A STORIED PAST 

Our community was established in 1913 when pioneering first generation, or Issei, Japanese Buddhist immigrants came together to hear the Buddhist teachings under the auspices of the Guadalupe Buddhist Church. A decade later, our first temple building was established in the Presidio area on Canon Perdido (pictured in 1954).

During World War II, our sangha members were subjected to the mass incarceration and forced removal of Japanese Americans. They stored what they could in our temple building, which was carefully guarded by a local caretaker. Afterwards, our temple served as a vital resource and hostel for Japanese Americans who returned to Santa Barbara. 

In the post-war period, our temple hosted a variety of activities including Dharma school, Buddhist Women’s Association, Young Buddhist Association, and the Fuji Gakuen language school. 

In 1966 we moved to our current location on Montecito Street and the legacies of our founders is all around us today.

BCSB is one of 60 temples and sanghas of the Buddhist Churches of America, the oldest and largest extant Buddhist organization in the continental United States, established in in 1899.