The History of Little Tokyo's Buddhist Temples

By Alex Duplessis

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LOS ANGELES, Calif.--A little bit of history seems to be tucked into every corner of Little Tokyo. The relatively small district is home to a number of Buddhist temples, some of which date back over a century. Between the Zenshuji Soto Mission, Higashi Honganji, Nishi Hongwanji and Koyosan Buddhist Temples--there are over 400 combined years of history.

Though its historic footprint in L.A. dates back to 1912, the Koyosan Buddhist Temple boasts the oldest current temple building at just over 70 years-old. The E. First St. temple was built in 1940, and was immediately tested by Japanese internment during WWII.

Throughout most of its history, Little Tokyo has been a predominately Japanese-American community. With the U.S. government's forced relocation of Japanese Americans, the Koyosan Buddhist Temple--along with Little Tokyo's other Buddhist temples--lost most of its members.

"During the war this Koyosan (temple) was closed," said Rev. Keishin Kako of the Koyosan Buddhist Temple in an interview.

For the duration of the war, Rev. Kako says the Koyosan temple was closed down and boarded up, only to be used as storage space for Japanese-American internees. It took a year after the war ended for the temple to re-open its doors, and "a few years" after that to re-establish its base in the community, as much of its original congregational base was displaced during internment.

Most Buddhist temples in Little Tokyo were forced to close their doors during WWII, including the Zenshuji Soto Mission. Once the Mission re-opened, under the leadership of Bishop Daito Suzuki, the temple provided temporary housing for returning internees in addition to trying to re-establish its ties with the community.

Two temples that already had longstanding ties in L.A. when internment came were the Higashi Honganji and Nishi Hongwanji temples. Both temples sprung up over a century years ago, and have both endured their share of relocations.

The Higashi Honganji temple was the first to set its stakes in the area, building its first temple on 229 East Fourth St. in 1904. But over its 111 year history, the temple has relocated three times before settling at its current location in 1976.

"The first 15 years or so it moved quite a bit because the membership was growing," said Bishop Noriaki Ito of the Higashi Honganji temple in an interview. "But then once we got into East Los Angeles it got pretty settled... and then we moved here."

Ito believes the temple's strong ties with the community are due in part to their being the first to set up in the area.

"We got started early and we tried to adjust to the needs of the community," said Ito. "I think that's what enabled us to hold onto our memberships, and in fact, even to grow our memberships."

Much like the Higashi Honganji temple, the Nishi Hongwanji temple has also relocated three times.

The Nishi Hongwanji temple's original establishment was on Jackson St. in 1905. From there it moved to Yamato Hall (a building which no longer exists) in 1917; then to the corner of E. First and Central Ave. in 1925; and finally to its current location at 815 E. First St. in 1969.

The Higashi Honganji and Nishi Hongwanji temples are alike in a few other ways as well.

"They're both Jodo Shinshu temples," said Rev. William Briones in an interview. "Here in the United States we are basically the same... we have the same roots."

Little Tokyo's Buddhist temples have been a major part of its history for the better part of the past hundred-plus years. As the community continues to grow, diversify and evolve--you can expect the temples' roots will remain strong.