Antai-ji

Antai-ji: A Sōtō Zen Monastery

Antai-ji is a significant Sōtō Zen Buddhist temple renowned for its dedication to the practice of zazen and its commitment to self-sufficiency. Situated on approximately 50 hectares of mountainous land in Shin'onsen, Mikata District, in northern Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, the temple offers a serene environment close to a national park on the Sea of Japan coast. While it welcomes visitors during the summer, its remote mountain location makes it inaccessible during the winter due to heavy snowfall.

History and Relocation

The temple was originally founded in 1921 by Oka Sotan in the Gentaku area of northern Kyoto. Its initial purpose was to serve as a monastery for scholars to study the profound teachings of the Shōbōgenzō. Many leading scholars frequented the temple during this period. Following its vacancy during World War II, Kōdō Sawaki became the fifth abbot in 1949, transforming Antai-ji into a center for zazen practice. Although Sawaki was frequently traveling, his student Kōshō Uchiyama bore most of the temple's responsibilities until Sawaki took up residence in 1962. Upon Sawaki's death in 1965, Uchiyama assumed the role of the sixth abbot.

During the late 1960s, Antai-ji gained recognition both within Japan and internationally for its rigorous practice of zazen and its adherence to formal begging, known as takuhatsu. Unusually for the time in Japan, the temple supported itself without income from parishioner families, relying instead on donations from lay practitioners and begging. Uchiyama mentored several students who would later become prominent Zen teachers, including Shohaku Okumura and Eishin Ikeda.

As the number of visitors and surrounding construction increased in Kyoto, the resulting noise disrupted the practice of zazen. Consequently, the seventh abbot, Kōhō Watanabe, made the decision to relocate Antai-ji to its present, more secluded location in northern Hyōgo. The original Kyoto temple was demolished, with only a fenced-off stone from its garden, bearing a memorial to Sawaki Kodo, remaining at the site. A Jehovah's Witness church now stands near its former location.

Life in Northern Hyōgo

At its new mountain home, the seventh abbot Kōhō Watanabe sought to revive Zen's ideal of self-sufficiency. The eighth abbot, Shinyu Miyaura, continued this pursuit of a quiet life of zazen and monastic self-reliance until his untimely death in the snow in February 2002. Following Miyaura, his disciple, the German monk Muho Noelke, served as the ninth abbot until 2020. He was succeeded by his Japanese Dharma heir, Nakamura Eko, who is the current abbess.

A documentary film titled "Zen for Nothing," directed by Werner Penzel and featuring Sabine Timoteo, was released in 2016, shedding light on the monastery's unique way of life. Antai-ji continues to be a vital center for Zen practice, emphasizing simplicity, mindfulness, and a deep connection to nature.