Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple (VHBT)

Our temple is the 61st member temple of the Buddhist Churches of America (B.C.A.). The B.C.A. is currently comprised of 60 member temples and 5 fellowships found throughout the Continental United States (the State of Hawaii is organized as the Jodo Shinshu Mission of Hawaii). Following the Second World War several temples were forced to close. The B.C.A. is organized into 8 districts. The Venice Hongwanji is one of the 15 temples that comprises the Southern District Council of the B.C.A. The B.C.A. is headquartered in San Francisco and represents the Jodo Shinshu temples throughout the Continental United States. The World Headquarters can be found at the head temple of our denomination or the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Hongwanji found in Kyoto, Japan. The head, or mother temple is often simply referred to as 'Nishi Hongwanji.' The Venice Hongwanji continues to be actively involved in the Southern District Council, the B.C.A., and the activities of the Hongwanji in Japan. The Venice Hongwanji is proud to have been a participant of the re-roofing project of the mother temple.

The Venice Hongwanji has a membership of approximately 250 families. The temple originally served the Japanese-American community found in the Venice area of Los Angeles and presently serves neighboring Culver City and other outlying areas such as. Torrance, and Santa Monica.