{"id":1239,"date":"2025-02-07T23:13:59","date_gmt":"2025-02-08T03:13:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/?p=1239"},"modified":"2026-01-10T01:14:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T05:14:54","slug":"facing-death-facing-oneself-at-urbanguild-kyoto-april-16-2024-2-2-2-2-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/archives\/1239","title":{"rendered":"Gotanjoji \u2014 A Temple Where the Cats Are Teachers, Too (April 22, 2024)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On my way from Kanazawa down to Hiroshima, I took a detour in Fukui Prefecture to visit Gotanjoji<\/b>, a S\u014dt\u014d Zen temple in Shoden-cho, Echizen City, known informally as a cat temple. I came for the cats, but I was also intrigued by the temple\u2019s history, such as it is. While many temples in Japan are hundreds of years old, Gotanjoji was founded in 2002!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K\u014dsh\u016b Itabash<\/b>i \u677f\u6a4b \u8208\u5b97(1927 \u2013 5 July 2020), a former chief abbot at the Sotoshu Daihonzan Sojiji temple in Yokohoma, which is the head temple of the S\u014dt\u014d Zen school, founded Gotanjoji in Echizen City to honor the birthplace of Keizan J\u014dkin<\/b> \u7469\u5c71\u7d39\u747e (1268\u20131325), the second great founder of the S\u014dt\u014d school of Zen and, I learned, a fascinating figure. I will explain why, but first, I\u2019ll introduce the cats. They don\u2019t like to be kept waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after Gotanjoji opened, Itabashi found a box of four kittens left on the grounds and, being a cat lover, decided to care for them. As Echizen residents discovered the charming cats roaming the scenic temple grounds, word spread. Soon, more and more cats were brought to the temple for care, the number swelling to as many as 80 at one point. Locals would come to check on the cats or simply enjoy their company, and tourists also began to visit, as many as 30,000 a year now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To care for so many cats, the temple collects donations and seeks to place them in new homes. As far as I could tell, several hundred had been adopted over the years, and 20 \u2013 30 were living there on the day of my visit, although I could only spot about half that number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Itabashi not only loved cats, but he also recognized that we humans can learn from them about how to live in the present with a peaceful mind. He even published a book about them, Cats Don’t Worry: A Prescription for Living in Bliss<\/i> \u732b\u306f\u60a9\u307e\u306a\u3044: \u6975\u697d\u306b\u751f\u304d\u308b\u51e6\u65b9\u7b8b. Gotanjoji is a working, training temple. Young monks live there while they study. Caring for the cats and facilitating \u201ccat therapy\u201d for the visitors have become a vital part of their practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cats Don’t Worry: A Prescription for Living in Bliss \u732b\u306f\u60a9\u307e\u306a\u3044: \u6975\u697d\u306b\u751f\u304d\u308b\u51e6\u65b9\u7b8b book cover<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cat Adoption Party at Gotanjoji<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cat feeding time at Gotanjoji<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With that in mind, Itabashi had numerous cat-themed artworks created for the temple, including an enormous stone Buddha holding two cats that sits out front. That Buddha was commissioned by Itabashi and installed in December 2019. The staff told me that placing cats on a Buddha might have been severely punished in earlier times. \u201cHowever, in the current world, animal life and human life have the same weight. It is equal.\u201d They hope that this message \u201cwill resonate all over the world\u201d and bring greater peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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