Today, Mr. Suzuki, a Rinzai sect priest from Fukui Prefecture, brought the head priest Kunitomo of Youmeiin, a sub temple of Tenryu-ji Temple, to a production Studio in Kyoto.

Tenryu-ji Temple is historically famous temple built in 1339 by Ashikaga Takauji to commemorate the soul of Emperor Godaigo, and is also a World Heritage Site.

 Youmeiin Temple is a sub temple founded in 1413 by the descendant of Tenryu-ji Temple.

（Daruma’s paintings are also famous）

Although the head priest, Kunitomo, is a high-ranking priest at a prestigious temple, he is also a friendly and approachable person.

Interestingly, he is actually a designer and Nihon University alumni with an incredible background for a monk, having lived and worked as a designer in San Francisco and LA for many years.

Shiozawa and Kunitomo both being designers, really hit it off and discussed the sophisticated American commercial design in the 1960s and 1970s. Priest Kunitomo is a very unique Buddhist monk in Japan.

We had a great time laughing and chatting at the local izakaya “Daruma”, and since we still had a lot to talk about, we promised to meet again!