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Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi 2026 held in Honolulu

May 25, 2026

Glowing lanterns are released into the calm ocean waters of a bay at dusk; the gentle glow of a fading sunset and the Honolulu skyline are visible in the background; the orange glow of the lantern and of the glimmer of sunset are reflected in the ripples of the water.

Honolulu, Hawaiʻi

On Memorial Day in the United States (May 25th), 45,000 people gathered at Ala Moana Beach as Her Holiness Shinso Ito presided over the 28th annual Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi, centered around the theme of connection across generations, cultures, and communities. The ceremony honors loved ones lost to war, illness, disaster, displacement, and personal grief while also celebrating compassion, aloha, and our shared humanity.

Her Holiness opened the ceremony with prayers on behalf of all affected by the flooding that recently hit Hawaiʻi. She shared that the light of the fire used in the ritual was kindled with kukui oil from Hawaii joined with fire from Shinnyo-en’s home temple in Japan, and that the water used joins water from different sources in Hawaiʻi and Japan as one.

(Left) An grey-haired Japanese woman dressed in vermillion robes and a white shawl of lace, seated on a stage before a microphone, intently bows her head in prayer, a folding fan clasped in her hands pressed together in a prayerful gesture. (Right) A gray-haired Japanese woman wearing vermillion robes and a white lace shawl sits at a table before a microphone, delivering an address; a large lantern for floating is visible in the foreground; an evening sky, palm trees, and an attending priest can be seen in the background.
(Left) Her Holiness Shinso Ito intently prays during the Lantern Floating. (Right) Her Holiness addresses the audience in attendance on the beach.

Guiding lanterns were draped with floral lei this year by Daniel Martinez, a Pearl Harbor Historian; Rev. Ralph Aona, clergy at Community of Christ in Honolulu; and Josie Howard, president and CEO of We Are Oceania. Abby Pearson offered lei to the guiding lantern honoring those enduring pain and illness on behalf of Jennifer Barrett Fajardo, wife of the late José Fajardo, a local NPR president and general manager who passed away in 2024 after a battle with ALS. Puakea Nogelmeier, a Hawaiian cultural practitioner and Hawaiian language scholar who has offered his knowledge as a cultural consultant with Shinnyo-en and Shinnyo-en-affiliated Nā Lei Aloha Foundation for nearly ten years offered lei to the guiding lantern carrying prayers for all related to Hawaiʻi. Her Holiness offered lei to the guiding lantern with prayers for hope, happiness, and healing for all living beings.

Beneath stage lights and a night sky, a grey-haired woman in bright orange robes with a lace shawl and brocade apron, sits on a chair under lights on a stage, holding hands with children seated to her left and right, smiling warmly as a large group of singers stand in a row behind her on the stage singing.
Her Holiness together with local children and representatives at the close of the 2026 Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the founding of Shinnyo-en, and Her Holiness shared with attendees the origin of a core chant at Shinnyo-en: the Shinnyo Mantra of Benevolence and Liberation (Goreiju). Her parents, Masters Shinjo and Tomoji Ito—the founders of Shinnyo-en—recited the prayer from the depths of grief at the loss of their first son Chibun when he was just a toddler. Members of the community remembered Chibun as someone who delighted in sharing and giving to others. Her Holiness related that whenever she chants the Goreiju, she feels the generous spirit of giving come alive in her heart. Masters Tomoji and Shinjo floated lanterns in Chibun’s memory on a brook near their home shortly after his passing in 1936, reflecting how the tradition of floating lanterns and offering prayers for the repose of all spirits at Shinnyo-en started out as a personal experience.

To close her remarks, Her Holiness shared her hope that participants in the event would bring the spirit of the evening with them into their daily lives:

“Everyone has within them virtuous attributes and a warm heart. Let us express that wisdom and compassion with actions that honor all living beings beginning with those who are closest to us. Through this ceremony, may we, like the light of the lanterns that expresses our inextinguishable connections tonight, illuminate the world and the future with hope. Mahalo, and Namu Shinnyo.”

An intricately decorated square lantern, with writing in different colors, hands, and languages, emits a soft orange glow as it floats in the night time waters of a bay with a view of other floating lanterns and shorelights in the deep background.

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