Greeting from Tokyo with Hope
By Rev. Yukari Torii
Hello, SFVHBT folks!
I am writing this article from Tokyo, filled with hope and anticipation as I prepare to join your Sangha at SFVHBT. I also wish to express my heartfelt appreciation to you all for welcoming me as Resident Minister.
I am deeply honored and humbled to have been granted this precious opportunity to join you in sharing our gratitude for the teaching of Nembutsu.
As my first message in the newsletter, I would like to tell you a little about myself. Please wait until the next issue for a Dharma message.
I was born in Gunma Prefecture, which is 45 minutes from Tokyo by bullet train. A lot of people commute to Tokyo from there. I grew up with my two younger sisters and stayed there through high school. During my senior year in high school, I spent a year in Florida as an exchange student.
Then I studied film history and theory at Waseda University in Tokyo. By the way, my husband, Yoshikuni, was somewhere on the same campus at the same time, but we did not know each other at that time. Of course, who knew that we would get married in the future. Anyway, during my undergraduate years, I spent a year in Prague, the Czech Republic, to study Czech Film History.
A few years after I started working, my mother suddenly passed away after a stroke. I came to know the teachings of Jodo Shinshu at that time through the words of one of my mother’s closest friends to me, “Your mom was born in the Pure Land.” These words dispelled my grief and I felt a deep connection to the teachings.
And then, right after the 2011 great earthquake in Japan, I started organizing an event with young Jodo Shinshu ministers at the art gallery I ran in those days. Talking to the ministers and knowing Buddhism might help people reduce fear and anxiety caused by the disaster. I came up with this idea from my past experience encountering Jodo Shinshu. In the end, through this event, which lasted every month for seven years, I had many more wonderful encounters and opportunities to hear the Dharma.
These experiences encouraged me to learn the teachings of Jodo Shinshu, which had gotten me through the pain and grief of my mother’s death. I subsequently joined Kyosenji Temple in Hiroshima to pursue my ministerial studies & training and eventually received Tokudo and Kyoshi (first and second ordination).
I started a Master’s program in Buddhist Studies at Musashino University two years ago, and a year ago I also began studying at Shugakuin, the teaching institute of Hongwanji specializing in the doctrine.
The whole purpose of my studies is to find out why and how these teachings of Namo Amida Butsu dispelled my grief of “parting from” my beloved mother, and at the same time to share the teachings with those who might need it. I also hope to explore the influence of Mahayana Buddhism on contemporary culture and art.
Spring is the season of “Hope” in Japan. Today in Tokyo was truly a pleasant spring day, and the smell of spring was everywhere. I wrote this message with joy, as I have felt that everything is supporting my new challenge with hope sharing the Buddha Dharma with you.
Looking forward to sharing our journey and gratitude to the teachings about Amida Buddha with all of you at SFVHBT. Let us walk the Nembutsu path together!
Hobbies & Interests
Hobbies: watching performing arts (Kabuki, Noh, contemporary plays, and everything!), films, and overseas streaming series (especially sci-fi, mystery, suspense), reading, pilates, playing with cats, learning new things.
Interests: philosophy, anthropology, religious studies, folklore studies, mythology, spiritual care, etc.
