Yoshiko Ohtani
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1918
Yoshiko Ohtani | |
|---|---|
| Born | Yoshiko Tokkudaiji 1918 |
| Died | 2000 (aged 81–82) |
| Other names | Yoshiko Otani |
| Occupation | Religious organization leader |
| Father | Saneatsu Tokudaiji |
Yoshiko Ohtani (1918 – 2000), born Yoshiko Tokudaiji, often referred to as Lady Ohtani, was a Japanese religious organization leader. She was world federation president of the Buddhist Women's Association from 1959 to 1982.[1]
Tokudaiji was the daughter of a nobleman, Saneatsu Tokudaiji, and his wife, Yoneko Matsudaira. She attended Gakushuin Women's College.[1]
Career
As the wife of Kosho Ohtani, a Shin Buddhist leader known as the 23rd Monshu, she was considered urakata, a spiritual leader for Japanese Buddhist women. She traveled with her husband to visit Japanese communities, schools, and hospitals[2] in the United States and Canada in the 1950s,[3][4] 1960s,[5] and 1970s.[6] She started all-Japan and world conferences for chapters of the Buddhist Wonen's Association (BWA) or Fujinkai.[7] In 1974, she and her husband attended the 75th anniversary festivities of the Buddhist Churches in America denomination, held in San Francisco.[8] She was succeeded as urakata and as the BWA's honorary president by her daughter-in-law, Noriko Ohtani, after the BWA's 7th world conference in 1982.[9]
She was also president of the Jodo Shinshu Nursery School Federation, and honorary president of several women's colleges and schools.[1] She wrote poetry, and a biography of Eshinni, wife of the founder of Shin Buddhism.[10]
Publications
- Eshin Ni; the Wife of Shinran Shonin (1970)[10]