紀伊國屋書店

"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Swastika (But Were Afraid to Ask)"

Author of The Buddhist Swastika and Hitler's Cross: Rescuing a Symbol of Peace from the Forces of Hate, published by Stone Bridge Press

WHEN: March 16th Saturday, 15:00 - 16:30
WHERE: Books Kinokuniya Tokyo

FREE ADMISSION

For inquiries, please call 03-5361-3316

The swastika has been used for more than three thousand years by billions of people in many cultures and religions--including Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism--as an auspicious symbol of the sun and good fortune. However, beginning with its hijacking and misappropriation by Nazi Germany, it has also been used, and continues to be used, as a symbol of hate in the Western World.
Please gather around to hear Rev. Nakagaki explain the fascinating facts behind this symbol.

Rev. Dr. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki is an ordained Buddhist Priest from the Mahayana Japanese Pure Land Buddhist tradition. He is currently the founder and president of the Heiwa Peace and Reconciliation Foundation of New York, a non-profit dedicated towards using Buddhist principles for promoting peace in society and building bridges between different faiths and cultures through mutual respect and understanding. Reverend Nakagaki has been involved with this work for the past 35 years in the United States after first arriving as an overseas minister to serve in the Buddhist Churches of America, a group of temples affiliated with Kyoto's Nishi Honganji temple, a headquarters of the Jodoshinshu sect. He has lived in New York since 1994, where in addition to serving as the resident priest of the NY Buddhist Church until 2010, he also served on the board of directors of several other community organizations, including the Interfaith Center of NY. He is also an NYPD Clergy Liaison. He organized NYC's Floating Lantern 9/11 memorial event for ten years following the World Trade Center attacks, and continues to organize an annual Hiroshima/Nagasaki memorial event every August in NY, which he has been doing for 25 years. He has been recognized for this work by being named a Hiroshima Peace Ambassador by the City of Hiroshima, and as a Peace Correspondent by the City of Nagasaki.