LIHU‘E — On Sunday, local residents and visitors will again experience the power of compassion at the 12th annual Pilgrimage of Compassion, a walk through the 88 shrines at the Lawa‘i International Center, bathed by the soothing sound of shakuhachi,
LIHU‘E — On Sunday, local residents and visitors will again experience the power of compassion at the 12th annual Pilgrimage of Compassion, a walk through the 88 shrines at the Lawa‘i International Center, bathed by the soothing sound of shakuhachi, or Japanese flute.
“You will feel the beautiful energy when you come here,” Lawa‘i International Center President Lynn Muramoto said of Lawa‘i Valley and its shrines, a cultural and historical landmark in Kaua‘i’s South Shore.
For centuries, beginning with native Hawaiians in pre-contact days, Lawa‘i Valley’s “healing energy” has drawn many people from different religious and ethnic backgrounds seeking healing, she said.
“This is a place for all people to come together as one heart,” Muramoto said.
In 1904, the first generation of Japanese immigrants on Kaua‘i built the 88 shrines, a small version of a 1,000-mile pilgrimage built a millennium ago in Shikoku, Japan. Barefoot pilgrimages starting in Hanalei, on Kaua‘i’s North Shore, continued well into the 1940s, when the place was somewhat ostracized. Vegetation then took over the valley, hiding the shrines, Muramoto said.
After meeting Tanako Nonaka, a Japanese woman who migrated here in the early 1920s and was a regular visitor to the shrines, Muramoto took over the task of gathering enough support to acquire the land and restore the valley.
Since 1991, Muramoto and a legion of volunteers, including the Boy Scouts Troop 83, have been clearing the land, restoring access to the shrines and reviving the valley as a place for healing once again — at least for the general public, because Nonaka never stopped visiting the valley, even when it was overgrown.
Nonaka died in 2003, at 99 years old, but not before she saw the work of the nonprofit bear fruit.
Muramoto said that in 2001, the events of 9/11 inspired the Lawa‘i International Center to revive the annual pilgrimage in the valley.
“This is a place to uplift all humanity through compassion,” said Muramoto.
Since the first Pilgrimage of Compassion 11 years ago, shakuhachi grand master Riley Lee plays in the event.
Lee was the first non-Japanese to attain the rank of shakuhachi grand master, 30 years ago. Today, he is still one of the few masters outside Japan, according to the nonprofit’s website.
The event is Sunday, from 1:30 to 5 p.m. at Wawae Road, off Kaumuali‘i Highway near Kalaheo. There will be a bonsai exhibit, ikebana demos, bake sale, silent auction and mochi and taro pounding demonstrations. The program starts at 3 p.m.
Muramoto recommends bringing an umbrella and wearing comfortable shoes for the hillside walk.
Donations will be accepted.
Call 635-0838 or visit www.lawaicenter.org for more information.
∫ Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@thegardenisland.com
