ABOUT NICHIREN SHU Los Angeles

After the turn of the century, local Nichiren Buddhists in the Los Angeles organized the White Lotus Club to study the teachings of Nichiren Shonin. On May 23, 1914, the White Lotus Club rented a room at the Federal Hotel on East Second Street. Under the founding priest, REV. KANJO ASAHI, the White Lotus Club established the first Nichiren Temple in North America, naming it the Nichiren Buddhist Temple of Los Angeles.

During the following year, under the guidance of REV. NISSHO KITAGAWA, second chief priest, the temple diligently and vigorously labored to promote the Buddhism of Nichiren Shonin through side walk preaching, public lectures, study classes and the formation of what would later become the largest Japanese women's organization of the era.

The propagation of the doctrine was furthered by the publication of a periodical called the "Ten Sei" during the years of succeeding ministers, REV. GIJYO YAMASHITA and REV. CHOTOKU TOYAMA. Even today, there is a 94 year old member who was converted to the Nichiren faith after listening to Rev. Toyama's street preaching,

In 1930, the fifth resident minister REV. JUNKYO IKEDA, while enduring enormous hardship during the depression years, moved to 2800 East Third Street, Los Angeles, and built a one hundred capacity new temple. He was appointed the first director of the Nichiren Buddhist Order of North America in 1933.

In 1939 REV. RYUSHIN OKIHARA, the sixth resident minister, traveled to the war front to comfort the Japanese soldiers involved in the Manchurian incident.

In 1940, Chief Abbot of Kuonji Temple at Mt. Minobu, the Very Rev. Nikken Mochizuki, honored the temple with the name of Minobu-san Betsuin (Mt. Minobu Branch temple) of North America. However, the temple soon afterwards encountered a very sad time in its history. With the outbreak of World War II in 1941 and the forced relocation of Japanese and Japanese-American West Coast residents to concentration camps, the temple had to be closed for a period of four years. At the end of the war, seventh chief priest, REV. JITEI ISHIHARA, returned to re-open the temple and used it to help returning evacuees from the camps as a temporary lodging.

In 1953, REV. YOSHINORI FUJIWARA, became the eighth resident minister and in 1970 the temple was enlarged with the dedication of a new building at the present location. The temple enjoyed a variety of activities and groups, such as Japanese and English Buddhist study classes, Japanese culture classes and sports teams. The temple later began to experience a number of difficulties, resulting in a decrease in membership and financial hardship. It became increasingly complicated to maintain the temple and a minister, so the members finally requested financial and other assistance from Ikegami Honmonji Temple in Tokyo.

On May 31, 1992, REV. RYUSHIN KIDA was sent from Ikegami Honmonji Temple. However, since his responsibilities laid primarily with Ikegami Honmonji, he was not able to stay long in Los Angeles. During Rev. Kida's absence, Rev. Gyoken Kuroyanagi was assigned to the temple and with the support of Ikegami Honmonji, Rev. Kuroyanagi remodeled the kitchen, office, and other places, and also constructed a guest shower room and a two car garage.

On September 8, 1994, REV. SHOKAI KANAI was installed as the tenth chief priest of the temple. Rev. Kanai had originally trained at this temple from the Spring of 1964 until the Fall of 1970, before being transferred to Salt Lake City, Seattle and then back to Japan. Upon his return to the Los Angeles temple, he was therefore able to renew a number of old acquaintances and cherished friendships. Since Rev. Kanai's return to the temple, the congregation and its membership has steadily increased, together with a renewed effort to propagate the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren's Buddhism, in the spirit of the temple's founding priest and members.