The origins of the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) or American Buddhist Churches (ABC) began with the arrival of Japanese immigrants to the American mainland during the late 1800s. Devout Shin Buddhists who had expressed concern over the lack of religious services, and the activities of Christian missionaries among the newly-arrived immigrant population, petitioned the "monshu" (head abbot) of the Nishi Honganji to send priests to the US. The first Jōdo Shinshū priests arrived in San Francisco in 1893, and the first American temple constructed in 1899. The priests' arrival was a source of concern to the Japanese consul to the U.S. who believed it would strain U.S.-Japan relations: for example, a hostile article by the "San Francisco Chronicle" newspaper on their arrival alleged that the priests' intent was to convert white Americans and proclaim that Buddhism was superior to Christianity. In the decades prior to World War II, the mainland American branch of the Nishi Honganji tradition was named the "Buddhist Missions of North America" (BMNA), and many temples were established throughout the West Coast, the first being in San Francisco, followed by temples in the Bay Area, the Central Valley, and Northern and Southern California. There were also temples established in the Northwest states, in Seattle, Washington and Oregon. Since the majority of early Japanese immigrants or issei ("First Generation") were farmers or laborers, many of these temples were built in then-rural, and segregated, areas such as Dinuba, Guadalupe, and Sacramento.