Today, Rica from Kozu Shokai, a company that rents out props used in samurai dramas, brought the Tibetan Buddhist monk Tenzin Khentse and Japanese name is Mr.Itano.

After introducing the works, we shared the current situation and problems facing Kyoto’s temples.

Kyoto’s culture is exemplified by its many temples and shrines. However, many temples are facing a harsh reality that the waning popularity of temples and faith among young people today is threatening the succession of monks and priests across the city.

If this keeps up, the Japanese faith may be lost to history as the noise of technology drowns out the last whispers of the deep spirituality at the core of Japanese culture.国

Unless the national and local governments actively provide subsidies for the maintenance of these buildings, Kyoto’s culture will be lost.

Furthermore, Japanese Buddhism is bound by sects, and only those from the same sect will be allowed to succeed the chief priest.

Although Buddhism originated in India with the Buddha, there are very few Japanese Buddhist practitioners who go to India for training. There is no effort to create opportunities for people to learn about the original Buddhism beyond the bounds of sects.

Itano said that he wants to create a universal temple where the borders between sects and other religions are dissolved, and people can focus on learning Buddhist Philosophy where they can find answers to life’s questions in peace and without judgement.

Issues such as sects, administration, and faith are broad and deep. We cannot solve these problems through individual activities, but we must work together to lead Japan in a better direction! We shared our concerns and discussed them for nearly three hours.