Meet Our Teacher
Rev. Joko Sato
Brief Background
He was born at Kokenj Temple in 1953.
After University’s graduation, he studied at Eiheiji Monastery (Soto Zen Head Temple)for two years.
Then he practiced in Shizuoka prefecture in the south of Tokyo as an attendant of Kojun Noiri Roshi who used to be a teacher of Genzo-E(an yearly intensive lecture of Shobogenzo in Eiheiji Monastery).
In 1993, he became an abbot of Kokenji to take over his father.
At the same time, he vowed a foundation of International Zendo to reestablish and revive the practice closely advanced by Dogen Zen Master.
In 2000, he actually got
started with Takuhatsu (asking for contributions) to raise the funds across the whole country.
The buildings finally completed in 2006 thanks to donations and goodwill of a variety of people.
Since then, he's got more and more international students from western countries to practice here.
At the moment, networking with Zen associations of Spain, Germany, France, USA and so forth is expanding.
