BTSD Welcomes Rev. Yukari Torii for Ho-Onko Weekend
The Temple welcomes and thanks Rev. Yukari Torii, Resident Minister at San Fernando Hongwuanji Buddhist Temple, for helping us with not one but two ways to deepen our appreciation for our founder, Shinran Shonin.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 18
SPECIAL DHARMA TALK
WITH REV. yukari TORII
Reverend Torii will provide us with a special Dharma talk Saturday evening, at 6:30 p.m., in our one-story Sangha Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
Rev. Torii will share insights about our Shinran Memorial with comments about how the memorial is observed within in the BCA and in Japan. The event is expected to last some 90 minutes, with opportunity for questions and discussion.
Light refreshments will be served.
. . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . .
SUNDAY, JANUARY 19
HO-ONKO MEMORIAL SERVICE,
featuring SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER
REV. yUKARI TORII, and
REV. HŌKAI "SMITTY" SMITh, officiant
Sunday's events take place in our Hondo (main hall)
on the top floor, unless otherwise stated.
9:00 a.m. Chanting Practice in the Hondo
Optional. New members welcome. With Bill Teague, CMA
10:00 a.m. Service in the Hondo
Rev. Smith will be our Officiant.
Ralph Honda will chair the service.
Rev. Torii will give the Children's Dharma Talk
and the Adult Dharma Talk.
Robert Yamamoto will be the musical accompanist
The livestream is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
The service is expected to end around 11:30 a.m.
Light hospitality is just one floor down from the Hondo,
in the Dining Room on the Office Level.
Temple New Year's Party
Soon after the Ho-Onko memorial is completed, you are welcome to attend our Temple New Year's Party in the Annex Hall. However, please note that all bentos have been presold, and food sales are not available at the door. Attendees are welcome to bring their own food from outside if they wish.
About Rev. Torii
Rev Yukari Torii is the resident minister at San Fernando Valley Hongwanji Buddhist Temple. She was born in Gunma Prefecture, located northwest of Tokyo, and grew up with two younger sisters. Sensei stayed in Gunma Prefecture through high school, attending her high school senior year in Florida as an exchange student.
After that, Rev Torii studied film history and theory at Waseda University in Tokyo. During her undergraduate years, she spent a year in Prague, the Czech Republic, studying Czech Film History. After graduating, she ran an art gallery. A few years after she started working, the experiences of the sudden death of her mother, and later the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, led Rev Torii to a deeper encounter with the Jodo Shinshu Dharma. These ordeals encouraged her to learn the teachings of Jodo Shinshu, and she subsequently joined Kyosenji Temple in Hiroshima, pursuing ministerial studies and training. Torii Sensei eventually received Tokudo ordination and Kyoshi certification in Kyoto as the result of these studies.
She began a Master’s program in Buddhist Studies at Musashino University in 2022 and started studying at Shugakuin, the teaching institute of the Hongwanji, specializing in the doctrine in 2023.
Her hobbies include watching the performing arts (Kabuki, Noh, contemporary plays, etc.), films, and overseas streaming series (especially sci-fi, mystery, and suspense). She also enjoys reading, Pilates, playing with cats, and learning new things. Torii Sensei is married to her husband, Yoshikuni, who also attended Waseda University at the same time, although they did not know each other in those days.