Nyoten Junko 如天恂考

如天恂考 Nyoten Junko (b1911)
Nyoten Junko was a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk of the Soto school, best known as the 39th abbot of Kozanji Temple in Chofu, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Born in 1911, he studied at Komazawa University and received Dharma transmission under Fuzan Koken in 1934. He became the 21st abbot of Kakutenji Temple in 1936 and was appointed the 39th abbot of Kozanji Temple in 1969. Kozanji is a historically significant Zen temple, renowned for its National Treasure Buddha Hall and its connection to Takasugi Shinsaku, a prominent figure in the Meiji Restoration. During his tenure, Nyoten Junko contributed to the preservation and restoration of the temple's historic buildings and cultural heritage. As a Zen monk and calligrapher, he expressed Buddhist philosophy through traditional brushwork.