×

News

Buddhist priest appealing for nuclear abolition in New York named Hiroshima Peace Ambassador

by Akira Sakamoto, Staff Writer

On November 29, Kenjitsu Nakagaki, 55, a priest of the Honganji sect of Jodo Shinshu, a school of Buddhism, was named a Hiroshima Peace Ambassador. Based in New York, Mr. Nakagaki has been appealing for the abolition of nuclear weapons and peace. At Hiroshima City Hall, he told Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui that he would continue calling for peace by facilitating dialogue, which exemplifies the spirit of Buddhism.

Mr. Nakagaki has been holding a memorial ceremony for the A-bomb victims in New York every August as well as a gathering to promote dialogue between the A-bomb survivors and the families of victims of the terrorist attacks in the United States that took place on September 11, 2001. He accepted the offer by the City of Hiroshima to serve as an ambassador to convey the A-bombed city’s desire for nuclear abolition. While visiting Hiroshima for another meeting, he received a letter of appointment from Mr. Matsui.

Mr. Nakagaki served as the head priest of the New York Buddhist Church from 1994 until 2010. He began his peace activities after becoming inspired by the A-bombed statue of Shinran Shonin, the founder of the Jodo Shinshu school, which was placed at his temple when it was donated by its creator in 1955. The statue endured the atomic bombing while located in Mitaki-machi, Nishi Ward.

He said, “I’ve been continuing my activities because I feel I have to convey the wishes of the people of Hiroshima. I’d also like Japan, as the A-bombed nation, to say what it needs to say to the United States.” Mr. Nakagaki is the seventh person to be named a Hiroshima Peace Ambassador.

(Originally published on November 30, 2016)

Archives