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Contents

Religion

Bibliographies

Compiled by Martin Baumann, Department for the History of Religions/Studiengang Religionswissenschaft, University of Bremen
Also see Description of Buddhism in America: Orange County Project.
Description of Buddhism in America: Orange County Project, CA and link to Buddhism in America Bibliography.
Duncan Williams's resume
Excellent reference to the range and kinds of religions from Japan that have achieved a presence in America, primarily via the Japanese American community.
Compiled in January, 2004, for contribution to The Pluralism Project, Harvard University. Contains over 100 citations to bibliographic items on Japanese-American Buddhism.


General

Authors and titles of three papers comparing Japanese and Korean immigrants: Spickard, P.,et.al. "Religion and Race: Korean and Japanese American Religions, 1890-1945"; Iwamura, J. "Japanese Americans and the Birth of a New Civil Religion"; Suh, S. "Buddhism, Rhetoric and the Korean American Community: The Adjustment of Korean Buddhist Immigrants to U.S."
Religion and the Japanese American World War II internment experience.
Describes the American Friends Service Committee's response to the internment of Japanese-Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Interesting brief article describing the cooperation of the American Baptists, American Friends Service Committee (Quakers) and Jodo Shinshu temples in alleviating the problems of Terminal Islanders caused by their hasty removal from the island in February 1942.

Buddhism

Although the focus of the article is Nichiren Buddhism, McCormick offers insights that provide an interesting explanation of the Japanese Americans' initial and now diminishing role in propagating Buddhism in America.
A brief but useful overview of the topic of Pure Land Buddhism in North America.
Clarification of several commonly held misconceptions.

Buddhism in the United States

Professor Baumann of Hanover University (Germany) provides an excellent review of the articles in this volume dealing with the work-in-progress of adapting Buddhist teachings and practices to North American society.
Focuses on the issue of Asian American Buddhists and non-Asian Buddhists in America.
Brief but useful overview of current Buddhist groups in America.
Issue presents views of a number of scholars regarding the topic. It also offers references to a number of articles that address the topic of Buddhism in America.
Introduction to the general issue of the transmission of Buddhism to America. Analysis of the transmission of Buddhism from its "traditional home" bases to new locales.
Overview, with extensive web links, of the introduction of various Buddhist schools to America, including Zen and Nichiren from Japan.
Article by Rev. Kodani (Senshin Buddhist Temple) covering the history of Jodo Shinshu Honganji-ha temples in the United States.
Focuses on the issue of Asian American Buddhists and non-Asian Buddhists in America.
すでに絶版になっているが、このサイトより表や図を除き全文を読むことができる。
"日本文化を土壌に生い茂ってきた宗教が、アメリカを新たな苗代として選んだとき、その先鋒となった布教者は、どのような問題に直面したであろうか。ルーツが日本にあるということの特殊性は、どのような問題に直面したであろうか。ルーツが日本にあるということの特殊性は、どのような形で意識されたであろうか。あるいは、新たな土壌のもとでは、どのようなタイプの布教者が出現して、そこでの宗教活動の方向性に影響を与えたであろうか。これらの問題については、教団ごとの違いが大きい。また、布教者の宗教的才覚とでもいったようなものも関係する。テーマはいくらでも広がりそうであったが、なるべく問題を絞るように心がけた。"（まえがきより抜粋）
Annoucement of a presentation by Jane Naomi Iwamura, "Recognizing the Spiritual Center: Contemplating the Buddhist Home Shrine (obutsudan)," as part of UCSB's Spirituality and Culture series, Feb. 3, 1999.
Based on the Nichiren school of Mayahana Buddhism.

California

Early history of issei community organizations. Three types are mentioned including social/political, religious, and Japanese language schools. Briefly describes the development of other organizations beyond the issei era.
  • Buddhist Church of Bakersfield (California Department of Parks and Recreation, Office of Historic Preservation, Five Views: An Ethnic History Site Survey for California, December 1988)
Brief history of the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles.
Excellent description of the changes and decline of a Buddhist Church.
"In December 2004, the Los Angeles Times Newspaper published an article by Religion writer Teresa Watanabe entitled, 'Giving Tradition a Chance: Shin Buddhists celebrate Little Tokyo temple, but ponder faith’s future,' which covered the auspicious 100th anniversary of the main Los Angeles temple of Higashi Honganji. The temple, belonging to the Jodo Shinshu or Shin tradition of Buddhism, is located in the Little Tokyo area of downtown LA and is the oldest Buddhist temple in LA. While the event itself was obviously a celebration, the Times article had a somewhat ironic tone, as its focus was not actually on the elaborate parade and service ceremonies of the anniversary. After briefly describing the event highlights, the article went on to add, 'amid the congratulatory speeches at the Higashi Honganji Temple’s commemoration, an underlying question lingered: Can this 780-year-old Japanese Buddhist tradition survive assimilation in America?'"
"The first American Bon Odori was held in Hawaii in 1910. It took another two decades for the ritual to reach temples on the West Coast. The very first Bon Odori in the continental United States was at the Buddhist Church of San Francisco in 1931."
Describes obon festival activities in the San Francisco Bay area and northern California.
  • "In Memoriam: Reverend Kenryu T. Tsuji, 1919-2004". Obituaries by Brian Nagata (Numata Center for Buddhism Tranlsation and Research), and drawn from the Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle; also includes remarks on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Robert T. Matsui.
"The 84-year old Reverend Tsuji was the first American citizen to serve as Bishop (Socho) of the 105-year old Buddhist Churches of America, which is the largest Buddhist religious body within the Japanese American community, headquartered in San Francisco."

Colorado

Longmont, Colorado Buddhist Temple sees "new wave" of white devotees.

Illinois

  • Paul D. Numrich, Buddhists (Encyclopedia of Chicago)
Brief history of the developmenet of Buddhism in Chicago.
A program to deepen individual spirituality and help establish an everyday practice.
"The Heartland Sangha was founded in 1989 and is affiliated with the American Buddhist Association. It is interested in American Buddhism as developed by the Venerable Rev. Gyomay Kubose."

Utah

Useful explanation of the Obon and its celebration in the United States with specific reference to Salt Lake City Japanese Americans.

Buddhism in Brazil

Article by a doctoral candidate, Department of Anthropology, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
An excellent basic bibliography covering the topic.
Abstract: "Although syncretism is frequently described in the history of Buddhism in Asia, little has been discussed regarding its presence in Buddhism in western countries, where the concept would be helpful for analysing the popularization of Buddhism and its new combinations. From this point of view, the first aim of this article is to present a new heuristic category, one that contrasts the more rigid concept of identity established by so-called 'Protestant Buddhism.' Given the growing dilution of Buddhist identity and its tendency toward syncretism in Brazil, this paper works with the heuristic concept of a "Buddhism in Syncretic Shape." Since this concept is useful for better understanding some groups in Brazil, it is suggested that it can also provide interesting insights for the study of Buddhism in the West. This concept will be developed through a detailed description of Shingon in Brazil, which has undergone a religious synthesis with Catholicism and Afro-Brazilian religions."
"Nesse artigo tenho a intenção de desenvolver mais conceitualmente a idéia de um Budismo étnico através das categorias de grupo étnico e identidade, citando os elementos históricos que justifiquem o conceito no caso dos nikkeis (descendentes de japoneses) no Brasil."
Non-Nikkei Brazilian Buddhist monk.
ブラジルの宗教に関する記事へリンク
This site is created by POSTEIS (Propagation of Shinshu Teachings Employing Information-oriented Systems Research Group). A series of articles about religion in Brazil. (Japanese only)


Buddhism in Peru

"El presente articulo fue publicado en el boletin "ZEN: AMIGOS ESPIRITUALES" No. 3 por la Sede Administrativa de la Escuela Sotoshu, Abril, 2003"


Christianity

JA*Net Ties Talk: Converting from being a Buddhist to a Christian

Japanese American Christians

Book focusing on Chinese American and Japanese American churches. Analysis of generational transition and the development of ethnic churches.
Link to: Southern CA Nikkei Japanese Language Churches; Japanese Evangelical Mission Society; Wintersburg Presbyterian Church, Maryknoll Japanese Catholic Church Downtown LA
Excellent article tracing early history of Japanese immigrants' establishment of a Congregational Church to its current status as a United Church of Christ congregation.
Article explaning Helmer's understanding of the Japanese American culture and its significance in shaping a Japanese American Christianity.
Article on the 110 year old Portland's Epworth Japanese American United Methodist Church titled "Rooted in the Church" by Tim Sullivan.

Japanese Brazilian Christians

"New Religions"

Survey of the kinds of people and reasons for their involvement in a religious phenomenon almost exclusively found in the Hawaiian Island and comprised almost wholly of Japanese Americans.
English links to new religions including Konkokyo, Perfect Liberty, Seicho-no-ie, Soka Gakkai and Tenrikyo.
Includes a background page and chronology describing the origins of Konkokyo.
"The goal of this paper is to study the phenomenon of the globalization of Japanese religion through an analysis of the growth of the Soka Gakkai in Australia."
Institución que se dedica a difundir el Reiki en el Perú y en el extranjero. Disiplina japonesa de origen Budista Tendai, también nutrida de otras fuentes, doctrinas y filosofias.


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