Daijingu Temple of Hawaii, Shinto shrine in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
The Daijingu Temple of Hawaii is a Shinto Shinmei shrine on Oahu, the oldest Shinto shrine on the island, located behind the Queen Emma Summer Palace. Its grounds hold a main hall, a torii gate and shimenawa, and the shrine enshrines Amaterasu and Ame-no-Minakanushi alongside Yaoyorozu no Kami, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, King Kamehameha I and King Kalākaua.
Matsue Chiya, an immigrant from Kōchi Prefecture, founded the shrine on Aala Lane in 1903, and Masato Kawasaki arrived from Japan as head priest in 1907. The US government confiscated the building and property during World War II; the community moved the shrine to a temporary site in 1947 and to its present location on November 1, 1958. In 1954 the land and building payments for the shrine and its Uhiawa branch were returned by the Honolulu Office of Alien Property.
The shrine's name, Daijingu, links it to the Grand Shrines of Ise, and its main kami are Amaterasu and Ame-no-Minakanushi. Alongside them it enshrines Yaoyorozu no Kami and the historical figures George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, King Kamehameha I and King Kalākaua. Before the Pacific War, members of the Imperial Japanese Navy and local Japanese-Americans held services there for Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō.
The shrine sits on Puiwa Road near Nuuanu Valley and has free parking nearby. Visitors should prepare with cash, especially during special celebrations like New Year's Day when wait times may occur.
The shrine is notable for its connection to Admiral Togo Heihachiro, a famous Japanese naval officer whom the community honored before the Pacific War. This veneration shows how the shrine united both spiritual and historical figures, reflecting the depth of its meaning for the Japanese community.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,789 contributors worldwide.