JUST SAY MAHALO®

“Persons of the Pure Land tradition attain birth in the Pure Land by becoming their foolish selves.” —Shinran Shōnin, quoting his great teacher Hōnen Shōnin, founder of Jōdo-shū, in Lamp for the Latter Ages, Fascicle 6, CWS, Vol 1, page 531 Did you know the English phrase “bon dance” is unique to Hawaii? In Japan,…

When people ask me what I miss about living in Japan, I honestly tell them, “Anpan!” — the perfect bun filled with sweetened bean paste! Anpan was a major discovery when I was an exchange student in Tokyo in the early 1980s—the perfect fusion of a Western-style bread and Japanese-style sweets. In the 2010s, I…

Drip Coffee “Arigatō” (“thank you”)