Introduction to the Higashi Honganji: Shin Buddhism's First US Temple

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Higashi Honganji Temple has served the Buddhist community in Little Tokyo as Reverand Junjyo Izumida established the first Japanese Buddhist temple in Los Angeles in 1904. The temple relocated several times but came back to its original location in Little Tokyo in 1976. It contains beautiful architecture with a traditional roof with over 30,000 tiles imported from Japan, a large and well maintained Japanese garden, lanterns in the main chapel, and many other intricate Buddhist art throughout the temple grounds.

Photo of the temple in the early 1900s

Recent photo with outdoor Japanese Garden

The temple has always been an integral part of the Japanese community in Little Tokyo as it functions more than just fulfilling communal religious needs. For example, it housed the first judo-kendo dojo in Los Angeles as well as serving as a Japanese language school and orphanage, filling key needs during Japanese internment in the US. Now, the temple holds all varieties of services including weddings, memorials, an official pre-school and kindergarten, an extensive child development center, and plenty of organizations that draw in diverse crowds.

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Research Question #3: How does the Higashi Honganji make Shin Buddhism more appealing in an Americanized society?

As passing generations of Japanese Americans have become more and more Americanized, branch membership at the Higashi Honganji has faced both steady and sharp decline in recent years. To combat this trend, the Higashi Honganji has adopted new services to appeal to the newest generation of Japanese Americans and their families, including several new doctrines and practices which have been frowned upon by a number of Japan’s Buddhist bishops, such as promoting meditation as a means to achieve enlightenment. Despite this disapproval, however, the temple also recognized early on that it could not sustain membership in the long-run and survive on a solely Japanese or Japanese-American base of membership, and has since then tried to offer more services which are likely to be more appealing to Americans of all ages, genders, races, and levels of income. Examples of some services tailored to a more Westernized audience which are unique to the American branch of the Higashi Honganji are: ...

Inside the Temple

Center view of the main hall The interior of the temple is very intricate and composed of several different components that all have deep meaning to Buddhism. Starting with the Hondo, or the main hall, it is composed of two areas which are the Najin(altar) and the Gejin (seating area). The altar in a Jodo Shinshu temple is a symbol of the beauty of the Pure Land, which we learned in our Wednesday night study session at the temple is the world of enlightenment and is filled with ornateness and beauty. Contrastingly, the seating area is plain and deliberately is void of any decoration as it represents the world we live in. Close view of the altar There are also various scrolls in the temple that have a specific meaning. The scroll pictured below shows a phrase that members are encouraged to recite that conveys a spiritual mirror for one's awakening.

Brief Introduction to Shin Buddhism in Japan

Shin Buddhism ( Jōdo Shinshū) is one of four popular schools of Buddhism in Japan. Others include : Pure Land Buddhism (aka Shin Buddhism), Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon Buddhism, and Zen Buddhism. Initially, there was some minor conflict between the two traditions, but both are largely able to co-exist peacefully side by side now. Although 90 million Japanese refer to themselves as Buddhists, few actively practice the religion - this means that Buddhism does not affect their everyday life strongly - rather it acts as a set of guiding principles for how to live life, similar to Confucianism or Taoism. The remainder of the Japanese population identify as either Shinto, Christian, or non-practicing.

REL 141g Fall 2018: Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple

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