setsu Takashige and Doris Fuchigami work on a batch of jelly made from jaboticava -- a tart berry -- to be sold at Sunday's Spring Bazaar at the Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin.
If her guava tree hadn't gone bald this year, Jane Nishimoto would be carting 3 dozen jars of homemade jam to her temple's bazaar on Sunday.
Ladies of the Hongwanji maintain
Kumquat preserves, Betsuin style
a well-preserved traditionBy Betty Shimabukuro
betty@starbulletin.com
For more years than she can remember, Nishimoto has been among the women who've worked the kitchen at the Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin, producing meals for the ministers, Japanese specialties for temple events, preserves and sushi for fund-raisers.
Taste of Hongwanji
Spring Bazaar: 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday
Hawaii Betsuin
Place: Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin, 1727 Pali Highway
Call: 536-7044
Of late, her specialty has been jam made from the guavas in her back yard. But the tree was getting kind of gangly, so a nephew pruned it. "This year, no guava," she says. "All the tree is bald-headed." And anyway, "I'm too old to make, already. I'm 94 years old, you know."
Nishimoto giggles a bit at this, and with her smile the years fall away. It's easy to imagine her back in production, as soon as her tree yields fruit once again.
This tradition of canning and caring is a sure sign of spring among the ladies of the Betsuin. They've been at work for weeks, cooking down kumquats, jaboticava and guavas -- cultivated, donated or scrounged -- into preserves, jams and jellies.
On a recent Friday, a canning day, Nishimoto has stopped by the Betsuin kitchen to say hello, taking a turn skimming the bubbles off a batch of jelly.
Mabel Shishido, who runs this work station, says her crew has put up 12 cases this year, to be sold at Sunday's bazaar.
In this quiet but consistent manner, they ladies have contributed in major way not just to the social calendar of the temple, but to its financial health. It's a function common to the women's arm of Hawaii's Hongwanji.
"They have been a real financial mainstay of the temple," says Mary Tanouye, temple president. "I think this is true across the state. They keep the temples going."
Not long ago, the women were able to donate $20,000 toward installing an elevator at the temple, and Tanouye says they have another $20,000 certificate of deposit about to mature. This at a time when the temple's more substantial investments have been suffering along with the stock market.
The Fujinkai Society, the Japanese-speaking women's group to which Nishimoto and many of the older women of the temple belong, was founded in 1989 and is almost as old as the temple itself. For a generation it was this group's volunteer duty to care for the ministers, traditionally bachelors from Japan. They also brought flowers to the temple, cooked meals for special events, made plates for the elderly or gifts for the children.
"We used to do everything, the Fujinkai ladies," Nishimoto says.
To make a bit of cash, the Fujinkai held a bazaar over a weekend in August, selling jams, jellies, pickles and crafts. The temple has built on this tradition to create the larger scale Taste of Hongwanji Spring Bazaar, now in its fifth year.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Tsuyuko Yokogawa pours ice into a tray to cool the jelly and prepare it for sealing.
In 1952, a second women's group was formed, the Upasika Society, for English-speaking "at that time young women," with similar aims as the Fujinkai, Tanouye says. This year, recognizing that everyone's getting up there in years, the groups have united as the Buddhist Women's Association.
Among the leading accomplishments of these women was the publication in 1973 of the first edition of "Favorite Island Cookery," a collection of local-style recipes that was rare for its time. Five more volumes followed, and over the years the cookbooks have raised thousands of dollars for the temple. Cookbook sales are always a centerpiece of the bazaar.
Fujiko Motobu, last president of the Fujinkai and first vice president of the new, combined organization, says the Fujinkai always made several thousand dollars a year. The little August bazaar could raise $10,000 in two days.
"When we had the bazaar we had a thrift shop and that was no investment, no overhead," Motobu says.
The money went into safe, slow-growing CDs that upon maturity would yield a cash bonus for the temple. The Fujinkai's latest $20,000 in earnings will go to the temple's new Pacific Buddhist Academy.
Sunday's bazaar will feature sales of handicrafts, plants and rummage items, but its focus is food, centering on favorites from the cookbook series. A traditional favorite is the rice dish Chirashi Sushi. The cookbooks themselves will also be sold.
For those who can't make it, the cookbooks are available by mail at $8 to $10, depending on volume. The full set is $50 (plus $9 postage). Call or write: Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin, 1727 Pali Highway, 96813; 536-7044.
Or, try this recipe from the ladies of the Betsuin for kumquats, to be sold at the bazaar. It's from Cookbook No. III:
BACK TO TOP |
Wash kumquats and sprinkle with baking soda. Cover with water and let stand 10 minutes. Drain and wash twice. Place kumquats in pot; cover with water. Cook 1/2 hour or until tender. Drain.Whole Kumquat Preserves
4 cups kumquats
4 tablespoons baking soda
4 thin slices lemon, optional
1 teaspoon grated ginger
3 cups sugar
3 cups water
1 cup light corn syrupCook lemon and ginger in a small amount of water until tender. Drain.
Combine water, sugar and corn syrup and boil 5 minutes. Add kumquats, lemon and ginger. Simmer 35 to 40 minutes or until glossy and transparent. Place in sterilized bottles and seal.
Nutritional information unavailable.
Click for online
calendars and events.
