Thread by @EngagedPureLand

Presenting “Shimeji Kanazawa—Bodhisattva Leader in Compassionate Caregiving.” An offering in celebration of #AAPIHeritageMonth.

Shimeji Ryusaki (known as Shim within the community) was born in 1915 on the Big Island of Hawai'i, the oldest of 11 children. Her father was variously a famer, cowboy, cook, movie theatre operator, taxi driver, and auto mechanic, and her mother was a picture bride and farmer.

While Shim was living away from her family attending high school in Hilo and living at the Jodo Shu temple, her sister Emiko died at age 12. Shim was forced to confront the transiency of life and the need to treat others with care every single day.

During WWII she was hired to run the Japanese Consulate office, which was being overseen by the Swedish Consulate (since Sweden was a trustworthy neutral party). Shim was given a special pass, making her the only Nikkei who could move freely throughout the islands. She was 26.

She worked tirelessly to provide work, comfort, and direct aid to the families whose husbands were interned. Because she could move about the islands, she often had to stand in at Buddhist weddings and funerals as a representative for people who weren’t permitted to travel.

Her phone was monitored and she translated classified documents. She made frequent inspection tours of the Hawaiian detention centres, and inspected POW ships taking Japanese prisoners to the mainland to ensure Geneva Convention rights were being observed.

Sometimes Shim went to the O'ahu camps to inform internees that their soldier sons had been killed in combat. She became known as the Florence Nightingale of Hawai'i after she escorted families all the way to a concentration camp in Texas so they could be reunited with internees.

Shim received a merit certificate from the American Red Cross in recognition of her war-time efforts. After the war she married community activist Kinji Kanazawa, who had saved the Mo’ili’ili Japanese Community Center from confiscation by the American military.

Shim accompanied Kinji when he became the first Buddhist admitted to Boston College Law School. Together they raised two children, returning to Hawai'i after his graduation.

Shim worked for the Hawai’i Department of Education, then was appointed by the governor as chair of the Commission on Children and Youth, which established the Family Court. In 1963 the governor appointed her to the Commission on Aging.

Drawing on her time tending the elderly during WWII, Shim now found her life’s work. With the Commission she worked to address the many gaps in federal, state, and local aid in Hawai'i. She served on the National Advisory Committee on Aging under Carter, Reagan, and Clinton.

In 1989 Shim co-founded Project Dana, with her friend and fellow Mo’ili’ili Hongwanji Mission member Rose Nakamura. Still based at the Jodo Shinshu temple but very much inter-faith in spirit, Project Dana today includes dozens of temples and churches with over 750 volunteers.

Project Dana is one of Hawai’i’s most important social service groups. They provide support that allows housebound seniors to live in dignity and independence, as an expression of the Buddhist value of dana. Dana means selfless giving, something Shim practiced her entire life.

Project Dana provides in-person and phone visitations to isolated elders, home repair, home safety assessments, decluttering, assistance in medical equipment set-up, and transportation to medical appointments, grocery shopping, religious services, banking, and government offices.

Crucially, Project Dana also provides support to caregivers. They train them, host caregiver support groups, provide one-on-one counseling, and celebrate them with quarterly outings. Embodying the Pure Land vision of universal embrace, they nurture both caregivers and receivers.

Shimeji Kanazawa received many, many awards during her lifetime, including an honourary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa in 1990. She passed away in 2014. Through her gifts of dana, the spirit of Buddhism continues to help thousands of people.

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