Friends and Allies Photo Gallery

Enmanji Temple in Sebastopol, CA, was the center of a small but active Japanese American community before the War. When the JA population was forcibly removed, most to Merced Assembly Center and then Amache, the temple closed. Anti-Japanese feelings ran high, and there were several incidents of arson and vandalism.

A group of local teenagers who had had JA friends throughout their school years organized to stand guard at the temple in two-hour shifts in the evenings and weekends. Of course, they couldn’t be there all the time–but it was enough to discourage further mischief, as there were no more reports of vandalism after that.

Barbara Bertoli, one of the temple protectors, many years later said, “They were our friends. We didn’t want something that was that important in their lives and that special to them to get destroyed during the war.”

This story is told in a short film by Lina Hoshino, called “Leap of Faith–How Enmanji Temple was Saved.” You can view it online at the Sonoma Library website.