Lihue Hongwanji Mission

Lihue Hongwanji Mission
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	North of Lihue at Hawaii Route 56,aAt 3-3556-A Kuhio Highway
Nearest city	Lihue, Hawaii
Coordinates	21°59′44″N 159°22′8″W / 21.99556°N 159.36889°WCoordinates: 21°59′44″N 159°22′8″W / 21.99556°N 159.36889°W
Area	0.4 acres (0.16 ha)
Built	1901
NRHP Reference #	78001025[1]
Added to NRHP	March 21, 1978

The Lihue Hongwanji Mission, near Lihue, Hawaii on Kauai, is a historic mission whose construction was started in 1901. It was a branch of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.^[1] It is significant as the oldest surviving Japanese Buddhist mission on Kauai; it "reinforced Japanese ties to the mother country by preserving the language, education and cultural foundations, of immigrant Japanese laborers." The Lihue Plantation Company supported its development as a way of indirectly maintaining social control. It included Sunday school classes but the Japanese language school gradually became the most important part of the mission.^[2]

References

1. National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. Larry Miller and Robert Fox (1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Lihue Hongwanji Mission" (PDF). National Park Service. and accompanying four photos from 1977