Given the sparse and dispersed population of Japanese Americans on the East Coast, many community institutions familiar to West Coast Japanese Americans do not exist in the east. There are no Japanese American basketball teams or bowling leagues, Japanese cultural or community centers are non-existent, and the few Hoshuko that do exist mainly cater to the American children of Shin-Issei or expats who plan on returning to Japan.

Therefore, it may come as a surprise that the Buddhist Churches of America has a small, but significant presence within the region. The BCA’s combined Central and Eastern District includes three Jodo Shinshu temples on the East Coast: New York Buddhist Church in Manhattan, Seabrook Buddhist Temple in Bridgeton, New Jersey, and Ekoji Buddhist Temple in Fairfax Station, Virginia.

As Obon season nears, all three are making their preparations for the annual celebration in ways that are specific to each region.

Obon in America’s Largest City
Of the three temples, only NYBC predates World War II, founded by the Rev. Hozen Seki in 1938 who sought to share the Buddha-Dharma in America’s most populous city. Seki was arrested in September 1942 under the Alien Enemies Act and detained at Ellis Island Immigration Station, leaving his wife Satomi to look after the temple and their two young children.

In December 1942, Seki was transferred to Fort Meade in Maryland then in May 1943 was sent to Fort Missoula in Montana. After only two weeks he was moved to the Kooskia Internment Camp in Idaho where he spent two years. He then ended the war with a brief stint at the Department of Justice camp in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Seki’s daughter Hoshina serves as president of the American Buddhist Study Center in New York. She spent the war years living in an apartment above the NYBC’s hondo with her mother and older brother. Seki recalls, “my mother, sangha members Stanley Okada (who was the church administrator), Zeiichi Nobumoto, and Rev. Newton Ishiura kept the church open and held Sunday services. Many Jodo Shinshu Nisei soldiers from the 442nd Infantry Regiment attended NYBC before being deployed to the European front.”

Seki was finally returned to his family in January 1946 and resumed his activities at the NYBC.

The church continued to be a significant community institution in the postwar era for both the Nikkei who lived in New York before the war and Buddhist incarceration survivors who resettled in the city — even providing accommodations for some while they searched for permanent housing. In 1979, NYBC became home to the first taiko troupe on the East Coast, Soh Daiko, which Seki named.

Obon has been celebrated annually in the religious context since the temple was founded. A more secular public-facing Bon Odori has been held at various public spaces throughout New York City in the past four decades, most recently at Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan, just behind the New York Public Library’s main branch. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, however, NYBC Obon has been limited in scope and restricted to members of the congregation.

Obon in Resettled Community in Seabrook, New Jersey
Seabrook Buddhist Temple, located in southern New Jersey, originated during the resettlement period. Named after Seabrook Farms, where more than 2,500 Japanese Americans and Peruvian Japanese were resettled between 1944-1947, the Seabrook community was the closest equivalent to a Japantown that existed on the East Coast.

Among those who came to work the Seabrook plant were Reverends Shosetsu Tsufura and Zaishin Mukushina. Together they initiated non-denominational services that were open to all Buddhist sects. Seabrook Temple was officially formed during the winter of 1945, and became recognized by Buddhist Churches of America as an independent temple in 1965.

Located about 45 minutes southeast of Philadelphia, Seabrook is the only Jodo Shinshu temple in the PA-NJ-DE tri-state region. They hosted their first Obon in 1945, and every year since, with the 2025 event commemorating its 80th anniversary.

Honolulu-based ethnomusicologist Wynn Kiyama has written about Seabrook as part of his history of Bon Odori in the continental United States. Kiyama writes, “The first documented Obon with Bon Odori was held at the Seabrook Farms Village in 1949, attracting approximately 2,000 spectators. Mitty Taniguchi, who studied Japanese classical dance with Kansuma Fujima in Los Angeles before the war, taught dance in Bridgeton, led Bon Odori at the Seabrook Buddhist Temple, and collaborated with dance instructors from the New York Buddhist Church.”

The connection to NYBC continued well through the 1960s as dance instructors from New York continued to train Seabrook dancers.

In 1975 Sunako Oye formed the Seabrook Minyo Dancers, which is housed at the temple. The group continues to lead the Bon Odori at Seabrook Temple and smaller secular festivals held at Philadelphia’s Shofuso Japanese House & Garden, and elsewhere in the region. In 1991, Seabrook Temple also established its own taiko troupe, Hoh Daiko, who performs annually at the Seabrook Obon and other Japanese cultural events including the Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival.

In a recent interview, the Seabrook Temple’s President Susan Jacques reminisced about the overlap between temples and their sharing of Obon tradition. Jacques shared, “the Eastern Buddhist League would have these conferences and one of the sessions was for the minyo leaders from each of the temples to get together and learn new dances. Taiko was also represented — the taiko groups would all go to these conferences to find out what other groups were doing and learn from each other.” As technology improved, the groups were less reliant on in-person meetings to exchange information. Jacques continued, “this was before YouTube because now our group learns new dances by watching videos.” The East Coast taiko and minyo groups continue to support one another by attending and performing at each Obon.

Obon in the Shadow of D.C.
The newest of the three Eastern District temples, Ekoji Buddhist Temple grew out of a Dharma school led by Rev. Kenryu Tsuji and his wife for Jodo Shinshu families who were seeking Buddhist teachings for their children in the D.C. Metro area. Ekoji was formally established in November 1981 by Rev. Tsuji and the Rev. Dr. Yehan Numata and in 1998 they completed construction on the temple in its current location about 40-minutes Southwest of Washington, D.C. in Virginia.

Since 1994, Ekoji has been home to Nen Daiko who developed under the guidance of Rev. Tsuji along with sister groups Soh Daiko and Hoh Daiko. Nen Daiko frequently performs at D.C.’s National Cherry Blossom Festival in addition to leading the Obon drumming at their temple. Nen Daiko also oversees a teen taiko group started in 2017 called Dounen Daiko.

Three Temples, One Minister
A unique aspect further uniting the East Coast Jodo Shinshu community is that all three temples share a single minister between them, the Rev. Kurt Kyosei Rye. Born in Anchorage, Alaska, Rye spent his early childhood in the D.C. Metro area before moving to Washington State where he attended high school and graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology from Evergreen State College in 1985.

Starting his career as a mental health counselor in Seattle, he spent four years teaching English in Tokyo where he was first exposed to Buddhism. Upon his return to Seattle, Rye became a practicing Buddhist and active member of the Seattle Betsuin. He received his Tokudo ordination in 2003 and became an associate minister at Fresno Betsuin in April 2008. He served a short stint at Ekoji from 2013-2015 before spending several years as resident minister at Placer Buddhist Church.

In 2022, Rye returned to Ekoji Buddhist Temple as supervising minister, a role he also fills at Seabrook Buddhist Temple, while currently serving as resident minister at NYBC.

As the rest of the country gears up for summer Obon season, so do the dedicated supporters of each temple’s respective sangha. Given that all three temples share a single minister, they coordinate dates accordingly to ensure Rye’s availability to attend their events.

Upcoming Obon Events
Ekoji will host the first of the three Obon festivals scheduled on July 12 from 5 to 9 p.m. at 6500 Lakehaven Lane, Fairfax Station, Va. The event will feature Bon Odori, Nen Daiko, assorted food and retail vendors, and children’s activities. An evening memorial featuring a candle lighting ceremony will also be held in the temple garden. To defray costs, the temple is charging $6 per person to attend (children under 2 are free), with tickets sold online only in advance of the event.

The following day on July 13, New York Buddhist Church will host the annual Obon for their congregation’s members. NYBC organizers are hoping to stage a more public event that day as well, but details were not yet available at press time.

The season ends with Seabrook Obon on July 19 taking place at the temple from 4 to 9 p.m. that day at 9 Northville Road, Seabrook, N.J. As the 80th anniversary festival, it is likely to attract former residents of Seabrook who often choose Obon season to host family reunions and other events that bring together survivors and descendants of the postwar resettlement.

Featuring performances by Seabrook Minyo Dancers and Hoh Daiko, the festival will host food vendors and other activities. For more details visit https://sbtnj.org/.