Description
The Buddhist Churches of America (BCA)
is a national organization of the Jōdo Shinshū Hongwanji sect in the continental United
States. Formerly known as the Buddhist Mission of North America (BMNA), the BCA is the
largest Japanese American Buddhist organization and is currently headquartered in San
Francisco, California. The collection includes correspondence between headquarters in the
United States, Jōdo Shinshū Hongwanji Headquarters in Kyoto, Japan, and individual temples,
as well as meeting minutes and conference materials, education-related records,
publications, financial records, and audiovisual materials in a wide variety of
formats.
Background
The Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) organization was originally founded in 1899 but its
origins date back to the Meiji Restoration (1868) and the arrival of Japanese immigrants to
the mainland United States. In the 1870s, Myonyo Shōnin, the 21st Chief Abbot of the Jōdo
Shinshū ("True Pure Land") Hongwanji-ha, began sending priests overseas to study Western
methods of religious education and propagation, ultimately laying the groundwork for the
formation of the BCA. During this time, there were very few resources for Buddhist
immigrants to receive spiritual guidance. A devout Buddhist immigrant living in California
requested missionaries in San Francisco to address this issue in the late 1890s. As a
result, Reverends Eryu Honda and Ejun Miyamoto visited San Francisco in 1898 to evaluate the
spiritual needs of Buddhists living in America. In July 1898, thirty young men gathered at
the home of Dr. Katsugoro Haida and formed the Bukkyō Seinenkai (Young Men's Buddhist
Association). This association would eventually become the San Francisco Buddhist Church in
1905. Reverends Honda and Miyamoto also visited Sacramento, Seattle, and Vancouver before
returning to Japan.
Extent
430 Linear Feet
(287 record cartons, 123 document boxes, 61 flat boxes and
panorama folders)
Restrictions
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All
other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the
responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not
hold the copyright.
Availability
Portions of this collection are restricted due the presence of financially sensitive
materials.