“My greatest legacy is my disciples,” says Venerable Jisen Oshiro. The Argentine nun from the Sotoshu Zen school has completed 20 years of missionary work in Peru, where she has resided since 2005. She has been a kokusai fukyoshi (Sotoshu missionary) for South America. She was also awarded the title of daiosho , certified as a great Zen master. In 2005, she formed the Soto Zen Community of Peru. In Lima, in 2006, she founded the Zuihoji temple, located in the Miraflores district. She trained and ordained the first five Peruvian monks of the Sotoshu Zen school: Néstor Sengen Castilla, Rosa Joan Rubio, Diego Tenkai Sánchez, Matilde Myoren Mendoza, and Roger Senko Hiyane.

Arrival in Peru: difficult times

“I decided to live in Peru because I had a vision for the future. I came here by choice,” Venerable Jisen Oshiro tells us. In April 2005, she arrived in Peru determined to stay. She had previously visited once and noticed the lack of Buddhist schools and monks teaching the dharma and zazen , a meditation practice focused on posture and breathing. She was struck by the fact that our country, which hosted the first Soto Zen mission in South America in 1903, had decades later become a land without missionaries from the Sotoshu Zen school. In her early days in Peru, she faced some difficulties, such as finding a place to practice, but with patience and perseverance, everything was resolved.

Soto Zen Community Peru

In Lima, there was a group of people who met to practice zazen meditation in the Miraflores district. They welcomed Venerable Jisen Oshiro into their weekly practices. Thus was formed the Soto Zenshu Buddhist Community of Peru, registered on April 28, 2005, currently called the Soto Zen Community of Peru. On September 1, 2006, the Zuihoji Temple opened in Miraflores. This community brings together monks and laypeople from the Sotoshu Zen school, who perform various practices such as zazen meditation, moon ceremony ( Ryaku Fusatsu), tea ceremonies, cloak ( kesa ) sewing, and baika (Buddhist chant) rehearsals. They also officiate at initiation ceremonies, weddings, and ceremonies for the deceased.

Support for Nikkei families

“I came to Peru because I wanted to accompany Nikkei families and preserve the tradition of paying homage to their ancestors,” Venerable Jisen Oshiro tells us. Since 2008, she has received ihai (ancestor memorial tablets) from numerous Nikkei families at Zuihoji Temple, who, for various reasons, entrusted their safekeeping to her. During oshogatsu and obon ceremonies, she welcomes all the families with ihai at the temple and performs memorial ceremonies for their relatives.

Additionally, he has officiated at ancestor ceremonies at the Japanese-Peruvian Cultural Center and the Okinawan Association of Peru. He has also performed ohigan and urabon ceremonies at the Jionji Temple in San Vicente de Cañete . At the invitation of the Japanese-Peruvian Association, he has attended pilgrimages to cemeteries in the northern region (Barranca and San Nicolás).

Social assistance and work within the country

He has provided social assistance to the Taian Ueno School in San Vicente de Cañete through donations and financial aid. He also visited the Hideyo Noguchi School, where he taught baika (Buddhist chants) to the school's students. His social work also extends to the interior of the country. In Cusco, he supported the Simataucca School, located in Chincheros. He also visited Puerto Maldonado to bring 59 ihais of the first Japanese immigrants who came to this jungle region, and there he officiated a ceremony in their memory. In Trujillo, at the request of Nikkei families, he has performed ceremonies for the deceased.

International publications and events

With the support of a group of collaborators, he edited the following publications: Zen Sotoshu. 110 Years in South America (2013); Zen (2013), a collection of 29 Zen stories; Sutras and Recitations for Zen Practice (2013); and Cerro Azul (2023), a selection of 29 haikus. All of these books constitute valuable works for Spanish-speaking Zen practitioners.

He has also organized international events: 110 Years of the Soto Zen Buddhist Mission in South America (2013) and 120 Years of the Soto Zen Buddhist Mission in South America (2023). Since 2014, he has also organized the Latin American Zen Meetings, with the aim of promoting Zen practice in Peru and South America.

20 years of fruitful missionary work

“I am very happy about these 20 years in Peru. I made a good choice and I don't regret it,” Ven. Jisen Oshiro tells us with a smile. Without a doubt, these two decades of missionary work in Peru are reflected in her invaluable contributions. Like the fruits of a tree, her teachings and contributions to the community soon became visible: five Peruvian Zen monks ordained by her, 48 lay practitioners, and numerous Nikkei families grateful to have her care for their ihai at Zuihoji Temple. In Zen Buddhism, all practice is done for the benefit of all beings. Such has also been Ven. Jisen Oshiro's missionary work: for the benefit of the community, always willing to serve others.

* * * * *

Originally published in the Peru Shimpo newspaper on May 2, 2025 and adapted for Discover Nikkei.

 

© 2025 Natalia Yoza