"The Man who Introduced Zen to the World ― Soyen Shaku and Modern Japan," an exhibition which surveys the life of the Buddhist priest Soyen Shaku (1860-1919), who studied at Keio and who has the distinction of creating the circumstances by which "Zen" was introduced to the world, is being held in the Mita Media Center (Keio University Library) Exhibition Space (Venue 1) and Keio University Art Space (Venue 2) from Monday, June 4 through to Monday, August 6 on Mita campus. Soyen Shaku entered Keio University in 1885 and is known for having studied overseas in Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) and for his participation in the World’s Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893, with his disciple D.T. Suzuki also enjoying worldwide renown as a Buddhist scholar.
On Monday, June 11 at the West School Building Hall on the Mita campus a Special Talk "Soyen Shaku and Globalization" was held, at which Nanrei Yokota, Chief Abbot of Enkaku-ji, the Head Temple of the Rinzai Sect, and Norihisa Baba, Associate Professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, University of Tokyo, took the stage to situate the peerless life of Shaku in the context of Enkaku-ji Temple and Buddhism’s history. Over 600 people thronged the lively venue, braving the rain which accompanied a typhoon, with a complementary zazen meditation workshop held in the Ex Noguchi Room in the South Building on the day.
A 230-page exhibition catalogue was also available for purchase at exhibition Venue 2, bundled with a limited edition Goshuin temple stamp. Four zazen meditation workshops and three gallery talks are set to be held over the course of the exhibition’s run.
Special Exhibition: The Man who Introduced Zen to the World - Soyen Shaku and Modern Japan