Japan Special Collection: Hawaii Japanese Language School Textbook Collection: Honpa Honganji (Honpa Hongwanji)

1902: Bishop Emyo Imamura established Honpa Honganji (Hongwanji) Elementary School. Bishop Imamura devoted 32 years of his life in Hawaii to Buddhist teachings and the education of Japanese immigrants. He established a Japanese school at many plantation sites.

In the early 1900s, the Japanese schools fell into three categories; (1) the Buddhism based schools operated by the Honpa Honganji (Hongwanji) temples of Emyo Imamuara; (2) the Christianity based schools such as the Hawai Chuo Gakuin (布哇中央学院) established by Takie Okumura (奥村多喜衛); and (3) the non-religious, independent schools operated by the parents of the students. The largest number of the schools were run by the Honpa Honganji (Hongwanji), which compiled its own textbooks.