Caught on camera: Vandal targets Buddhist temple, school in Makiki

News admin June 5, 2026 0 Comments

Caught on camera: Vandal targets Buddhist temple, school in Makiki

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Buddhist temple and neighboring school in Makiki are now faced with costly repairs after a recent vandalism spree.

It happened on June 2 just after 5 p.m.

A man was seen on surveillance video approaching the Jodo Mission of Hawaii temple. He pushes a sacred statue closest to the entrance, but it doesn’t budge. Then he picks up a cinder block and whacks the head off before toppling over what’s left.

“I was kind of shocked, truly shocked and heartbreaking, and I couldn’t believe it,” Jodo Mission of Hawaii Bishop Kosen Ishikawa said.

The suspect then walked away like nothing happened, leaving the severed pieces scattered. They’re now wrapped up, patiently waiting to be repaired.

The statue is called Ojizo-sama. It represents a spiritual guardian of all realms, and is a special protector of children.

It was first dedicated in 1987 and placed there to watch over the area, and protect drivers on the bustling H-1 Freeway. But it’s also been vandalized in the past.

“The last time was 2012. The left hand was cut off. At the time, the cost was $15,000,” Ishikawa said.

They sent it back to Japan for repair then, but it’s unclear how much it’ll cost this time around.

“This is actually priceless. Priceless means that no matter how expensive, we will not sell. And this is a part of the history, tradition, and our community,” Ishikawa added.

The suspect didn’t just stop at the statue. He reportedly broke the window of a vehicle that was parked along the street. He also took aim at the glass doors of a neighboring school, Hawaiian Mission Academy Ka Lama Iki. Their entrance remained blocked off Thursday.

“He stopped for nothing. He walked. He threw. He went into the Jodo. He knocked it over. He came back out and left. He was less than five minutes,” witness Lauren Elliott said.

Both the school and Jodo Mission were informed the suspect was arrested hours later.

Records showed a 37-year-old man was taken in for two counts of criminal property damage and disorderly conduct, but HPD could not confirm his direct connection to this case.

“According to police, he’s kind of notorious (in) the area of property damage,” Ishikawa added.

No one at the temple was hurt, which is probably the biggest blessing for Bishop Ishikawa.

“My understanding is that the statue became a sacrifice to protect our people, all the children,” he said. “So he fell down instead of all the people.”

The temple is now now kindly accepting donations and checks to cover repairs. They can be mailed directly to Jodo Mission of Hawaii. A GoFundMe is also in the works.

“We don’t want a new one. We want to fix, repair, and to come back here, and we want to continue to pay our respects to the Ojizo-sama,” Ishikawa said.