Matcha reports on Soshuku Shibatani, the transgender head nun of the Shozenji Temple in Moriguchi City, Osaka. It is Japanâs first temple built as a refuge for the LGBTQ community.
Soshuku Shibatani, a 65-year-old openly transgender Buddhist nun, was assigned male at birth:Â
She began to identify as a female in elementary school but never dared to express her gender identity at the time. As a university student, she met people similar to her and briefly lived at ease among like-minded peers. However, upon entering the workforce, she had to hide her true self once moreâŚ
According to Ms. Shibatani, âBuddha saw beyond the differences of gender.â
There is no need to hide your true self. Ms. Shibatani gradually became interested in Buddhist teachings and enrolled in community courses at the Graduate School of Koyasan University. She later resigned from her company, joined the priesthood, and went on to study Esoteric Buddhism.
Ms. Shibatani stated, âShozenji is not exclusively for the LGBTQ community, but rather a temple for everyone.â
âThe Kannon Bodhisattva has no gender identity,â Soshuku Shibatani says. A statue of Kannon, the Buddhist deity of mercy, is enshrined in the temple. Others see Kannon or Guan Yin as a female incarnation of the Buddha.
in like the late 18th to early 19th century Britian, âdandyâ referred to men who paid a lot of attention to personal appearances. later on it referred to a handful of kinda playfully GNC artist guys, but I donât think itâs ever been a universal term for all feminine men
also while I was double-checking my info i found this
![botanical-photography:
“ Mushrooms Growing in a Tree Nook [2778x3883]
Source: http://imgur.com/nxMWBRh
”](https://64.media.tumblr.com/4ad4d6de41bea19ce7183c3efa0b57b1/tumblr_o6jaqyExTi1ul2zj8o1_500.jpg)
