By Claire Kempa, archivist

For over 100 years, the Japanese Church of Christ (JCC) of Salt Lake City has been a social, cultural and spiritual anchor for generations of Japanese Americans in the Intermountain West. The J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections preserves and provides access to the Japanese Church of Christ photograph collection, which consists of 10 boxes of black-and-white and color photographs taken and donated by various members of the congregation. These images document the first century of the church and its members.

Reverend Tajima and others at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new chapel, 1923, P1086n003.

The Japanese Church of Christ of Salt Lake City, Utah was founded in October 1918 to serve the Japanese Americans who settled in Utah through jobs in the mining, railroad and farming industries. Reverend Hidenobu Toyotome served as the first minister and early outreach was organized through a Ladies Society and the Christian Endeavor Society for youth. In April 1921, Reverend Kenjo Tajima replaced Reverend Toyotome as the minister of the Japanese Church of Christ. Through his leadership, the congregation expanded rapidly. In 1924, the church built a formal chapel at its current location of 268 West 100 South in Salt Lake City’s Japantown.

The construction of the chapel was a community organized and funded effort. Gothic Revival building cost $30,000, with $20,000 of the costs coming from donations from local Japanese American businesses and community members and the remainder coming from national organizations. As the cornerstone was placed, members of the congregation contributed personal objects to a time capsule to be opened 100 years in the future, an expression of faith and hope that the church and their community would grow and thrive in Salt Lake City.

Because of the church’s physical location in Salt Lake City’s Japantown and its role as a gathering place for community, the Japanese Church of Christ photograph collection captures the vibrancy of Salt Lake City’s Japanese American citizens. The photographs document the Japanese American community’s close bonds, depicting members engaging in picnics, sports and other leisure activities together. Other images show members coming together in joy for weddings and holidays and sorrow and support for funerals.

The Japanese Church of Christ served as a site of mutual aid through challenging times. Charitable organizations, especially of women, gathered and fundraised through the church. After World War II, the congregation welcomed families freed from the Topaz Concentration Camp. In 1969, most of the surrounding Japantown neighborhood was demolished by the city to build the Salt Palace. Despite the destruction of the neighborhood around it, the JCC and the community that built it persisted. In the early 2000s, the Japantown Community Preservation Committee was formed to advocate for and protect the Japanese Church of Christ and the nearby Salt Lake Buddhist Temple from further encroachment by developers. Their efforts laid the groundwork for plans to revitalize Japantown. In 2007 the street was renamed Japantown Street and by 2018, a Japantown Streetscape design concept was being developed.

A story told through the decades of photographs is the congregation’s investment in younger generations even as it provided care and support for the Issei (first generation immigrants). The church was home to both religious and secular youth groups, offering space to the Boy Scouts and to the congregation’s Sunday school. In the 1940s, the church began offering services and support for Nisei (second generation) Japanese Americans, many of whom spoke primarily English.

From 1952 to 1967, the church housed two separate branches for Issei and Nisei. In 1967, the two merged. The church offered a Sunday school for children and a Youth Group for teenagers. In 1962, to serve the Sansei (third generation), the JCC built a new Christian education building with a fellowship hall and multiple classrooms.

The photographs document the Japanese American community’s preservation and celebration of history and culture. In 1950, the JCC began holding an Oriental Festival that was later renamed Aki Matsuri (Fall Festival). The church also participates in the state-wide Japanese street festival, Nihon Matsuri, which occurs annually during the last week of April and is free and open to all.

The Marriott Library Special Collections partners with festival organizers to provide one of many exhibits that showcase Japanese American history, culture and contributions to Utah.

The Japanese Church of Christ photograph collection forms part of the Mitsugi M. Kasai Memorial Japanese American Archive. A selection of photographs from the collection are available to search and browse on the Digital Library. The inventory for the full collection can be viewed on ArchivesSpace or ArchivesWest.

Appointments to visit the Special Collections Reading Room are free and open to anyone. To learn more or request an appointment, please contact Special Collections.