Mitsuo Aoki, nicknamed Mits (December 4, 1914 – August 19, 2010) was an American

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

. He was born on a

sugar-cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in suc ...

plantation near Hawi on the

Island of Hawaii Hawaii is the List of islands of the United States by area, largest island in the United States, located in the Hawaii, state of Hawaii, the southernmost state in the union. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcani ...

, and lived there until graduating high school. He then relocated to

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

for University training, and converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

from

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. He studied at the

Chicago Theological Seminary The Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) is a Christian ecumenical American seminary located in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of several seminaries historically affiliated with the United Church of Christ. It is the oldest institution of higher e ...

and the

Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...

. At the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Aoki was living in the mainland US, and was subsequently escorted by

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

agents to Hawaii, rather than placed into

Japanese American internment During World War II, the United States forcibly relocated and incarcerated about 120,000 people of Japanese descent in ten concentration camps operated by the War Relocation Authority (WRA), mostly in the western interior of the country. Abou ...

camps as were mainland persons of Japanese Ancestry. Aoki founded the Department of Religion at the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Hawaiʻi system and houses the main offic ...

campus, and regularly taught courses such as ''Religions of Mankind'', ''Death and Dying'' and ''The Meaning of Existence'' for forty years thereafter.He frequently recounted an

out of body experience An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE) is a phenomenon in which a person perceives the world as if from a location outside their physical body. An OBE is a form of autoscopy (literally "seeing self"), although this term is more commo ...

he'd had following an automobile accident in 1957 as a driving force in his life. In 1968 he met and soon married Margaret Evelyn Reeves Wagner, a divorcee who recently relocated to Hawaii from California. He had three children by his first wife, and his second wife (Lynne Aoki) had 5 children by her first husband. They had no children together. In his later years, Aoki often gave seminars on death and dying, relaying his many experiences in counseling families of those losing a loved one, whom he considered his teachers. He is acknowledged as a world leader on the subject of death and dying. In 2004 Aoki was named as a

Living Treasures of Hawai'i The Living Treasures of Hawaii program was created in 1976 by the Buddhist temple Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii to honor residents of Hawaii. It was inspired by the Living National Treasures of Japan award, and is awarded annually. The criter ...

. Aoki died on August 19, 2010. Among those crediting him with their success is the 2011-2015

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of Hawaii,

Neil Abercrombie Neil Abercrombie (born June 26, 1938) is an American politician who served as the seventh governor of Hawaii from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. Born in Buffalo, New York, Abercrombie is a ...

, who in his election victory speech of November 3, 2010 made specific mention of Aoki's positive influence on his life's work, thanking him for his service to Hawaii and stating inter alia: "He blessed us with his presence." The Mits Aoki Legacy Foundation was established by former students of his, and have published his works for public access. Much of his work is also accessible at the Manoa Library where they are also housed. Much of the work are videos of him while serving as a 'guru' for the

Young Presidents' Organization YPO (formerly Young Presidents' Organization) is a US-based organization of chief executives with more than 36,000 members in more than 142 countries. History YPO was founded in 1950 in Rochester, New York, by manufacturer Ray Hickok, who was ...

for many years, wherein he was given the nickname of "cosmic dancer".

References

External links

Family PhotosLivingyourdying.comMits Aoki Legacy Foundation
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aoki, Mitsuo 1914 births 2010 deaths People from Hawaii Converts to Christianity from Buddhism American people of Japanese descent American theologians