Congregants of the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, are facing an uncertain future. City leaders are planning a new entertainment district that will reshape the neighborhood surrounding their temple and possibly displace them along with a cornerstone of the historic Japantown district.

Established in 1912, Salt Lake Buddhist Temple has served as a cultural, spiritual, and communal home for the Japanese American community in Utah for more than a hundred years.  Since its founding, the temple has experienced shifting demographics, relocations, and hardships associated with World War II. Its current location at 211 West 100 South places the temple in the middle of a proposed redevelopment project.

The congregants are members of the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist tradition, which places a strong focus on the lives of everyday people. The tradition originally served as a spiritual path for farmers, families, and laborers who could not engage in strict monastic practices. The minister of Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, Reverend Jerry Hirano, explained the connection by stating, “So the majority of the people were peasants. Not the Samurai’s.” (KUTV)

Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Rev. Hirano has been studying Buddhism and taking part in the religious landscape of Utah for decades. He explained some of the differences between Jodo Shinshu and other Buddhist traditions by discussing their views on clergy marrying and having families: “The founder of our sect was the first priest to marry. Up until then, priests were all celibate. The founder of our sect said that he didn’t think that was right.” (KUTV).

Sadly, Reverend Hirano’s temple has also been touched by challenging times. One example came during World War II, when Japanese immigrants were met with intense scrutiny. Many of them experienced government surveillance and forced relocation. In Utah, the Topaz Internment Camp housed thousands of Japanese Americans, who were relocated from their homes in California. Nearly a hundred years later, the shadow of that period still looms over many Japanese-American communities.

To try to quell suspicion and protect themselves from discrimination Japanese Buddhist leaders across the US formed a new organization, the Buddhist Churches of America. This change in name and identity was meant to help their communities worship freely amid increased scrutiny.

Rev. Hirano described the move: “They took anything Japanese out of the organizational structure. The name, the titles. That’s why many of our temples became churches. Because that didn’t sound so alien.” (KUTV)

Rev. Hirano’s family was personally touched by the forced relocations. After receiving word that the FBI was targeting Buddhist priests and teachers, his parents and grandparents left Los Angeles, seeking safety in Utah.

He described the impetus for the journey, recounting, “My grandfather was a Japanese school teacher in Japan. And the word was the FBI were coming for us, all the teachers and priests. My father was a senior in high school. He says he came home, my grandfather said go get your records. Tomorrow morning, we have to leave for Utah.” (KUTV)

Eventually, the family settled in Salt Lake City’s Japantown. The area was a thriving neighborhood for many years, but is now much smaller.  Salt Lake Buddhist Temple still serves as one of the last reminders of the neighborhood’s legacy.

Now, redevelopment plans threaten to erase that legacy. Members of Salt Lake Buddhist Temple are working to protect it by sharing their stories of resilience and noting the many ways that the temple has supported the community. In the face of new construction, they said that those stories may be marginalized or overshadowed.

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Worshippers face uncertainty with Buddhist Temple future (KUTV)
Japantown advocates don’t want past mistakes to haunt SLC’s latest downtown plans (KUER)

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