BTSD Holds Services for Imperial Valley Ancestors

Editor’s note: Edna Horiuchi, a Sangha member of Senshin Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles, grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She moved with her parents to the Imperial Valley in high school and attended Central Union High School in El Centro and graduated from Calipatria High School in Calipatria. She also attended Imperial Valley Community College. Horiuchi shared the following reflections on the BTSD visit to the Imperial Valley on May 25.

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Light rain fell on Saturday morning, May 25, as 22 Sangha members departed from the Buddhist Temple of San Diego (BTSD) on a chartered bus headed to the Imperial Valley.

Minister Assistants Rev. Laverne Imori, Sharon Sasaki and Arturo Rubio were on board to conduct services at the Japanese American gravesites in the Calexico, El Centro and Brawley cemeteries. For over 60 years, ministers from BTSD have traveled to the Imperial Valley to conduct services in the Japanese sections of the three cemeteries during Memorial Day weekend.

There was bingo, donated prizes, and other fun games during the two-hour bus trip. Snacks, coffee and water were passed out and we even practiced singing gathas. The Sangha Teens baked cookies for the riders. Buckets of flowers were onboard for use at the cemeteries. Rev. Imori prepared lunches, which were later eaten enroute to the Pioneers Museum.

Although there were thriving Japantowns in El Centro and Brawley before World War II, most of the Japanese residents chose not to return after the war because of threats of violence.  The Brawley and El Centro Buddhist temples did not reopen because of decreased membership. After the BTSD altar was destroyed in an arson fire during World War II, the El Centro temple donated its altar of Amida Buddha, or Onaijin, to the San Diego temple.

The Mountain View Cemetery in Calexico was the most poignant of cemeteries visited. Though the front of the cemetery is green and well-tended, the “non-endowed” section in the back is barren dirt and full of forgotten graves, mostly predating World War II. Some of the Japanese American graves were sinking in the salty desert soil or had headstones with names that were worn off. One gravestone read: Daniel Kita/ Died/ May 23, 1930/ Age 15 Days.

At the Evergreen Cemetery in El Centro, services were held near the large headstone of Tamizo and Miyono Nimura. Three of their sons, Yasuo, Takanori “Pro,” and Saburo “Smokey,” are also buried there. The Nimura family was especially appreciative of the visiting BTSD ministers, feeding them and giving them a place to rest.  

“It was very moving to be chanting near the graves of so many of my parents’ friends,” I said. “‘Pro’ Nimura was a close friend of my Dad’s. We had many delicious meals cooked by Mrs. Nimura. She lived on a farm with her bachelor sons, ‘Pro’ and ‘Smokey.’”

The Sangha members received a tour of the former El Centro Buddhist Temple in downtown El Centro. The Japanese American community was forced to sell the building because of the forced relocation to concentration camps during World War II. 

It has been a Sikh temple since 1947. Sikh temple member Paul Chatha gave a tour of the interior of the temple and welcomed us with a prayer and song. The center aisle and exterior of the original Buddhist temple have remained the same, though renovations are being planned.

At the Brawley Riverview Cemetery, entrance signs warned visitors about gopher holes, bee hives and rattlesnakes. In the Japanese American section, an eight-foot Ireihai  obelisk, or Buddhist memorial monument, is dedicated to the Sangha pioneers of the Brawley Buddhist Church (Bukkyokai). The Irehai was toppled by an earthquake in 2010, but was repaired in 2013 with community donations and help from BTSD. An adjacent bench is dedicated to the Issei pioneers of Brawley, Westmorland, and Niland.

Nearby is the grave of Chosuke Baba, known as “Baba-san.” After the war, this elderly bachelor lived in a tiny wooden shack with an outhouse and farmed a few acres. He was a fervent reader. 

“In terms of material possessions, Baba-san was probably the poorest person I have ever known,” Tim Asamen said. “In terms of his Compassion, Wisdom, and understanding of the Dharma, he was, without a doubt, the richest person I will ever know.”

Asamen is the coordinator of the Japanese American Gallery at the Imperial Valley Pioneers Museum. He met the bus at the Brawley cemetery and later joined us at the museum. The Pioneers Museum gave the BTSD tour free entrance to the museum.

The BTSD taiko group has performed numerous times for museum events. In 1992, Ralph and Avis Honda brought the youthful taiko group to perform for the El Centro Heritage Fair. The fair raised funds for the Imperial County Historical Society, which wanted to build the museum. In 1994, the taiko group performed at the grand opening of the Japanese American Gallery.  In December 2023, the group performed for the museum’s annual Holiday Tour Around the World.  

Asamen led a tour of the gallery, which tells the history of Japanese Americans in Imperial Valley. The Issei and Nisei made immense contributions to agriculture while also creating communities which would allow their families to thrive. There were unusual stories of individuals such as Masani Nagata, the bachelor farmer and amateur astronomer, who discovered a comet. His telescope is on display in the gallery.

Junko Kajita found a photo of her grandfather in the El Centro men’s auxiliary group.

Minister’s Assistant Arturo Rubio commented on how the Latino community took the place of Japanese Americans who were sent to the mass detention camps.