Henjyoji Shingon Buddhist Temple

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Henjyoji Shingon Buddhist Temple
Religion
Affiliation	Buddhist
Location
Location	Portland
State	Oregon
Country	United States

The Henjyoji Shingon Buddhist Temple is a Shingon temple located on the West Coast of the United States in Portland, Oregon. It was first established by Bishop Daiyu Henjyoji (Frm. Rev. Kimura) and his wife Mrs. Wako Henjyoji in Milwaukee, Oregon in 1939. The temple was dedicated at its current Portland, Oregon location at 2634 SE 12th Ave in 1951. It is a historically significantly and culturally important Buddhist temple in the Unites States as it was one of the first Buddhist temples on the west coast as well as being culturally important to the Japanese-American community. The temple continues to serve the community as a religious non-profit focused on Shingon Buddhism.

Henjyoji Shingon Buddhist Temple

The Henjyoji Shingon Buddhist Temple was first established by Bishop Daiyu Henjyoji (Frm. Rev. Kimura) and his wife Mrs. Wako Henjyoji in Milwaukee, Oregon in 1939. The temple was dedicated at its current Portland, Oregon location at 2634 SE 12th Ave in 1951. The temple continues to serve the community as a religious non-profit focused on Shingon Buddhism.

The founders: Wataru & Wako Kimura (Daiyu & Wako Henjyoji)

Henjyoji Shingon Temple was founded by Bishop Daiyu Y. Henjyoji (Frm. Wataru Kimura) and his wife Kazuko Wako Henjyoji (Frm. Kazuko Wako Kimura) in Portland, Oregon in 1940.

Daiyu Henjyoji

Wataru Kimura was born on February 25, 1908 in Kumamoto, Japan. In 1928, he began his formal training in Shingon Buddhism at Koyasan, Japan, the headquarters of Shingon Buddhism, where he was given the religious name Gikan Kimura. He attended Koyasan College, where he was student body president, graduating in 1936. While at Koyasan College, Bishop Henjyoji founded an English language society and was active in student affairs. Bishop Henjyoji immigrated to the United States in 1936, where he continued to study English while he taught Japanese language classes and Ikebana (the art of Japanese flower arranging) to the Japanese community in southern California. He also served the Japanese communities in San Francisco, Sacramento, Gilroy and San Jose. Shortly after his arrival in the U.S., Bishop Henjyoji established a Shingon Buddhist Temple in Stockton, California.

In 1958 Rev. Kimura was given the honorary religious name, Henjyoji (“Universally Resplendent One”, an honorific title referring to the brilliant shining sun, which is an esoteric metaphor for the Buddha’s universal shining light of wisdom and compassion, usually given to the founder of a movement, such as a missionary or dignitary.) when Shingon leaders in Koyasan bestowed the name on Reverend Kimura, who now became Bishop Daiyu Henjyoji. The family's surname was changed as well.

Kazuko Wako Henjyoji

Wako Henjyoji was born in Hokkaido, Japan Aug. 26, 1920, to Masami and Sanae Homma. Rev. Henjyoji spent her youth in Osaka, Japan, graduating from Osaka Prefectural Abeno High School in 1938. She married then Reverend Gikan Kimura (Wataru Kimura) in Japan in 1939, and in 1940, she joined him in the United States in Portland, Oregon where together they founded the Koyasan Portland Henjyoji Temple. Rev. Henjyoji, her husband and family were forcibly interned at Minidoka, Idaho internment camp and spent the duration of World War II in the relocation center. Following the war, she was driven to cultivate mutual respect and understanding among Americans and Japanese. Ten years later, in 1955, she would become a proud naturalized citizen of the United States of America.

In 1960 Rev. Henjyoji and her husband assisted Mildred Schnitzer to establish Portland Chapter No. 47 of Ikebana International. In 1961 Archbishop Chijo Ōhara gave Mrs. Henjyoji the official certificate of priesthood and at that time she changed her first name to Wakō . In 1964, Archbishop Zengi Kusanagi of the Saga School of Ikebana headquartered at Daikakuji Temple in Kyoto, Japan, designated Henjyoji Temple in Portland as its North American U.S. headquarters. In the early 1970s, Rev. Henjyoji led a group of Americans to Japan to promote the Portland-Sapporo Saga Gō-ryū Sister City Affiliation, which Mayor Neil Goldschmidt approved in 1973. . In 2008, Saga Gō-ryū of Diakaku-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan bestowed on her its highest honorary rank of Hōin. Rev. Henjyoji was also a member of the Portland Art Museum Board, serving on the Project Planning Committee, which was responsible for the Japanese Byōbū (Japanese Screen) Exhibition in 1964. In 1994 in recognition of her lifetime in the service of strengthening cultural ties between the United States and Japan, and her many years of dedicated teaching and outstanding leadership, the Japanese government and Emperor bestowed on Rev. Henjyoji the Fifth Rank of the Emperor's Award (Order of the Rising Sun with gold and silver rays).

In 1969 her son Grant was killed in Vietnam. Rev. Henjyoji later commented on her son's death in an interview,

"We were not conversant with the goings of American soldiers…American Army at all. One family of my friend had three sons and all three of them were in State - what do you call it - National Guard... (Grant) entered ROTC of his own free will... If it were in Japan, soldiers were expected to sacrifice their lives for their country. Since I had such inclination, I imagined my children would do the same. From what I heard later, some other people sent their sons telling, “Make sure you come back alive no matter what.” I did not know such things" (Wakō Henjyoji Oral History Interview 2001)

Early years

Bishop Henjyoji arrived in the United States in 1936 and established a temple in Stockton, California, then later moved to Portland, Oregon and established the Portland Koyasan Temple at 1436 NE Second Avenue in November 1940. The Henjyojis would drive to temples in Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, B.C. to provide religious services. They were active in assisting young Buddhist congregations in the Pacific Northwest as a sort of circuit rider priest duo for the Shingon Buddhist community.

The local newspaper The Oregonian noted that the Henjyojis were part of a welcoming delegation for Vice-Archbishop Jisho Matsuhashi, who was visiting Shingon West Coast temples.

Current location

The site of the Portland Koysan Temple burned in April 1950, causing $4000 damage. The local newspaper, the Oregonian, reported in June 1951,

“Portland’s Japanese Buddhists of the Khoyasan Henjyoji temple have acquired a new church home”

The Bishop named the new temple Buddhist Daihonzan Henjyoji Temple (latter changed to Henjyoji Shingon Buddhist Temple). The family moved into the house next door and became part of the Inner Southeast Portland neighborhood. In 1952 the Henjyojis established the Nippon Cultural Academy at the temple's current location.

In 1960 Bishop Henjyoji was appointed to head the Jobodai-in Temple at Koyasan, Japan. He began dividing his time between Japan and the United States. His wife Wako later became an ordained reverend as well. Both Henjyoji parents worked to provide a deeper understanding of Japanese culture, particularly through their work over decades in sharing spiritual-cultural aspects of the Saga school of ikebana. Their cultural offerings to the city helped to inspire interest in the creation of Portland’s Japanese Garden.

In 1969 the Henjyoji's Grant Henjyoji, an ROTC graduate of University of Oregon, 1st lieutenant with the 11th Calvary, 1st Calvary Division, was killed while defending a landing zone 11 kilometers east northeast of Nui Ba Den Mountain South Vietnam, Tay Ninh province. Bishop Henjyoji presided over his son's funeral at the temple . Grant Henjyoji is buried at Arlington National Cemetery and is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 30w, Line 76. Rev. Henjyoji said inan interview regarding her sons death,

Bishop Daiyu Y. Henjyoji passed away on July 4, 2006, from pneumonia at the Koyasan Hospital in Koyasan, Japan.

Interment during World War II

With the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 and the United States formally declaring entering the war days later, Bishop Henjyoji his wife and children were interned at the internment camp Minidoka, Idaho in 1942 until 1945. After the end of the war, they returned to Portland to continue teaching Shingon and Japanese cultural and outreach to the local communities. Bishop Henjyoji, because of his religious affiliation, was allowed to travel to other internment camps and offer Buddhist religious services.

Involvement with the 442nd Infantry Regiment

Between 1948 and 1949 Reverend Kimura was in charge of Buddhist burial ceremonies for members of the 442nd Infantry Regiment, a regiment composed primarily of American soldiers of Japanese ancestry, and the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of American warfare.

Nippon Cultural Academy

The Henjyojis established the Henjyoji Nippon Cultural Academy located at Henjyoji Shingon Temple in 1952. The Academy was dedicated to education as a means of teaching Japanese arts and culture and fostering a better understanding and relationship between Japanese American cultures. Bishop and Rev. Henjyoji were devoted to education, teaching anyone who was interested in Japanese culture the arts of Japanese tea ceremony (chadō/茶道), miniature tree cultivation bonsai/盆栽, Japanese calligraphy shodō/書道), and the art of ikebana flower arranging. They traveled first in Portland, and then as the congregation grew and interest in Japanese culture as well, they traveled to a score of other cities in many states, including Spokane, and Camas, Washington; Stockton and San Francisco, California; and Salem, Corvallis, and Eugene, Oregon. Both Henjyojis worked to provide a deeper understanding of Japanese culture, particularly through their work over decades in sharing spiritual-cultural aspects of the Saga school of ikebana. Their cultural offerings to the city helped to inspire interest in the creation of Portland’s Japanese Garden

Saga Goryu Ikebana, North America Branch

Both Henjyojis began teaching Saga Goryu ikebana in 1940, as part of the Henjyoji Shingon Buddhist Temple Nippon Cultural Center. In the late-50’s both Henjyojis were actively teaching, demonstrating, and holding Ikebana exhibitions primarily at the temple, as well as in the region.

After 1961, when Bishop Henjyoji became head of the Jobodai-in Temple at Koyasan, Japan, he was forced to divide his time between Koyasan and Portland. Mrs. Henjyoji remained in the U.S. and continued teaching ikebana at the Nippon Cultural Academy at the temple. In 1964 Archbishop Kusanagi [Zengi Kusanagi, 53rd Archbishop of Daikauji Temple] named Henjyoji Shingon Temple Saga Goryu group “U.S. Sagaryu Kai” [U.S. Saga School Group], and this group served as the foundation of Hokubei [North American] Branch. The temple remains the headquarters for Saga Goryu North America to this day. In the early 1970s, Rev. Henjyoji led a group of Americans to Japan to promote the Portland-Sapporo Saga Gō-ryū Sister City Affiliation, which Mayor Neil Goldschmidt approved in 1973. . In 2008, Saga Gō-ryū of Diakaku-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan bestowed on Rev. Henjyoji its highest honorary rank of Hōin.

Ikebana International Chapter No. 47 Portland, Oregon

In 1960 the Henjyojis assisted Mildred Schnitzer to establish Portland Chapter No. 47 of Ikebana International. In 1964, Archbishop Zengi Kusanagi of the Saga School of Ikebana headquartered at Daikakuji Temple in Kyoto, Japan, designated Henjyoji Shingon Buddhist Temple in Portland, Oregon as its U.S. headquarters.. The Bishop also helped established the Kyoto, Japan chapter of Ikebana International in 1970

References

• Bishop Daiyu Y. Heniyoji Obituary (2006) The Oregonian
• About - Shingon PDX 真言宗 遍照寺
• Grant Hiroaki Henjyoji : First Lieutenant from Oregon, Vietnam War Casualty
• Ikebana International, Portland Chapter
• Shingon PDX

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