Honomu Henjoji Mission to host 2026 Bon Dance Festival June 13

Honomu’s Henjoji Mission, also known as Odaishisan, will draw families to the Hamakua Coast on Saturday, June 13, when its 2026 Bon Dance Festival begins at 2 p.m. with Hatsubon and Obon service. Live music by the Hilo Bon Dance Club will anchor the afternoon and evening, giving the mission a familiar role as one of East Hawaii’s most recognizable summer gathering places.

The event matters because bon dance is more than a performance. Rooted in the Japanese Buddhist tradition of Obon, the practice was brought to Hawaii by early Japanese immigrants as a way to honor ancestors through communal dance, music and gathering. In a county where neighborhood events can double as cultural touchstones, Honomu’s festival connects religion, family memory and village life in one place.

Henjoji’s own history reaches back more than a century. The mission’s history page says Rev. Hokan Kidani founded the Honomu Bunkyokaijo in 1912, the forerunner of the mission. The name Komyozan Henjoji was bestowed in July 1918, and Rev. Shudo Takagi moved and rebuilt the temple at its present location in 1920. Those dates help explain why the Honomu site still carries such weight for longtime local families and for visitors who return each summer to take part.

The Honomu bon dance has also come to mark the start of the Big Island’s bon dance season. A 2019 Hawaii Herald feature identified Jane Heit, co-founder and longtime leader of Tsukikage Odorikai, as part of the effort to keep the tradition strong, and said Honomu traditionally kicks off a season that runs from June through the end of August. That same feature said one count found about 16 bon dances on the Big Island over 14 consecutive weekends, showing how widely the tradition still reaches across East Hawaii.

The 2026 notice is especially useful for planning because the timing changes from year to year. A 2025 Big Island schedule listed the Honomu Henjioji Odaishisan dance on June 14 at 4 p.m., while a separate 2026 schedule from Koyasan Shingon Mission of Hawaii lists Honomu Henjoji Mission for Saturday, July 25, 2026, with Obon service at 5 p.m. and bon dance at 6:30 p.m. That shifting calendar reflects how local temples shape the summer season, while keeping the focus on remembrance, participation and community support.