VIDEO NOW AVAILABLE, Rev. Irene Goto and Full Service

Lady Takeko Kujo and BWA Memorial Service

Sunday, February 27, we held a live, online Zoom service to remember the founder of the Buddhist Women’s Association and the long contribution of the BWA to our Temple since it was founded in 1926. Our guest speaker was Rev. Irene Goto of the Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple with Rev. Laverne Imori as officiant.

BWA and Lady Kujo Memorial

  • February 27 at 10 a.m. Live on Zoom

  • Guest Speaker Rev. Irene Goto, Seattle Betsuin

  • Rev. Laverne Imori, Presiding

Registration Closed

Thank you to the nearly 200 people who were registered or pre-registered for this event.

About Lady Takeko Kujo (1887-1928)

Cofounder of what became the international Buddhist Women’s Association, over a hundred years ago Lady Takeko Kujo dedicated much of her adult life to giving a greater voice to Buddhist women and is credited with co-founding the Fujinkai (Buddhist Women’s Association) in Japan with her sister-in-law, Kazuko Ohtani.

By many she was considered a new role model for what women could do to further Buddhist values in the modern era.

Lady Kujo was the daughter of Koson Ohtani, the 21st Gomonshu, or spiritual leader of the Hompa Hongwanji. Among her philanthropic work, she founded Asoka Hospital, one of Japan’s first modern medical centers. She died in Tokyo, Japan after contracting an illness during her charitable work in the city’s slums following the Great Kanto Earthquake.

BWA chapters were established in every Jodo Shinshu temple in Japan, and later in the United States and other overseas areas, as many Japanese began emigrating in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Learn More about the BWA’s History

Please see our website article here.

Thank You, Rev. Irene Goto

Rev. Irene Goto of the Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple was our Guest Speaker at the February 27 Lady Kujo and BWA Memorial Service. We are grateful for her two meaningful Dharma messages during the service.

About Rev. Goto

Rev. Goto became a certified Minister’s Assistant in the summer of 2011 and received Tokudo ordination in 2014.

“Through high school I attended a Christian church because there was no Buddhist temple near our home,” Nakano Sensei recalls. “In the mid 80’s when my daughter was in kindergarten, she asked me to take her to this place called ‘church,’ so I decided to take her to the Buddhist Church.

“I was pleasantly surprised to find that what the ministers at Seattle Betsuin were teaching resonated with my views. I’ve been attending, participating, and listening ever since. I hope to help keep the Dharma resonating.”

Among other notable speaking engagements, Rev. Goto was featured as a Keynote Speaker in the opening ceremony of the international 17th Sakyadhita Conference on Buddhist Women in 2021. Sakyadhita (“Daughters of the Buddha”) supports Buddhist women globally and has worked to improve the lot of women monastics and Dharma teachers. The theme of the online conference was “Buddhist Women beyond Boundaries: Interfaith, Interdependence, and the Environment."  Sakyadhita was cofounded by San Diego's own Karma Lekshe Tsomo, a Tibetan nun and renowned scholar at the University of San Diego.

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