A retirement party for Rinban Noriaki Ito of Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple in Little Tokyo was held on Sept. 28 at the Quiet Cannon in Montebello. He was thanked for his 50 years of service as a minister, including 32 years as rinban at Higashi. He also became bishop of the Higashi Honganji North America District and has been involved in many community and religious organizations in Little Tokyo. The program included performances by Bombu Taiko and TaikoProject; messages from the Ito family, Rev. Tomoyuki Hasegawa and Rev. Kensho Goto of Higashi Honganji USA Headquarters, and Ron Sato of Higashi Hongwanji. Rinban Kenjun Kawawata gave shokuzen no gassho; Shin Ito, Riban Ito’s brother, led the toast; Rev. Mayuki Nagamine gave shokugo no gassho; June Kuramoto of Hiroshima gave a koto performance. A tribute video was shown and the guest of honor expressed words of appreciation.
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Tagged: higashi honganji, retirement, Rinban Noriaki Ito