Otani Satoko (大谷智子)
Satoko OTANI (September 1, 1906 - November 15, 1989) was the wife of Kocho OTANI, the 24th Hoshu (head priest) of Higashi Hongan-ji Temple. She was the younger sister of Empress Kojun. Her ingo (title of respect given to close female relatives of the Emperor or a woman of comparable standing) was Katokuin. Her homyo (posthumous Buddhist name) was Nyochi zenni.
Career
She was born in Tokyo, the third daughter of Prince Kuninomiya Kuniyoshi, and attended Gakushuin Primary School. Upon her engagement to Kocho OTANI, the hoshi (successor to an abbacy) to the family of Court Otani Higashi Hongan-ji Temple, she moved to Kyoto, and after graduating from Kyoto Prefectural First Girls' High School, she married into the Otani family on May 3, 1924. Hoping to offer education for women, based on the spirit of Buddhism, she established Kyoto Koka Women's University in 1939 and was appointed President. She also served as the chairperson for the Otani Women's Club and the first chairperson for the Japan Buddhist Women's Federation, as well as organizing a chorus group, Otani Gakuen, to spread Buddhist music.
She died on November 15, 1989 at the age of 83.
Books
"Koka no gotokuni" (Like splendor) (Kodansha, 1969)
"Koka sho" (Essay of Splendor) (Jitsugyo no Nihon sha, Ltd., 1940)
"The Road of Shirahagi/the collected poems of Satoko OTANI" (white-flowered bush clover) (Art Days Inc., 2007), Edited by Reiko OTANI