Perhaps best known for its annual Obon Festival.

my father was asked to go to Los Angeles to take over for a few years at the Higashi Honganji temple there.His idea was that we would stay for a few years and then we could return to our home in Japan.

he became Hōryū Ito and married my mother.he contacted her to let us know that it would be best for us to go to the United States to join him.I was destined to follow in my fathers footsteps and become the resident minister at our Ito temple.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as long as I have.and so many friends in our community.

All of you have helped me to be a minister who was able to contribute to our Buddhist community here in Los Angeles.

Im happy to have been a product of both Japan and the United States.it just destroys everything that we have worked for and built in this country for American citizens.

You had multiple opportunities to self-deport.whatever the circumstances are.

and the fact that these men and women who are doing their jobs are getting vilifiedand the fact that these men and women who are doing their jobs are getting vilified.