Welcome Rev. Ko'e Umezu for Bodhi Day, Shotsuki Hoyo
We Welcome Rev. Ko’e Umezu to San Diego
Please join us in welcoming Rev. Ko’e Umezu of West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple. Rev. Umezu will be our guest speaker for Bodhi Day, which we will observe on Sunday, December 4. We will also observe our monthly memorial (Shotsuki Hoyo) to remember all those who passed away in December over the years.
Our own Rev. Hōkai “Smitty” Smith will officiate and read the Shotsuki names. Dharma School Teacher Lisa Umekubo will serve as chairperson.
日本語法話. Our own Minister’s Assistant Yukari Williams will provide the Japanese Howa (日本語法話) for our Japanese-speaking Sangha.
About Bodhi Day
By tradition we remember the day that Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha, awoke to true reality. Bodhi comes to us from the Pali and Sanskrit, meaning “awakening” or “enlightenment.”
About Shotsuki Hoyo
Shotsuki Hoyo is a monthly memorial in which we remember and pay our respects to important friends and family who died in the current month. In this way we can be sure to remember them at least once each year. Sho means “joyous,” Tsuki means “month,” and Hoyo means “Dharma essence.”
The names are read, and we come forward to pay our respects before the shrine. A complete list of the December Shotsuki names can be found in our December Kaiho or newsletter.
About Rev. Umezu
Rev. Ko’e Umezu (she/her) was born in Los Angeles and raised in the San Francisco East Bay Area, and is currently residing in Torrance, CA with her spouse Marie Miyashiro. She is the eldest daughter of Rev. Kodo & Janet Umezu. Rev. Ko’e attended UC Davis, and graduated with a double major: a BA in Communications, and a BA in Studio Art. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Buddhist Studies at the Institute of Buddhist Studies.
In 2002, she moved back to Los Angeles after college to pursue a career in storyboarding in the film and television industry. She has been freelancing as a storyboard artist since then.
Rev. Ko’e received her tokudo ordination in the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha tradition, at the Hongwanji in Kyoto in 2019, and was assigned as an assistant minister to Rev. Koho Takata at the West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple in August 2020, focusing on young adult outreach. This past August 2022, she participated in the Kyoshi training session at the JSC and received her Kyoshi certification in October 2022.