The Japanese Church of Christ records contains church newsletters that were sent out from the 1960s and 1999-2004; service programs; correspondence including a letter written to the congregation from Rev. George Hanabusa; annual reports; annual festivals; and other administrative materials..
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Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Gift of Lorraine Crouse in 2005.
Donated by Grace Tasaka via Joy Hashimoto and Japanese Church of Christ in 2012.
Processed by Cheryl Nielson in 2005.
Addendum processed by Halle Fiderlick in 2015.
Addendum Betsey Welland in 2019 and 2024.
Forms part of the Mitsugi M. Kasai Memorial Japanese American Archives.
The Japanese Church of Christ is a historic church at 268 W. 100 South in Salt Lake City, Utah. The church building was constructed in 1924 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. From 1953 to 1967, the church housed two separate branches for Issei and Nisei. As of 2012 the congregation is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
In Salt Lake City the Japanese Christian Church was established in October, 1918, through the cooperative efforts of the Japanese Presbyterian and Congregational Churches of the Pacific Coast. Reverend M. Kobayashi was sent by the board on October 3 to make preparations for the establishment of the church, and Reverend H. Toyatorae, the first minister of the church, arrived on October 5. Officers were elected and evangelizing work was encouraged to recruit Japanese Christians to join the newly established church. The preaching field included not only the State of Utah but also most parts of Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, and a small part of Colorado. To assist the minister in the evangelical work the Ladies Society and the Christian Endeavor Society were organized. Both a Sunday School and a Bible Class were formed, though on a small scale. In 1924, at a cost of $30,000, the present church building was constructed. Of the $30,000, $20,000 came in contributions from local Japanese and American citizens, $5,000 came from the Presbyterian Board, and $5,000 from the American Missionary Association. In 1953 the church was separated into Nisei (first generation Japanese) and Issei (second generation Japanese) branches and they functioned as two separate groups until a merger in June 1967.
(Biographical sketch is from the Japanese Church of Christ wikipedia page [accessed 2024 September 24 from
This folder contains three letters dated 1963 August 27; 1965 November 26; and 1966 September.
This folder contains administrative and sermon notes.
Includes pamphlets from the 14th to 18th annual festivals.
This folder contains newsletters dated 1963 April 01; 1963 August 06; 1963 August 19; 1964 February 24; 1964 March 09; 1964 March 16; and 1964 October 05.
This folder contains a program for the Asian Festival (1951); Salt Lake Buddhist Temple 75th anniversary program (1987); newsletters from September 20 and October 31, 1968 [in Japanese]; photocopied images of people and buildings; and news clippings(1968, 1971, 1978, undated). Also included is a flyer celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Japanese Church of Christ and Japanese American soldiers of WWII (2024).