Yemyo Imamura

Yemyo Imamura (今村恵猛) (May 27, 1867 – December 22, 1932) was a Buddhist priest who was active in Honolulu, Hawaii, and was a leader in the Japanese American community. He was a priest at the Honpa Hongwanji, and started their Young Men's Buddhist Association (YMBA).

Early life

Imamura was born in Togo village, Fukui prefecture, Japan on May 27, 1867.[1] He entered the priesthood in 1876, when he was 10 years old. After studying in temple schools in Kyoto, he received a scholarship to study at Keio University in Tokyo. He graduated in 1893, then returned to Fukui to teach English.[2]

Career

In 1899, Imamura moved to Hawaii to serve the Jodo Shinshu Buddhists there. He took over the Honpa Hongwanji when its first priest, Honi Satomi, returned to Japan.[3] He married his wife Kiyoko in 1904, and they had a son named Kanmo, who also became a priest.[1]

Imamura established the Young Men's Buddhist Association as a Buddhist equivalent to the YMCA. Their activities included teaching English, helping new immigrants adjust to the local culture, and publishing a magazine called Dōhō.[4] In 1902 Imamura opened the Fort Gakuen, a elementary school attached to the temple. He later opened the Hawaii Chugakko (middle school) in 1907. Both schools were Japanese language schools that student attended after the regular school day finished. He also advocated for plantation laborers and picture brides.[1]

Much of Imamura's career was spent showing the similarities between Buddhism and Christianity and Americanizing young Japanese immigrants through Buddhism.[5] He wanted to make Buddhism more compatible with American life in Hawaii, and show it as a "universal" rather than "supernatural" religion.[6] Unlike his Christian contemporary, Takie Okumura, Imamura's focus while Americanizing Japanese youth wasn't to encourage them to leave Japanese culture behind, but rather to carry its values with them as American citizens.[2]

In 1928, Imamura was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure for his work expanding the influence of Jodo Shinshu in Hawaii.[2]

Imamura died on December 22, 1932.[7]

Further reading
  • Moriya, Tomoe; Bloom, Alfred; Tabrah, Ruth M.; Takeshita, Tsuneichi (2000). Yemyo Imamura : pioneer American Buddhist. Honolulu, Hawaii: Buddhist Study Center Press. ISBN 0938474219. OCLC 47107896.

References
  1. Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. Settlers of the American West : the lives of 231 notable pioneers. Jefferson, North Carolina. ISBN 9780786497355. OCLC 883647512.
  2. Chinen, Karleen C. (2012). Hawaii's AJA pioneers : one hundred profiles commemorating the centennial of the Hawaii Hochi. Honolulu, Hawaii: Hawaii Hochi Ltd. pp. 14–15.
  3. Kimura, Yukiko (1992). Issei : Japanese immigrants in Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0824814819. OCLC 37566798.
  4. Ogawa, Dennis; Grant, Glen (1980). Kodomo no tame ni = For the sake of the children : the Japanese American experience in Hawaii. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii. ISBN 0824807308. OCLC 7865082.
  5. Japanese American history : an A-to-Z reference from 1868 to the present. Niiya, Brian., Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, Calif.). New York: Facts on File. 1993. ISBN 0816026807. OCLC 26853950.CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. Williams, Duncan Ryūken; Moriya, Tomoe (2010). Issei Buddhism in the Americas. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252092893. OCLC 698167405.
  7. 日本人名大辞典+Plus,日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ), ブリタニカ国際大百科事典 小項目事典,デジタル版. "今村恵猛(いまむらえみょう)とは". コトバンク (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-03-23.
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