Most Venerable Banagala Upatissa Nayaka Thero voluntarily founded the temple in Sawara, Chiba Prefecture in 1989. From then until now, it has direct relations with the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and acts as the main Sri Lankan center of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Japan. The Mahabodhi Society has become a spiritual home for Sri Lankans as well as a bridge connecting Sri Lanka and Japan, primarily in terms of communication. Most Venerable Banagala Upatissa started the first temple in a rented house in Tokyo, but due to his unremitting efforts and sacrifices, he managed to establish it in a permanent place before long. It is currently the Sawara Lankaji Temple built in a beautiful place in Chiba Prefecture. It has been an active place in the past as well as in the present, not only on the religious work done in a traditional temple, but also in the past as well as in the present.