Day 363: Seabrook Buddhist Temple, Seabrook, New Jersey
📌APIA Every Day (363) - Founded in 1945, the Seabrook Buddhist Temple is one of the last remaining landmarks of Seabrook’s Japanese ethnic enclave that developed during World War II. Central to this community was Seabrook Farms, which offered employment to displaced Japanese Americans and Japanese Peruvians from West Coast incarceration camps. During times of social and economic hardship, the temple served as a vital source of community support and connection.
Seabrook Farms, a large food processing corporation operated by Charles “C.F.” Seabrook, was originally established in 1893 and thrived through the 1920s and ’30s. Amidst World War II labor shortages, C.F. Seabrook began recruiting detainees from incarceration camps to work in New Jersey. In 1944, he partnered with the War Relocation Authority to bring in an initial group of 300 workers; by December, more than 800 Japanese residents were employed at Seabrook Farms.
Work at the company plant was difficult, with employees spending long 12-hour shifts performing hard labor. Housing shortages for new arrivals also meant that company-provided residences in the Seabrook Farms Village were poor quality and for some, reminiscent of the barracks in the wartime incarceration camps. As these laborers adjusted to their new environment, Reverends Shosetsu Tsufura and Zaishin Mukushina began holding informal Buddhist services to uplift the community. In 1945, the Seabrook Buddhist Temple was formally established, with Kaoru Kamikawa serving as its first president. The early congregation then began to use a building owned by the Seabrook Housing Corporation as a dedicated temple.
By 1947, the local Japanese population numbered over 2,700, including laborers and their families. With greater freedom, however, many community members began relocating to cities like Chicago, New York, and back to the West Coast, contributing to the eventual decline of Seabrook Farms. By 1949, the Japanese population had dropped to 1,200, and by the 1970s, it had declined to the 500s. Despite the shrinking population, the Seabrook Buddhist Temple remained active. After gaining independent temple status in 1965, the congregation decided to construct their own building. In 1966, seven acres were purchased for the project, and construction began in 1968 under the leadership of Ray Bano and Kiyomi Nakamura, chairpersons of the Temple Building Committee. The new temple was dedicated in 1969, and later expanded in the 1980s to include a priest’s residence and a meditation garden.
For 80 years,the Seabrook Buddhist Temple has played a central role in preserving and supporting Seabrook’s Japanese American community. The congregation remains active today, continuing to hold services and celebrate Japanese culture through social and spiritual events. In 2024, the community hosted its 79th Annual Obon Festival, preserving Seabrook’s enduring Japanese American legacy.
Written by Avneet Dhaliwal
LEARN MORE:
Seabrook Educational and Cultural Center: Museum and Exhibits
Densho Encyclopedia: Seabrook Farms
New Jersey Monthly: Seabrook Farms: The History of NJ's Japanese Enclave During WWII
NJ Spotlight News: History of Japanese American internment lives on in southern NJ
SJCA: South Jersey AAPI History - Seabrook Farms & Japanese American Internment
Seabrook Buddhist Temple: COMMUNITY
SNJ Today: Seabrook Buddhist Temple 79th Annual Obon Festival
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