, also known as Koyasan Buddhist Temple, is a Japanese Buddhist temple in the Little Tokyo district of Downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1912, it is one of the oldest existing Buddhist temples in the North American mainland region. The temple is a branch of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism and is the North America regional headquarters for the school. History In 1909, the Reverend Shutai Aoyama, native and former chief priest of Kakuganji Temple in Toyama- ken, left Japan for the United States with the blessings of Archbishop Misumon Yuhan and his other superiors, “to observe the religious situation in North America, as well as propagate Shingon Buddhism. In 1912, with support and encouragement from some of the Los Angeles Japanese community’s leading citizens, Issei and Nisei temple members a like, he opened the first Shingon temple in the United States in a store front in Little Tokyo called Koyasan Daishi Kyōkai of Los Angeles or just Daishi Church. The Koyasan Shingon sect of Buddhism focuses on Shingon teachings compiled by Kobo Daishi (Kukai) in the Heian period. In 1935, the Temple was elevated to the status of Koyasan Beikoku Betsuin, meaning it became the North American regional headquarters, recognized by the Koyasan Headquarters of Japan. In 1940, the Temple moved to its current location on East 1st Street, but the bombing of Pearl Harbor would forever changed the Japanese American community across the nation. Anti-Japanese sentiment ran rampant. Within a year, the temple in Los Angeles was closed, its hall and basement piled to the ceiling with members’ possessions, and its membership, both U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike, were relocated to internment camps during World War II. Over the years, the temple began opening cultural and religious programs and classes for the local community. Prior to redevelopment in Little Tokyo in the 1980s, Koyasan served as the main hub of Japanese cultural events. In 1987, the temple hosted the Kechien Kanjo ritual, a service rarely conducted outside Japan. Two years later, the temple was designated the keeper of the Hiroshima Peace Flame, brought over from Japan by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. Starting in 1999, the temple underwent a ten-year renovation of the old facilities to meet with the city building codes; the building was especially retrofitted to fit the needs for the monthly Goma fire ritual service. In 2012, the temple celebrated its centennial anniversary, hosting