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Member Profiles
Chief priest of Kongo Sanmai-in in Koya Town
Kocho Kuri
I attended boys’ Christian boarding school for junior and senior high school, studying under a religious view that differed from Buddhism. I majored in Japanese Buddhism in college, when I came to have a stronger interest in the Shingon school, which I had felt to be a familiar presence from when I was little, and ended up following in my father’s footsteps at a temple. I returned to the temple and studied Shingon Buddhism in graduate school. After starting working as an assistant to the chief priest, I began practicng a Shingon meditation technique known as Ajikan and thinking about my own path as I came into contact with many people.
The joy that comes from Koyasan
I’d like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for being chosen as a member of the Group of 100 Devotees of Koyasan and Kumano.
As someone who was born in Koyasan, I played as a child without realizing what a special place it is. When Koyasan and the name of my temple came up in junior and senior high school, I realized that I had been born in an amazing place.
I felt enveloped by a variety of invisible sensations when I returned to Koyasan years later, and I was filled with a sense of gratitude towards Koyasan, which welcomed me so warmly.
The spring after Kumano was registered as a World Heritage, I walked with a friend along the Kohenchi Route to Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine, and from there to Kumano Hayatama Taisha Grand Shrine and Kumano Nachi Taisha Grand Shrine. It was a journey during which we experienced the magnificence of Kumano.
I'm committed to safeguarding this World Heritage and to promoting it to future generations as an amazing place.
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