High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Zenshuji Soto Mission, established in 1922 in the Little Tokyo section of Los Angeles, California, was the first Soto Zen Buddhist temple in North America. Today, it is the North American headquarters for Soto Zen, under the guidance of Sotoshu Shumucho (the headquarters of Soto Zen in Japan), and is a direct branch of Eiheiji and Sojiji (the two head temples in Japan).In 1922, a few years after attending the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, Rev. Hosen Isobe established the Zenshuji Soto Mission in a Los Angeles apartment. Anti-immigration laws at that time made it extremely difficult for people of Japanese descent to purchase land in the United States. Nonetheless, in 1923, land was purchased and construction of a temple was eventually completed in 1926. In 1927, Zenshuji was recognition as a non-profit organization by the United States. In 1937, Zenshuji formally became the North America Headquarters for Soto Zen and a direct branch of Eiheiji and Sojiji.
