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San Fernando Valley State College THE IMPRINT OF JAPANESE BUDDHISM ON THE CULTURAL , , LA NDSCAPE OF ·THE SAWTELLE A REA OF WEST LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA A the sis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements fo r the degree of Master of Arts in Geography by Donald Keith Fellows September, 1968 Committee Chairman San Fernando Valley State College September, 1968 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS would like to make acknowledgement and to I offer my thank s to Dr. Stanley Ro ss Dr. Karl Francis Dr. Gordon Lewthwaite Dr. Richard Preston who offered encouragement, criticism, and hope, at a fine institution, San Fernando Valley State College. Donald Keith Fellows Septemb er, 1968 lll TABLE OF CONTENTS APPROVA L PAGE ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIS T OF MAPS Vl LIS T OF PHOTOGRAPHS vii LIS T OF TABLES viii LIS T OF SKE TCHES ix ABST RACT 1 CHAP TER PAGE I. INT RODUCTION 3 II. THE JAPANESE AND SAWTELLE 8 III. THE HE RJTAGE OF BUDDHISM 24 IV. MODIFICA TION OF JAPANESE BUDDHISM IN THE AME RJCAN SETTING 39 Acculturation and Assimilation 40 The Buddhist Churc h in an American Setting 49 The Role of Women in the West Los Angeles Buddhist Churc h 65 Modifications in Worship Services 65 Modification in Buddhist Symbolism 69 iv CHAPTER PAGE V. INTERNAL ASPECTS OF THE JAPANESE BUDDH IST COMMUNITY 73 Architectural Design 73 The Religious Garden 77 Other Internal Aspects 89 VI. EXTERNAL ASPECTS OF THE JAPANESE BUDDHIST COMMUNITY 92· VII. SUMMARY 102 VIII. CONCLUSIONS 107 BIBLIOGRAPHY 112 GLOSSARY 118 v LIST OF MAPS MAP PAGE 1. Los Angeles and Vicinity 15 2. Land- Use Map of Sawtelle 19 3. Distribution of Jodo Shin Shu Churches , Los Angeles, 1940 52 4. Distribution of Jodo Shin Shu Churches , Los Angeles, 1968 54 5. Distribution of Japanese Buddhists and Japanese Methodists in Sawtelle, 1968 61 6. Distribution of Churches in Sawtelle 63 7. Distribution of Japanese Buddhist Gardens in Sawtelle 78 8. Distribution of Japanese Buddhist Gardens Buddhist and Methodist Owned 80 9. Japanese Business District in Sawtelle 93 10. Distribution of Landscap e Nurseries in Sawtelle 98 V1 .. LIS T OF PHOTOGRAPHS PHOTOGRAPH PAGE l. Aerial Photograph of Sawtelle; northern portion 9 2. Aerial Photograph of Sawtelle; southern portion 11 3. The West Los Angeles Buddhist Church 56 4. The West Los Angeles Community Methodist Church 56 5. Single Family Residence 75 6. Apartment House 75 7. Religious Garden 82 8. Religious Garden 82 9. Buddhist Dry Garden 85 10. Elaborate Religious Garden 85 11. Shin-style Religious Garden 87 12. Tea Garden 87 13. Garden of Priest's Residence 90 14. Zen Garden in Sawtelle 90 15. Japanese Import Store 96 16. Japanese Landscape Nursery 96 vii LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE l. School Level Completed by Persons 14 years old and older, by sex 45 2. Japanese in Sawtelle 59 viii LIST OF SI-<:E TCHE S SKET CH PAGE l. Shin- style of Buddhist Hill Garden 28 2. So- style of Buddhist Hill Garden 30 3. TYPical Buddhist Garden in Sawtelle 34 4. The Buddhist Wheel of Life 66 ix ABSTRACT THE IMPRINT OF JAPANESE BUDDHISM ON THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE OF THE SAWTELLE AREA OF WEST LOS ANGELES, CA LIFORNIA by Donald Keith Fellows Master of Arts in Geography September, 1968 Working wi thin the framework of the geography of religions, and using some of the techniques and concepts of urban geography, this study investigated the imprint of the Japanese fo rm of Buddhism upon th e land and culture of th e Sawtelle area of West Lo s Angeles, Califo rnia. The Sawtelle area is distinctively 11Japanese, 1' yet it lies within a typical American suburban setting. It was discovered that the original Japanese to settle the area were farmers who chose the site fo r its climate and its soil conditions, as well as fo r proximity to the Los Angeles market area. Their specialty wa s truck garden- ing and horticulture. Although they prospered in Sawtelle, th ey were fo rced to leave during World War II due to the relocation of Japane se in the Pacific Coastal regions. When they returned at the end of the war, th ey found the farming areas gone and many of them turned to 1 2 la ndscape ga 1·dening. The majority of the Japane se in Sawtelle are Buddhists of the Jodo Shin Sect, and they show their intense awarene ss fo r religion in their reverenc e fo r their religious gardens. This is du e, firstly, to , the legend which tells that the baby Buddha wa s born in Lumbini Ga r- den, India, and, secondly, to th e Buddhist attempt to recreate the cosmos, the universe, in a small space near the temple or the home. Each element of the true Buddhist garden ha s impo rtant religious sym- ' bolism: th e Gua rdian Rock upon wh ich the universe symb olically rests, certain other rocks, stone lanterns, and shrub s. Japanese Buddhism ha s been modified since its arrival in the United States, most impo rtantly th rough contact with th e Ameri- can 11way of life11 and the American form of Protestant Christianity. Whereas in Japan religious worship wa s conducted mo stly in the home, the situation is reversed in this country. The Japanese temple has become the American Buddhist Church. The Buddhist prie st is now called the 1 1reverend, 11 and Sunday services are held, complete with organ, congregation, and hymns. The interaction between Japane se Buddhism and the la nd and culture of Sawtelle has worked in both directions, and to th e benefit of each. Japanese Buddhism has made an important impression upon Sawtelle 1 s cultural landscape. CHAPTER I INT RODUCTION Within the great me tropolitan region of Los Angeles, Califo r­ nia , the re is an intermingling of many diffe rent racial groups and cul­ tures. Incoming 11fo reigners, 11 however, often lose their unique iden- tity, becoming submerged in time by the overpowering dominance of 1 what has been called the 1American Way of Life. rrl So great is the de sire of mo st fq_ reigners to become acculturated to American ways and to be accepted as 11Ame ricans , 11 that they usually cast aside or tend to downg rade the old cult ure , language , or religion in orde r to embra ce the new. Throughout Lo s Angeles, as in most American cities and urbanized areas, the re are innumerable enclaves of foreign immig rants , along with their American-born de s cendents , yet mo st of the se minute 11culture regions11 are scarcely recognizable as such. There are some, however, that manage--despite the pres­ sure s and temptations--to wi th stand the urge to change and are able to retain certain clcn-.cnts of their andcnt cultural heritage. One :-;nch enclave is the Japanese community in the suburban area known local­ ly as Sawtelle. To the average visitor, Sawtelle may appear to be a typical American suburb. Yet , on closer observation, one notices a Japanese shopping cente r , a few houses with the Japanese ethnic 3 4 11 11touch, the presence of a large numb er of Buddhist religio us garden s ':' in the front ya rds of the Japane se residences, as well as th e building and gardens of the West Los Angeles Buddhi st Church. These latter elements ma rk the area as having a religiously-inspired cultural landscape. An inve stigator making a preliminary survey of the area would find himself confronted by a number of que stions: 1. Why did the Japanese choose thi s particular site fo r settlement wh en th ere were many other potential sites? Why did they return to this area after having been for­ cibly removed during World War II? 2. What are the features of the Buddhist religion that pro­ mote group solidarity and cause th e Buddhists to look at thela nd the way the y do ? 3. How has th eir form of Buddhi sm (Jodo Shin Shu) been modified in this new and Ame rican setting of Sawtelle ? 4. What are the internal aspects of Jodo Shin Shu Budd­ hi sm in Sawtelle: What are the vi sible signs of a Buddhi st imprint up on th e cultural landscape? 5. What are the external aspects ? What is the interaction of the Buddhi sts with non-B uddhists ? Essentially, th ese questions can be reduced to one primary question: Have the Japanese Buddhists, acting with varying intensity on the land and culture of Sawtelle, combined to produce a cultural landscape that can be identified as a religious one ? ':'For the purposes of thi s study, the term 11Japanese11 will be used to denote all persons of Japanese ancestry. Diffe rentiation as to country of birth will be made by referring to the classifications th e Japane se th emselves have used: Iss ei, Ni sei, Sansei, Chisei, and Kib ei. For the definitions of th ese terms, as well as othe rs which apply to the Japanese and to the Buddhist religion, see th e Glossa ry. 5 Fo r a discussion of some broad que stions as to the appropri­ ateness of the study of the imp rint of a religion upon a cultural land­ scape, the 1· eader is referred to th e works of such eminent proponents of th e geography of religions as Sopher2 , Isaac3 , Zelinsky4 , Ficke­ ler5 , and Broek6 , among others. These men generally ag ree that a s·tudy of the influence of religion up on the development of the cultural landscape has moved beyond the bounds of a restrictive consideration of past history.

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