The Gomonshu is the spiritual head of our denomination based in Kyoto, Japan. The current Gomonshu is His Eminence Monshu Kojun Ohtani, the 25th-generation descendant of Shinran Shonin to head the Hongwanji. Here is his New Year’s message.
New Year’s Greeting
As we welcome the arrival of the New Year, I extend my sincere greetings.
In recent years, natural disasters—including typhoons, torrential rains, earthquakes, and large-scale wildfires—have occurred with increasing frequency both in Japan and around the world, causing devastating damage and casualties. I offer my heartfelt condolences for those who lost their lives, and I express my deepest sympathy to all who have been affected. I fervently hope that you may all regain normalcy in your daily lives as soon as possible.
Last year marked a significant milestone, the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. In July, I had the honor of attending memorial services in Okinawa, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki—places that suffered destruction beyond words—and had the precious opportunity to listen to the accounts of those who lived through the war. I once again engraved in my heart the words of Sokunyo Monshu who said at the 1995 “50th Anniversary of the End of World War II Memorial Service for All the War Dead”: “We cannot help but feel deep remorse before the Buddhas and Spiritual Leaders for the fact that we were unfaithful to the teachings of our Founder and actively cooperated with the war in the name of Buddhism.” With renewed recognition of our organization’s wartime responsibility, I reaffirmed my resolve as we continue forward on this path.
In the postwar years, our organization began its journey by refusing to avert its eyes from the fact of its active cooperation and involvement in the war, and by striving to build a peaceful society in which all people may live in spiritual fulfillment. We must continue to confront these truths with sincerity and ensure that such errors are never repeated. Even now, around the world, wars and conflicts persist, and countless precious lives remain at risk. In such times, let us hold close to our hearts Shinran Shonin’s aspiration — “May there be peace in the world, and may the Buddha’s teaching spread!” — and walk each day in harmony with this wish.
January 1, 2026
This translation is prepared by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii.
2026 年 年頭の辞
新しい年を迎えるにあたり、ご挨拶申し上げます。
まず、近年、日本をはじめ世界各地で台風や豪雨、地震などの自然災害や大規模な山火事などが頻繁に発生し、甚大な被害がもたらされています。犠牲となられた方々に謹んで哀悼の意を表しますとともに、被災された皆さまに心からお見舞い申し上げます。皆さまが一日も早く、平穏な日常を取り戻されますことを心から願っております。
さて、昨年は第二次世界大戦の終戦から80年という節目の年でした。私は７月に、この戦争で筆舌に尽くしがたい惨禍がもたらされた沖縄・広島・長崎の追悼法要のご縁をいただき、戦争体験者の方々のお話を聞かせていただく尊い機会を得ました。そして、平成７年・1995年の「終戦50周年全戦没者追悼法要」における、「宗祖の教えに背き、仏法の名において戦争に積極的に協力していった過去の事実を、仏祖の御前に慚愧せずにはおれません」との教団の戦争責任にかかる即如門主のお言葉を改めて心に刻み、これからも歩んでいく決意を新たにいたしました。
戦後の教団の歩みは、戦争に積極的に協力・加担した事実から目をそらさず、その反省を踏まえ、誰もが心豊かに生きられる平和な社会の実現を目指すことから始まりました。私たちは、その事実と真摯に向き合い、決して同じ過ちを繰り返してはなりません。現在も世界各地で戦争や紛争は続いており、多くの尊い命が脅かされています。そのような中にあって、宗祖親鸞聖人の「世のなか安穏なれ、仏法ひろまれ」との願いを常に心に留めて、日々の歩みを進めてまいりましょう。
2026 年 1 月 1 日
浄土真宗本願寺派
門 主 大 谷 光 淳
See Also
2026 New Year’s Message from Bishop Toshiyuki Umitani
2026 New Year’s Message from President Warren Tamamoto