Hi. My name is かつけい. The name かつけい is written in Hiragana and 克啓 in Kanji.
By the way, I have this kind of face.
Thank you for your interest in this page. I’ll introduce myself.
- Japanese name: かつひろ (克啓)
- Monk name: かつけい (釋克啓)
- Date of birth: May 1990
- Gender: Male
- Hometown: Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan
- Work: Buddhist monk
- The name of the temple: Enryuji (円龍寺)
- Buddhist sect: Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land Sect)
- High school: Otemae Marugame Senior High School
- University: The Faculty of Agriculture of Kagawa University
- Hobby: Gardening, Shogi (Japanese chess) and Watching sports
- Favorite color: Green / Yellow green
- Favorite music: “La campanella” by Liszt
- Position: 24th generation of Enryuji temple
- I want to you know: I’m not good at English.
Why am I writing a blog in English?
I was recognized as a buddhist monk at 9 years old.
You may be surprised to hear that. “I can’t believe that little kid has gotten a monk!”
But don’t be so surprised.
It’s not difficult to become a monk in Japan. If you don’t know Japan, you might imagine it would be hard to become a monk.
I’ve been writing a blog since 2016 in Japanese. Many Japanese are indifferent to their country’s religion and culture. And the monk himself didn’t tell people widely about himself.
I wrote over 600 blog posts in Japanese over 3 years. There were more questions from foreign countries than Japanese people.
I thought it would make sense for Japanese living in Japan to write about Japan in English.
I can not listen and speak and write English very well. However, there was a voice from abroad that I wanted to know about Japan. So I wrote so hard. I was able to write “Red spider lily meaning” for the first time. To my delight, it has been viewed approximately 70,000 times so far.
For me, writing in English is 100 times more difficult than in Japanese. If I focus on writing one blog post, it takes me more than a month. However, I want to get foreign people to know Japan, so I keep writing.
Information transmission I have been working on
My main website is here “円龍寺かっけいブログ“. This is a blog written in Japanese.
Then in 2017, I installed the WordPress plugin “Bogo” and started an English version of this website in a subdirectory.
In April 2019, I started a new website “こども仏教情報”. There are very few information sites for children in Japan. Especially regarding religion. It is said that it does not lead to money. Then I decided to tell Buddhism and temples with easy-to-understand words and expressions for children.
From July 2019, I started podcast voice distribution.
Podcast is an American-born service. There are over 60 million people who listen to podcasts every week in the United States. On the other hand, only 5% of people in Japan are always using podcasts. Popular categories are language education, business and comedy. There are only a few programs in the Japanese religious category (Buddhist category). So I started a podcast program what the monk talked about 10 minutes. I distribute it in Japanese every Tuesday for free, and I’m happy that it has been downloaded.
Please listen if you are interested in Japanese voice program “かっけいの円龍寺ラジオ”.
About me and Enryuji temple
About me かつけい
My name is written as 克啓 in Kanji.
Japanese parents often put their wishes in their children’s names.
- “克” is not a word for winning or losing with others. It has the meaning of overcoming difficulties and hesitations inside yourself.
- “啓” means to start a new thing, to say something or to lead a person.
My name is hope I will try to do something for people.
I was born as a child of a temple with a history of over 400 years. It is natural to work as a monk, but I entered a national university in Kagawa Prefecture, studied agriculture, and broaden horizons and knowledges. It is now the 24th representative of Enryuji temple.
About Enryuji temple
Enryuji is a temple located in Kanakura, Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture. It is said to be a temple built in 1575.
At that time, the land of Kanakura was governed by the Kanakura clan. However, Kanakura Kenkyu died in the war in 1575. Enryuji temple was built by Kenkyu’s younger brother to mourn for his brother and to become a Buddhist monk.
I am the 24th descendant of the direct line.
Enryuji Temple does not have the power to govern the land of Kanakura. However, it is now active as a place for people’s beliefs and as a place for local community.
- History: Since 1575
- Buddha to worship: Amida buddha
- Address: 372-1 Kanakuracho, Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture
- Admission: Free
- Closed: No closing days
- Parking: Free
- Multiple languages service: I’m sorry. I can’t speak enough except Japanese.
- Head temple: Koshoji Temple in Kyoto
Koshoji Temple was established about 800 years ago, and the Buddhist sect that has this temple as its head temple is called “Jodo Shinshu Kosho-ha”. There are approximately 500 Kosho-ha temples in Japan.
I introduce the head temple Koshoji in the following blog post.
- Pray to the Buddha at the altar and tomb
- Hold a memorial service at temple
- Buddhist memorial service and Funeral service
- Acceptance of the temple visit
If you want to ask me any questions about Japan or Buddhism, please contact me from the contact page.
I have to apologize. Many spam mails are sent from foreign countries. For this reason I have made a lot of wall. Unfortunately, your email may not reach me. Please accept my sincere apology.
I will also write you an e-mail in reply as soon as possible. My replies sent from Japan may also be sorted into junk mail, so it would be helpful if you could also check your junk mail for a while.
Kagawa Prefecture has been an increase in the most foreign tourists in Japan. Now more than 10 times over the past five years. This result is because Kagawa Prefecture was not known to foreigners until now. Although the growth rate is more than 10 times, only 1% of foreigners who visited Japan have visited Kagawa.
About 300,000 people visit Kagawa annually now. Of these, about 90% come from Asia.
In Kagawa, an art festival (Setouchi Triennale) is held once every three years.
If you are interested in Japan, please visit Kagawa in Shikoku.
By the way, Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu City is the most famous tourist spot in Kagawa, but Nakazu Banshoen in Marugame City is also a wonderful Japanese Daimyo garden.
Ritsurin Garden is famous as a sightseeing spot in Kagawa, but Nakazu Banshoen in Marugame is also a wonderful Japanese garden. It was created over 300 years ago.