Gardena Buddhist Church prepares to mark 100 years as a faithful steward of the community.

By MICHELLE TIO

In honor of Gardena Buddhist Church’s 100th anniversary next year, the Rafu Shimpo Foundation is proud to announce that GBC is a recipient of grant funding from the 2025 Charity Golf Classic.

Perhaps best known for its annual Obon Festival, Gardena Buddhist Church also has a rich history of resilience and service to the greater Japanese American community.

In January 2025, the world watched as massive fires enveloped Los Angeles. More than 28 individuals died, hundreds of thousands were evacuated, and thousands lost their homes. In response to these tragedies, Gardena Buddhist Church head minister Rev. John Iwohara told his congregation:

“Needless to say, it was a scary time. Throughout it all, however, we were told of the courage and bravery of many, and the thoughtfulness and kindness of many more. Whereas what occurred was tragic, and this should never be underestimated, this was also a time when the kindness and beauty of the Sangha also revealed itself. Just like the pain and loss endured due to the fire should not be downplayed, the kindness and strength of our Sangha should also not be taken for granted.”

Two church members, Terri Mitani and her husband Dave Mitani, exemplify the kindness and strength of the Gardena Bud-dhist Church Sangha. While the church was not directly affected by the Los Angeles fires, their sister church — Pasadena Buddhist Temple — barely escaped destruction. Many temple members had to evacuate their homes, and sadly, some lost their homes entirely.

The Mitanis led Gardena Buddhist Church’s donation drive for Pasadena Bud-dhist Temple. The church was able to collect $2,725 in Target gift cards, $940 in checks and cash, air purifiers, N95 masks, toiletries, and other necessities, which went directly to those who had evacuated and lost their homes.

When asked why she and her husband helped coordinate the drive, Terri Mitani stated, “We had followed the news in the past about the fires that had affected the temples in Maui and Seattle, and in those cases the most we could do was support them with monetary donations. But this hit close to home, and many people wanted to do more.

“The entire Gardena Buddhist Church Sangha was so supportive and generous. It was very heartwarming to see so many people giving from the heart and giving what they could. As Buddhists, we are filled with compassion and gratitude, and hope that all the victims can rebuild their lives.”

History

Rev. Iwohara’s words also encapsulate the history of resilience and service that Gardena Buddhist Church has displayed in its nearly 100-year history. From Japanese residents in the 1920s coming together to build their own community church to surviving and rebuilding after the tragedies of World War II incarceration, arson fires motivated by anti-Buddhist sentiment, and the COVID-19 pandemic, Gardena Buddhist Church has remained courageous, thoughtful, and kind in the face of adversity.

In late 1925, a group of Japanese residents from Gardena Valley met to discuss their desire to open a Sunday school in Gardena and raise their children in the principles of Buddhism. 270 Japanese and Japanese Americans were involved in the grassroots effort to build their own church, leading to the establishment of Gardena Buddhist Church in 1926.

The church members also want-ed a Japanese language school for their children. In 1928, just two years after the opening of Gardena Buddhist Church, the Japanese Lan-guage School was established. In the 1930s, membership continued to grow, and the church held its first Obon Festival.

Unfortunately, these auspicious times did not last. When World War II broke out, the Japanese Language School ceased its opera-tions. During this time of increased hostility against Japanese and Japanese Americans, Buddhists — and Buddhist priests, espe-cially — were particularly targeted. Bud-dhist priests, along with Japanese language schoolteachers, were classified by the FBI as “known dangerous Group A aliens.”

In March 1942, the FBI arrested Gar-dena Buddhist Church’s Japanese Language School teachers. Soon after, head minister Rev. Shingetsu Akahoshi was also arrested. His son, Masato Akahoshi, later recalled:

“The most unforgettable time came when my father was arrested by the FBI. It was the last time we saw my father as he was arrested and taken to Los Angeles County jail, and later to other detention centers, eventually settling in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We did not see him [again] until we were on the way to Japan, crossing the Pacific Ocean on a ship.”

Like the Japanese Language School, Gardena Buddhist Church was also forced to close temporarily during World War II. During this time, GBC and the school served as property storage for those incarcerated.

Due to anti-Japanese sentiment, Gardena Buddhist Church faced imminent closure. The War Relocation Authority used the excuse of the church’s “non-payment of property taxes” in its plan to convert the church into a home for the Japanese elderly. Thankfully, a prominent church member paid the back taxes, and the church reopened in September 1947 as a combination church-hostel.

Despite the setbacks of World War II, Gardena Buddhist Church was able to not only survive but thrive. In 1948, it regained church-only status. In 1949, the Japanese Language School reopened.

After the closure of the incarceration camps, evacuees flocked to Gardena Bud-dhist Church, which became a hub of social activity yet again. Church clubs restarted, and church members became involved with the broader community, helping at the annual festivals, visiting the Keiro Nursing Home, participating in sports, and strengthening ties with fellow Buddhists in the area. By the 1960s, church membership is believed to have reached more than a thousand, and a fourth church was built.

In 1968, Gardena’s sister city in Japan, Ichikawa, donated a beautiful temple bell that is still used today. Every Dec. 31 since its donation, the temple bell has been rung 108 times in a New Year’s Eve Buddhist tradition that symbolizes the cleansing of suffering.

From 1980 to 1982, Gardena Buddhist Church was beset by three arsonist fires later learned to be motivated by anti-Buddhist sentiment. Yet the strength of the Sangha revealed itself yet again.

The first arson fire completely destroyed the fourth church building, and church mem-bers immediately began to plan and fundraise to build a replacement church. The second and third arson fires were quickly put out, and the dedication ceremony of the fifth Gardena Buddhist Church was held in August 1982.

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic reached the U.S. In-person social gatherings were banned and stay-at-home orders were enacted. Times were hard, yet Gardena Bud-dhist Church adapted. The GBC’s formerly printed and hand-collated monthly newsletter went online. Church members became Zoom experts overnight!

In 2022, with COVID-19 cases dwindling, Gardena Buddhist Church decided to have its first in-person Obon since the start of the pandemic. GBC member Sharyl Yamada-Oda remembers this historic Obon, stating:

Gardena Buddhist Church swiftly switched its services and meetings from in-person formats to online to ensure that its members could remain connected emotion-ally. While the GBC could no longer hold its annual in-person Obon Festivals during this time, it held a virtual Obon in 2021.

“Since the 2022 Obon was going to be so different from our other Obons, we were unsure as to how many people would attend. But people came. In fact, our Obon dance circle was just as full as a pre-pandemic Obon with well over 1,000 dancers!

“After being separated for two years, our 2022 ‘Welcome Back’ Obon was something that was needed, something that united us together again, and gave us back a sense of community and a sense of belonging. Obon 2022, the first post-pandemic Obon, will al-ways be remembered because it reconnected us to each other and to the Church.”

A Tradition of Service and Community

Since its inception, Gardena Buddhist Church has focused on serving the Japanese American community. It has been a place of gathering in times of both joy and sorrow. Its Japanese Language School ensures that generations of Japanese Americans have ac-cess to their heritage language.

It keeps tradition alive, with weekly tea ceremony sessions, ikebana (flower arrang-ing) classes, an ondo (dance) exercise class, a taiko drumming group, and an annual Sei-jinshiki (coming of age) ceremony.

The GBC’s Obon Festival both honors Buddhist tradition and serves as a gathering space for the greater Japanese American community. This is the biggest event the GBC puts on, with an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 people gathering each day. For Buddhists, the Obon holiday serves as a tribute to loved ones who have passed and a special time for gathering.

Wisteria Chugakko, Gardena Buddhist Church’s summer program for middle school students, serves as a way for youth to learn more about their history, heritage, and culture. In 2023, actor George Takei of “Star Trek” fame shared his personal history with the students of Wisteria Chugakko, describing his memories as a 5-year-old incarcerated Japanese American, the impact incarceration had on him, and his involvement in the political fight for restitution and redress.

Members of Gardena Buddhist Church volunteer with the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute, host food drives and holiday toy donations, and participate annually in the Little Tokyo Service’s Ripple Effect: Walk for Suicide Prevention. In 2023, the GBC raised $20,000 for the Lāhainā Jodo Mission, a historic Buddhist temple that was devastated by the 2023 Hawaii fires.

The Centennial

When asked about the significance of the Gardena Buddhist Church’s upcoming 100th anniversary, Alan Kita replied, “I am honored to serve as the Centennial Committee chair. My family has been a part of the temple community since 1928. It is a wonderful tradition to be a part of the South Bay Japanese American community, and every year diverse people from all over Southern California come together for our Obon Fes-tival. It is amazing.”

For more information, call (310) 327-9400 or visit www.gardenabuddhistchurch.org.

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