The reason I decided to make a U-turn and work at Daitaiji was because the head priest of Daitaiji was my vice principal when I was in the third grade of junior high school, and I met him after a long time at a reunion after my coming-of-age ceremony and he asked me if I wanted to work there. Of course, I had considered working in Oita, where my university was located, and had prepared for job hunting, but I strongly felt that it would be better to work in my hometown, where I was born and raised. I had a vague idea in my head that if I were to work for a regular company, I would probably be a salesman, but I couldn’t picture anything concrete and I wasn’t excited about it myself. I started going to Daitaiji often as a part time job during long vacations when I was a student, and I was invited to join the temple. I was especially excited by the fact that I could not imagine what would happen to me after I started working for a company run by a priest.

How about after a year of actually returning to my hometown and working there?

I have been able to make myself somewhat recognizable to everyone in the community! I have also noticed that there are a lot of interesting people in the area. By interesting, I mean that there are a lot of people who are different in a good way and have a sense of humor. They seem to be fully engaged and happy in what they are doing. In particular, people who are doing a lot of things on their own, including their own work, exude a sense of freedom. Because there is room to spare, fun things are born. I think that because there are so many people with such leeway, there are people who emigrate because they see such people.

How do you want to spend the year ahead?

I want to make the temple a place that is more familiar to the people of the community. I want to make the temple a place where local people can casually gather and socialize, rather than a place where people only come when they have something to do, such as to attend a Buddhist memorial service or visit a grave. I, like many others, have little to do with temples in my daily life, but now that we have such a great temple, I would like to make active use of it in various ways. As for what I can do, I would like to incorporate the good qualities of the area into my own life by playing in the area myself. After that, I would like to hold events, etc., so that the people of the community and everyone who comes to the temple can feel the goodness of the area.

How do you spend your private time?
As I mentioned in my introduction, I like to be outdoors, so I am rarely at home. I enjoy cycling in the nature of Ota, catching prawns in the river, and tent saunas. I also love a good local coffee shop and am exploring various places. The laid-back atmosphere soothes me. Then I play with unique adults and expand my knowledge insight into the world I don’t know every day.