Many Japanese religious groups have undertaken overseas missions in the modern age. For those involved in these missions, it was important to know not only how they should put down roots in the host societies but also how they should locate themselves in the relation to their homeland, Japan. In this paper, I will clarify the historical transformation process of the various discourses on Japan as a nation, the Japanese race, Japanese culture, and so on, among the principal Japanese Buddhist groups in Hawai'i from the late nineteenth century to the 1950s. The Japanese Buddhist groups began their mission in Hawai'i in the late nineteenth century in order to resist the influence of Christianity. During the interwar period in Hawai'i, they endeavored to adapt to two nations-the United States and Japan. After World War II, the Japanese Buddhist groups have continued to exist as ethnic churches connected to the ethnicity of Japanese-Americans. Although this process is similar to that of many churches founded by immigrants in the United States, the uniqueness of the Japanese Buddhist groups, which is defined by their efforts to maintain their relationship to Japan, is also important.
