History of the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin

The San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin’s origin can be traced to the early Issei pioneers who immigrated around the turn of the twentieth century, first to help build the railroads across the continent and then to work in the farms of the Santa Clara Valley. At first, the San Jose church was a branch of the San Francisco church and was referred to as the “San Jose Branch of the Jodo Shinshu Mission to North America”. The temple began in August of 1902 when these leaders formalized their organization. In the early years, ministers journeyed from San Francisco to San Jose to conduct Buddhist services.

The first temple was constructed in 1907 at the current site of our Annex building with Reverend Honen Takahashi as our first resident minister. This was a converted home with the main sanctuary on the top and a community space on the ground floor. Our current temple was completed in 1937 in the middle for the Great Depression. It was designed and built by the Nishida brothers who had apprenticed as temple builders in Japan.

A compassionate attorney, J.D. Peckham, took care of our temple during the war years as Japanese-Americans were interned during most of World War II (1942-5). Following the their release, many Japanese Americans lived temporarily in the facilities of the San Jose Buddhist Church using the temple buildings including the hondo and the previous temple building.

With many Japanese Americans who pre-war lived in nearby farming area such as Monterey, Salinas and Watsonville choosing to remain in the San Jose area, the membership expanded beyond 1,200 families. To meet the increased need, the Annex Building was completed in 1954, and the Education Building in 1958.