Reverend Eishen Tanaka

Japan

Reverend Eishen Tanaka is the Head Dhamma Teacher of Koyasan, also known as the Mountain of Faith Temple on Mount Koya in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. She teaches at the 1,200 year old temple which is the headquarters of Shingon Buddhism founded by Kobo Daishi in 816. She is the Head Dhamma Teacher at the UNESCO World Heritage site Temple, such a profound honor and accomplishment.

In 1991 she became a disciple of Grand Monk Tomotake Tanaka, and was ordained as a Koyasan Dhamma Teacher. In 2003 she was appointed as a Master of Chanting (Koyasan Kongo-koe chant). In 2004 she was appointed as the Abbot of Shinnenji Temple in Kishigawa City, Wakayama Prefecture. This is the lineage of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism, which teaches that one may attain “Buddhahood in this very body” (Sokushin jobutsu) through mudra, mantra and mandala (sanmitsu).

In 2009, she became the Head of the Buddhist Women’s Association in Kyoto of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism. In 2013, Reverend Eishen Tanaka was honored and became the Head Dhamma Teacher at Koyasan Main Temple. In 2016, she ascended to the level of an Advanced Instructor (A-ji).

In 2018, she participated in the memorial service for Prince Kitiashirakawa Yoshihisa and the fallen soldiers in Tainan, Taiwan. By 2020, she became the Deputy Abbot of Yakushiji Temple. And, in 2023 she completed the Painting Project (fusuma painting) at Izumi Temple. The Painting Project depicts the 88 Sacred Sites of Shikoku, the 100 Kannon Temples of Saigoku, Bando, and Chichibu, and the 7 Lucky Gods).

In 2023, Reverend Eishen Tanaka was appointed as the Inspector of chanting (Kongo-koe) at Koyasan. Then in 2026, she was honored as an Outstanding Woman in Buddhism in Bangkok, Thailand.