“Over the last 100 years, Buddhism in Hawaiʻi has been transformed from a traditional, ethnic religion at the center of community life for Hawaiʻi-born Japanese plantation workers to one that has been adapted to modern styles of worship, surviving periods of tumult and political persecution to welcome new generations today. Like the gently bobbing lanterns of the Tōrō nagashi (summer lantern festival), a Japanese ritual to honor one’s ancestors now much-beloved in the islands, this venerable faith ebbs and flows in the tide toward unknown territory, lighting the way for the faithful.”

Photography to accompany a feature on the legacy of Buddhism in the Hawaiian islands.

Photographed during the summer of 2017 at Mō‘ili‘ili Hongwanji; Byōdō-in Temple, Kāneʻohe; and Shingon Shu Hawaiʻi, Kāheka.