I understand many of you have just started a new life from today? And also some of you may seem not to get settled at various anxiety and expectation.

It was January, 2007 that I became” Hozoin’s chief priest. Time has passed so quickly and eight years already behind us. When entering this temple, the person recruited me said “Problems had been already settled.” Without understanding his word, I met with members of board of the temple the first time. At that time board members pointed me and said “We do not let in your own”. It was the first word and very shocking. I shed tears in the return train to home. This is embarrassing story. But it’s so grateful to be now.

I was born as a son in a temple, was experiencing general common sense in a temple, custom and how to involve with a person to some degrees from the time was born and sank into a body. When I was entrusted as Hozoin’s chief priest, I thought that I will lives in a temple and register the resident card in the temple, and I die as chief priest. I was thinking hereditary to do. But I changed my idea and thought about many Hozoin’s problems and problems in several temples, and came to the idea “The common sense in a temple is the absurd” basically in general public.

After a vigil had ended when having that, it was called to “Shojin Otoshi”(Vegetarian Drop) from chief mourners, and there was a chance to talk while having a meal. When I was eating sushi and fried chicken, Mourner said “Might a chief priest eat meat?” Then I thought. It is not true this person has little knowledge about Japanese priest, but we priests may not disclose information too much. Shall a priest possibly even call the waterfall line where he drinks neither meat nor the liquor which isn’t eaten the image which is being done as person’s general image?

There was a word as the priest gain profits clearly (Bouzu Marumouke”, and I thought the person with an image who keeps a monetary offering in our pocket full might be here, too. So it came to my mind to convey to general public about the current state of the present-day Japanese priest. And I decided to begin a blog to convey even a little.

When a blog is begun, it isn’t done in whitewashing that I make it important, and I’m trying in order to write the plain form to become honest appropriate for me. The person who feels unpleasantly may be there, but the blog is continued up to now.

Even a priest eats meat and also drinks liquor. Even goes a family vacation. I meet the person of a bank and a brokerage firm, not reciting a sutra throughout the day, hear a story of parishioner (Danka-san ) and complain from neighborhood of people with problem solving in a real estate.

I’d like to exert myself so that it’ll be also a temple needed by everybody now aiming at the temple opened in an area.

2015/4/1                   Yoshihiro Shiozawa