The 70th Annual Enmanji Teriyaki BBQ is this Sunday
Sebastopol Buddhist congregation marks 70 years of finger-licking fundraiser success
It’s time again for the Enmanji Buddhist Temple’s annual Chicken Teriyaki & Bazaar, this year marking its 70th year on Sunday, July 13, at its location at the corner of Highway 116 and Elphick Road, just south of Sebastopol’s city limits. The hours are 11 am to 4 pm.
Longtime local residents look forward to the fundraising barbecue and community gathering every July, and the only thing any newcomer or potential first-timer needs to know is that the open-pit, mop-washed teriyaki chicken has been drawing long lines and sold-out orders for seven decades. Generations of Sebastopudlians swear it’s that good.
This year, 2,500 fresh chicken halves will be grilled all day and doused in a sweet and tangy teriyaki sauce recipe that the Enmanji congregation has kept a secret for all these years.
The event will also feature a bake sale, a beer and soda booth, handicrafts and Ikebana floral arrangements for sale. The popular traditional Japanese sweet rice dessert, Imagawayaki, will also be available.
The teriyaki dinners include a “generous” half-chicken, potato salad, rice and a choice of coffee or tea. The cost is $20 per meal and people may dine indoors or outside under shade canopies or take orders home. (Pre-orders closed last weekend.)
Parking at the Enmanji Temple site is very limited and is reserved for volunteers, congregation members and handicap parking. A free shuttle is being offered from a satellite parking location at the corner of Highway 116 and Bloomfield Road.
A little history
The Sebastopol Buddhist congregation was first formed in 1928 at a small location on Petaluma Avenue and moved to its present location in 1934, when it dedicated the current temple.
Currently, the congregation totals about 100 members who practice the Shin or Pure Land teachings of Buddhism, which are the most popular form of Buddhism in Japan. Almost all of the Sebastopol members can trace their family roots to the earliest Japanese farmer immigrants who settled in Sebastopol and western Sonoma County near the beginning of the 20th century.
The big barbecue pits this year will be staffed by third and fourth generation Enmanji family members, led by Russ Ono. Chair of the overall event is Julene Leach, who recently took over the role from her father Martin Shimizu, now 94 years of age. Leach will be joined by four of her siblings for the setup and coordination of the day’s activities.
Elder George Thow will give history talks all day inside the Enmanji Temple, which has endured through many chapters of Sebastopol life, including the years it was boarded up and closed during World War II, when all the local Japanese-American families were sent to government internment camps. The temple building originally was part of a display at the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago and was moved to Sebastopol in pieces and re-erected by volunteers and local craftsmen.
The first barbecue—and where the money goes
The Teriyaki Barbecue is the primary fundraiser of the Enmanji Buddhist congregation held each year.
The first Enmanji barbecue fundraiser was held in 1952. The temple did not host any teriyaki barbecues during the recent COVID-19 pandemic years, making 2025 the 70th anniversary year, according to Leach.
“Originally, the barbecue was a steak barbecue,” said event chair Leach. “I think it was the beginning of the 1960s that chicken began to be barbecued. The leaders of the temple needed to raise funds to pay off their loans for the new temple, and we still need to raise funds today for all the upkeep, utilities and overhead.”
Some of the teriyaki funds each year also have supported the local congregation’s efforts to support other Buddhist churches hit by wildfires and floods, said Leach.
Enmanji Temple individual membership is $100 per year and supports weekly services, a full-charge leader (Rev. Dennis Fujimoto) and other community and cultural activities, including an Obon Festival with Japanese folk dancing and Taiko drumming and an annual Mochi Making day. In the Japanese language, Enmanji means “Garden Fulfillment Temple.”
“After we brought the barbecue back [after the pandemic], we found out it was just as popular as ever,” said Leach. “We ran out of chicken last year, and I apologize to everyone we had to turn away. So we increased this year’s order.”
There is also a special raffle this year featuring a handmade wall hanging and kimono made by Sebastopol native and quilter Pauline Pellini. Additionally, there is another multi-prize raffle with a grand prize of $1,000 in cash.
The Enmanji Temple’s annual Teriyaki BBQ has been the subject of many years of media attention, including features in Sunset magazine, San Francisco TV, SF Chronicle and elsewhere.
What about that secret recipe?
The original teriyaki sauce recipe is credited to Henry Shimizu and Harry Otani, elders of the Temple from the 1950s. Legend has it that the large commercial teriyaki sauce company, Kikkoman, offered to buy the recipe formula from the two men, but they refused to sell it or divulge its secret ingredients.
When asked this year by The Sebastopol Times to share the recipe once and for all, Leach who is a descendant of Henry Shimizu, was quick to reply, “I’m not going to tell you.” But everyone can taste the results for themselves this Sunday, July 13.
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