BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//PYVOBJECT//NONSGML Version 1//EN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:events.uid.1054@www.discovernikkei.org DTSTART:20080124T000000Z DTEND:20080124T000000Z DESCRIPTION:A hearing to consider the Little Tokyo Historical Society's app lication to declare the Aoyama Tree\, a ficus tree at 133 North Central Av e. (just north of the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy)\, will occur next week Thursday\, January 24 at 10AM at City Hall\, Room 10 60 in front of the Cultural Heritage Commission. Please attend to show yo ur support for the Aoyama Tree!\n\n\n************************************* *\n\nPROJECT\nCultural Heritage Commission\nCase No.: CHC-200-47-HCM\n- He aring to consider the Historic-Cultural Monument Application for the Aoyam a Tree and declare it a Historic-Cultural Monument\n\nDATE & TIME\n10:00 A M on January 24\, 2008\n\nPLACE\nCity Hall\, Room 1060\n200 N. Spring St.\ nLos Angeles\, CA 90012\n\n\nAPPLICANT\nDeanna Matsumoto\nLittle Tokyo His torical Society\n\n\nSUMMARY\nPlanted in 1920\, this fifty feet high rubbe r tree (Ficus elastica) is located on a pedestrian walkway (formerly Centr al Avenue) in the Little Tokyo community of downtown Los Angeles. The subj ect tree is situated on a parking lot immediately north of the National Ce nter for the Preservation of Democracy building\, a component of the Japan ese American National Museum.\n\nThe proposed Aoyama Tree historic monumen t appears to be symbolic of the history of the Koyosan Buddhist Temple and of Japanese Americans in Los Angeles. The subject ficus tree was planted in 1920 by members of the Koyasan Buddhist Temple\, founded in 1912 by Rev erend Shutai Aoyama as the Koyasan Daishi Mission. Having immigrated to Lo s Angeles from Japan in 1898\, Reverend Aoyama organized the Koyasan Daish i Mission to support the needs of Japanese immigrant workers. In 1920\, th e temple moved to a wood-frame building at 133 N. Central Ave and planted the subject tree at the temple's front entrance. At this location\, variou s mutual aid associations\, a fujinkai (women's association)\, and a Boy S cout troop were established in the 1930s for the growing Japanese-American community in Los Angeles. In 1940\, the temple moved to its current locat ion at 342 E. First St. During World War II\, Koyasan congregants were rel ocated to internment camps where temple members continued to meet.\n\nThe former home of the Koyasan Temple at 133 N. Central was occupied by variou s Japanese American organizations up until the early 1950s\, when the buil ding was razed by the City of Los Angeles for a parking lot. The subject r ubber tree was left untouched and remains at the same site. The subject tr ee may be significant for its associations with the cultural and historica l development of Buddhism and the Japanese American community in Los Angel es.\n\nCRITERIA\nThe criterion is the Cultural Heritage Ordinance which de fines a historical or cultural monument as any site (including significant trees or other plant life located thereon) building or structure of parti cular historic or cultural significance to the City of Los Angeles\, such as historic structures or sites in which the broad cultural\, economic\, o r social history of the nation\, State or community is reflected or exempl ified\, or which are identified with historic personages or with important events in the main currents of national\, State or local history or which embody the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural type specim en\, inherently valuable for a study of a period style or method of constr uction\, or a notable work of a master builder\, designer or architect who se individual genius influenced his age.\n\nFINDINGS\nBased on the facts s et forth in the summary and application\, the Commission determines that t he application is complete and that the property may be significant enough to warrant further investigation as a potential Historic-Cultural Monumen t.\n\n(Written by Deanna Matsumoto\, Little Tokyo Historical Society\, as part of the Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument Application)\n\n\nHisto rical Significance of The Aoyama Tree \n\n\nThe ficus tree (Ficus elastica ) located on the City of Los Angeles-owned parking \nlot immediately north of the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (a \ncomponent o f the Japanese American National Museum)\, appears to be \nsignificant for its symbolism of the cultural and historical development of \nBuddhism an d the Japanese American community in Los Angeles. This tree \nrepresents the founding of Koyasan Buddhist Temple in Little Tokyo\, which is \none o f the oldest and largest Buddhist temples in Los Angeles. \n\nReverend Shu tai Aoyama\, who came to the United States in 1898\, founded \nKoyasan Bud dhist Temple. Reverend Aoyama labored alongside other Japanese \nimmigrant s in agriculture and shipbuilding after his arrival in America\, during \n which time he became increasingly aware of the workers’ need for support and \nspiritual guidance. In 1912\, he started the Koyasan Daishi Missio n in a small \nstorefront on Commercial Street in Little Tokyo. \n\nIn 19 20\, the temple moved to a wood-frame building at 133 North Central that \ nhad previously housed a Japanese restaurant and was owned by the Southern \nPacific Railroad Company. After the building was remodeled\, sources i ndicate \nthat the ficus tree was planted by the temple’s front door (Im age A). \n\nIn 1924\, Reverend Taido Kitagawa began to minister to members of Koyasan. \nKitagawa was well known for helping those Japanese who con tinued to enter the \nUnited States after passage of the 1924 law restrict ing immigration. As the \ntemple grew\, its members formed a mutual aid a ssociation and then a fujinkai\, or \nwomen’s association. The women of the Koyasan fujinkai were well known in the \n[sorry the email ended here -bobby] DTSTAMP:20240416T152603Z SUMMARY:Jan. 24 Cultural Heritage Commission hearing for the Aoyama Tree i n Little Tokyo URL:/en/events/2008/01/24/jan-24--cultural-heritage-commission-hearing-for- t/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR