The idea of opening a Buddhist private school in Hawaii dates to the tenure of Bishop Yemyo Imamura (1899-1932). His desire for such a school stemmed from the belief that Buddhism was a universal faith, and should be accessible to people of all races and cultures. At the time, the only Mission-sponsored education was the Fort Gakuen Japanese School, a language school for the children of first-generation Japanese immigrants.
Bishop Imamura's dream was not fulfulled until the 1949 opening of Hongwanji Mission School, under the leadership of Bishop Kodo Fujitani and his wife, Aiko. The school began teaching elementary grades in the summer of that year on land acquired from Mary Foster.
From 1952 to 1992, it taught classes from preschool through Grade 6. A new classroom building was constructed in 1968. A middle school was added in 1992, extending classes through Grade 8. A satellite preschool at Kuakini Medical Center was added in 2000.
2000 was also the year in which plans began for the Pacific Buddhist Academy. With encouragement from Bishop Chikai Yosemori and Mary Tanoue, president of the Honpa Hongwanji Betsuin, a high school committee was established under the chairmanship of Dr. Margaret Oda.
The panel's plans were approved in the summer of 2001, laying the foundation for the first Buddhist high school in the United States. In May of 2002, the church's headquarters in Kyoto, Japan, donated $1.5 million in seed money for the project.
Fund-raising continued as classes began with the Academy's first Grade 9 class on August 20, 2003. |
