EKŌ Association of European Shin Buddhists e.V.
The EKŌ Association of European Shin Buddhists e.V. is a registered association (= eingetragener Verein) and should not be confused with the EKŌ House of Japanese Culture e.V. The latter is the sponsoring association of the cultural center of the same name in Düsseldorf, which is not directly religious institution. The EKŌ Association, on the other hand, is the religious association of Shin Buddhists who are affiliated with the EKŌ Temple.
When the entrepreneur Rev. Numata Ehan (1897-1994) established the EKŌ House and the adjoining EKŌ Temple in the early 1990s, his intention was to promote all schools of Buddhism through the temple’s errection. A fundraising campaign was launched, in which, among others, all the major Buddhist schools in Japan participated. Furthermore, Numata Ehan founded the Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai, a Japan-based association for the promotion of Buddhism. This association is still responsible today for appointing the permanent Japanese priest.
The temple’s special relationship to Shin Buddhism stems from its design. Rev. Numata Ehan himself belonged to the Jōdo Shinshu Honganji-ha and therefore decided to arrange the images and altars according to the liturgical precepts of this Buddhist school. Nevertheless, the founder intended the temple to be universally Buddhist. Thus, strictly speaking, the main hall is only suitable for Shin Buddhist ceremonies, but directly beneath it is another hall containing an ecumenical Buddha altar. From the beginning, Zen Buddhist zesshins and similar events were also held here, and open-mindedness to other religions has always been an unwavering principle of the EKŌ Temple.
The EKŌ Association, which deals with Shin Buddhist activities at the temple, was founded in 2000.
Activities of the Association
Since Japan has a strict separation of church and state (Articles 20 and 89), it is important to separate the cultural activities of the EKŌ House from the religious activities of the temple. The association therefore has the important task of preserving the temple not only as a cultural showcase, but also as a place of Buddhist life.
Once a year, Shin Buddhists from all over Europe gather to celebrate the Hōonkō Festival with a grand ceremony at the temple and to deepen their knowledge of Buddhism in an accompanying seminar. This is made possible in part by a substantial donation the EKŌ community receives from Nishi-Honganji, the main temple of the Honganji-ha. This donation often allows them to invite a speaker from Japan. The association decides on the invitation and the organization of the festival. It also has significant influence on the planning of all other Shin Buddhist festivals and events.
Although the association was founded exclusively by German-speaking members, international networking has proven increasingly important in recent years. The association strives to foster connections between the various groups in Great Britain, Spain, Belgium, French-speaking Switzerland, and other European countries. It is a readily available partner for all European Shin Buddhists and will continue to organize numerous English-language events in the future.
The Ministers
Currently, in addition to the full-time priest, Rev. Hironobu Shōju, who is supported by the Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai, two other priests are active at the EKŌ Temple: Rev. Prof. Dr. Hisao Matsumaru, who ist also the director of the EKŌ-Haus, and Rev. Jan Marc Nottelmann-Feil. The latter one was ordained a priest in 2011, received the title of Kyōshi in 2024, and has been the association’s chairman since November 2023.
