| Beginnings |
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Shin Buddhism first reached the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1889 with the arrival of the Rev. Soryu Kagai of the Honpa Hongwanji Temple, Kyoto, Japan, who was sent to serve the needs of the Japanese immigrating to the Hawaiian Islands. Some ten years later, in 1899, Reverends Shuei Sonoda and Kakuryo Nishijima were dispatched from the Honpa Hongwanji to San Francisco, California to minister to the growing Japanese population on the mainland United States. Within a short time thereafter, Shin Buddhist temples and groups were established throughout the West Coast. During World War II, the Japanese American population on the West Coast was moved to United States government established relocation centers or relocated to non-security areas of the Midwest and Eastern parts of the country. This led to the establishment of Shin Buddhist temples in the major population centers east of the Mississippi River. Today, there are more than 100 Shin Buddhist temples, branch temples, fellowships and groups which comprise the Buddhist Churches of America. |
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