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June 2025
Notwithstanding the heavy rain, typical of this season (tsuyu), Shinmeizan has continued its activity of welcoming guests and of interreligious dialogue.
Among the many guests of this month of June, special mention should be made of the following:
- On June 6-9, Prof. Cristina Castel Branco, visited us from Portugal. As an expert in landscaping, she has been very much interested in Japanese gardens, and has authored a book on the earliest cultural exchanges between Portugal and Japan (16th-17th Centuries).
- On June 7, a group of fifteen people from the Parish of Arao, made a pilgrimage to Shinmeizan, led by Fr. Claudio who, besides being the Director of Shinmeizan, is also Pastor of the two Parishes of Tamana and Arao.
- On June 11-13, we welcomed once again the group of ten people from Tokyo-Yokohama, led by the Tourist Agency ‘Paradise’. This time, the main topic of the three days’ retreat was the presentation of a book written by one of its members, Mr. Awaji Kiyoshi, following the so called “listen and write” method, about Shinmeizan and its spirituality.
- Another important moment of this retreat was, on June 12, the Baptism of one of the members of the group, Mr. Kanda Takashi, who, after a first visit to Shinmeizan last year, has prepared for baptism, and has wished to be baptized here.
- For a very happy coincidence, this day, June 12, was also the day of the monthly retreat open to all, usually held at Shinmeizan on the second Thursday of every month, and it was the 300th time this retreat was held since the beginning of this tradition in 1996!
- On June 16-17, two friends and dialogue partners of the Nichiren Buddhist tradition visited us and stayed with us for a couple of days: Ven. Shaku Choei, Head of the Hokoji Temple (Pref. of Ibaragi), and Ven. Hara Onin, Head of the Choenji temple of Kumamoto.
The main activities of Interreligious Dialogue by Shinmeizan, during this month of June, have been the following:
- On June 8, leading the Kumamoto Group for Interreligious Dialogue, Fr. Claudio, Fr. Franco and Sr. Maria visited the Islamic Center of Kumamoto and adjacent Mosque. After a summary presentation of the fundamental teachings of Islam, and the main activities of the local Mosque by the Imam, Ven. Mohammed Ouatik, Mr. Marlo, and other faithful Muslims, Maria De Giorgi, of Shinmeizan, presented, with a power point, the event and the text of the 2019 Abu Dhabi Declaration on “Human Fraternity”, signed in 2019 by Pope Francis Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb.
- On June 9, Fr. Claudio, Sr. Maria, Fr. Sonoda and Fr. Franco, took part, upon invitation, in the solemn dedication, attended by more than one hundred Monks of the Nichiren Tradition, in the solemn rite of inauguration of the newly rebuilt Temple Choenji of Kumamoto, destroyed by the earthquake of 2016. Fr. Franco delivered a message of congratulations on behalf of Shinmeizan and of the Catholic Church.
- On June 29, Fr. Claudio and Sr. Maria represented Shinmeizan at the Seimeizan-Schweitzer Temple of Tamana, taking part in the 50th anniversary commemoration of the unjust execution of Nishi Takeo, and in support of the campaign against the death penalty, begun by the late Ven. Furukawa Tairyu, and now carried on by his son, Ven. Furukawa Ryuji.
