Rev. Eon Asahina
Head priest of Jochi-ji Temple (Engakuji school, Rinzai sect of Zen).
After graduating in 1989 with a degree in Zen Buddhist Studies from Komazawa University, Eon Asahina entered the professional training dojo of the Kamakura Engakuji school, where he received instruction from Roshi Daishin Adachi. In 1996, after completing his training there, he took up the post of director at Kojirin, and subsequently was appointed member of the Religious Affairs department of the Engakuji school. Until resigning in 2017 from his position as Director of Education, Engakuji School, he dedicated himself to Engakuji.
Rev. Asahina is a founding member of the Kamakura Inter-faith Forum, which transcends the boundaries of faith and sect. This forum was established in response to the remembrance and reconstruction prayer ceremony which was held one month after the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Currently, Rev. Asahina is head of the Kamakura Inter-faith Forum. In addition, he is in his third term on the Kamakura Board of Education. As a youngster, he was a member of the Catholic Church youth choir. In that sense, he has gone from one form of gassho (合唱, joining of voices in chorus) to another (合掌, joining of hands in prayer).