From Past to Future: Honoring Heritage and Bridging Cultures — Rev. Masao Kodani’s Reflections on Japanese American Buddhism
Rev. Masao Kodani’s Talk was Documented by Ella Camara, Member of Senshin Buddhist Temple
On April 5th, 2026, members of several different Japanese Buddhist sects gathered at the Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Little Tokyo to celebrate Hanamatsuri, the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha. It was presented by the Los Angeles Buddhist Temple Federation, an association of Buddhist Temples representing six schools of Buddhist tradition including Jodo Shinshu, Higashi and Nishi Hongwanji, Nichiren shu, Jodo shu, Koyasan Shingo shu, and Soto shu. Reverend Masao Kodani was invited to speak at the event as a sansei (3rd generation) Jodo Shinshu minister having served for 45 years at Senshin Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles.
Rev. Kodani, like many Japanese Americans at the time, was sent to Japanese Internment camp during World War II. Following the war, he was sent to a Baptist church by his parents, as Buddhism was not well-accepted in post-war America. In an assignment by said church to convert his grandparents to Baptist Christianity, he and other new Japanese- Christians were told to memorize a Japanese statement to tell their elders about Heaven and Hell and how converting can keep their families together in the afterlife. In his talk, he recounted his experience giving this message to his bachan (grandma), and the impact it had on him.
Apparently, “all the trouble to try and convert [her]” by memorizing Japanese (a language he didn’t know at the time), was enough to move her to tears of joy. She wasn’t moved religiously, as she had no intention of converting to Christianity, but she was touched by her grandson’s efforts to do it in her native language. This story shows the emotional impact and further importance of maintaining culture throughout generations, including language and religion.
In any case, this instance along with many others led Rev. Kodani to Japan, where he went to study Buddhism and eventually become a Jodo Shinshu minister. He and the newest generation of Japanese American ministerial students didn’t get to take the conventional route to achieve this though. As English-speaking foreigners in post-war Japan, no courses in the Kyoto college they attended were linguistically available to them. They needed to take two extra years of extra classes (not for credit) just to grasp the language the classes were taught in. Both the teachers and the students had to become familiar with these contrasting cultures, and it was not without struggle. Rev. Kodani recounts an instance in which a Kyoto tradition of “leaving a broom upside down” in a person’s garden meant visitors should go home and he and his friends weren’t aware that this tradition was still in practice. It led to much heckling by classmates after he and his friends had tea at their professor’s house despite the upside-down broom in the garden.
However, it was his generation of students that paved the way for future foreign ministerial students to take these courses and study Buddhism in Japan. Their professors were fascinated by this group of Japanese Americans who actually asked questions and had an entirely different worldview than their Japanese born counterparts. American ideals and Japanese Buddhist ideals don’t always agree with each other. Rev. Kodani had to learn to question and analyze what certain Buddhist stories meant instead of their literal interpretation. This includes the story representing Hanamatsuri, or the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha.
The story begins in India (near the Nepali border) with Queen Maya (who was actually neither a queen nor named Maya) who was unable to have children. One night, a dream of a white elephant entering her right armpit awoke her to the realization that she was pregnant. As was tradition at the time, she began a journey to her mother’s house to give birth once the baby was close to term. They took time to rest in Lumbini’s garden, symbolic of a peace treaty between the neighboring kingdoms of Queen Maya and her mother. In Lumbini’s garden, Queen Maya reached to grab the branch of a tree to pick a flower. At that moment, she gave birth out of her right armpit to a baby boy. This baby proceeded to take seven steps, point one hand up towards space and one hand down towards the Earth and claimed to be the best of all above and below the heavens in language too eloquent to be spoken by a baby. Then two dragons appeared, one pouring hot water and one pouring cold water above the baby, with the two liquids mixing to be the perfect temperature to wash the baby.
Rev. Kodani had to learn to not ask if this truly happened (as it likely did not) and rather, what it means. For example, the number of steps the baby Buddha took (seven) was representative of six senses, plus one step further (the six senses being sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell, and thought). This shows the further level of awareness the Buddha has, as in Jodo Shinshu tradition, the Buddha itself is representative of the true reality that living Buddhas (such as Shakyamuni) awoke to. The Pure Land, while often talked about as if a literal place, means a state of peace of mind, and an awareness of the true reality that encompasses Buddhahood.
The formal title of his talk was From Past to Future: The Evolving Role of Japanese American Temples in Los Angeles. The main theme surrounding his ideas on this topic was the contrasting cultures of Japanese Buddhism and America. He talked about the American ideals of a strong sense of self, self-love, and fashion for the sake of impressing the masses. These do not coincide with certain Jodo Shinshu ideas, specifically the beliefs surrounding the ego. America is built to support the ego with their individualistic policies and strong sense of competition. Buddhism is different: it regards the ego as the root cause of human suffering. In fact, it is not uncommon to hear Rev. Kodani call himself and the audience “ego-maniacal, self-centered fakes” during his talks.
Buddhism is also very different from the dominant religious institutions in America, and many others in the world. It denies the existence of a creator God, eternal soul, and it values morality, but with very little strict rules. The five that Rev. Kodani listed as potential rules are against killing, stealing, cheating, lying, and drinking intoxicants. However, he does not consider these rules to be considered a part of Buddhist religion.
Rev. Kodani discussed his interpretation of Mahayana Buddhist studies to be “the study of how limited” humanity is. When many people think of Buddhism as a whole they think of the Indian sects, with belief in reincarnation and spiritual karma. However, Rev. Kodani denies this to be the practice of Mahayana. He denies the existence of an eternal soul in Mahayana doctrine, and therefore no rebirth or reincarnation. Even people in India refer to the Buddha as their “beloved heretic” according to Rev. Mas’s experience, because Buddhism is so separate from the common Hindu religion in the area.
The Hanamatsuri event was well orchestrated, with performances by Kinnara Gagaku, a beautiful ceremony by many ministers across sectarian lines, and an intriguing Dharma talk by Revered Masao Kodani. Even though Rev. Kodani retired from full-time ministerial duties in 2013, he continues to be an active member and teacher for the Japanese Buddhist community.