Photo/Illutration A slogan from Kensho-ji temple that won the Society for the Promotion of Buddhism grand prize (Provided by the Society for the Promotion of Buddhism)

A signboard critical of “me first” actions has won an annual contest featuring fairly common yet often overlooked fixtures across the country.

The “Shine! Temple Bulletin Board Award,” organized by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (Society for the Promotion of Buddhism), honors thought-provoking, spiritually resonant slogans and messages displayed on public bulletin boards at Buddhist temples.

They are the Japanese Buddhist equivalent of the signboards in front of churches.

For the 2025 awards, 3,408 entries were submitted via social media.

The society on Dec. 5 announced 16 works selected for their spiritual depth, originality and impact.

The grand prize went to “Jibun First to iu Mazushisa” (“The Poverty of ‘Me First’”), from Kensho-ji temple in Minami-Satsuma, Kagoshima Prefecture.

From the same temple, the slogan “Hinshi no Issho” (“A lifetime on the verge of death”) was selected for a special prize. It is a wordplay on the common Japanese idiom “hinshi no jusho,” which describes someone “at death’s door” due to severe injury.

By swapping “jusho” (serious injury) for “issho” (lifetime), the author inverts the idea: instead of treating the verge of death as a temporary medical crisis, the phrase suggests that life itself is a continuous state of being only a step away from death.

The author of both slogans, 50-year-old Kaori Fuji, is the temple’s “bomori” (head priest’s wife) and an ordained monk in the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji school of Buddhism.

The sect is one of the largest in Japan. Its head temple is Nishi Hongwanji in Kyoto.

Fuji has shown a particular gift for crafting short, striking slogans in a distinctly Buddhist spirit.

Her work has been honored before: “If you’re tired, it’s OK to rest” (2022) received a special prize.

“The pride in saying ‘someone like me’,” a phrase Fuji wrote to point out how even self-deprecation can become a subtle form of boasting, won the Society for the Promotion of Buddhism award in 2024.

She says she writes one slogan a month, drawing inspiration from things that catch her attention in everyday life.

“Since the bulletin board is outside the gate, I also hope that people who never intended to hear Buddhist teachings will stop and look,” she said.

Speaking about the grand prize–winning phrase, Fuji noted, “I wanted to convey the Buddhist teaching of discarding the worldly attachment of self-centeredness in order to open oneself to enlightenment.”

On the special prize piece, she explained: “Darkness lies one inch ahead. I imbued this with the wish that people walk through life aware that we never know when our lives will end.”

Tomoaki Eda, manager of the general planning department at the Society for the Promotion of Buddhism, said, “To be chosen almost every year from thousands of slogans—and to have two works selected this year—is something I think is remarkable.”

Other winning entries for the 2025 awards included phrases that speak directly to the anxieties of contemporary life.

One, from Konrei-ji temple in Tokyo’s Taito Ward, reads: “It is not that suffering disappears; it is that it ceases to be suffering.”

Another, posted at Chokaku-ji temple in Hiroshima, warns: “You must not get used to getting used to things.”

Messages emphasizing the importance of ancestors and family were also recognized.

“How many more times will you see your parents? Will you be able to see them?” asks a slogan from Tsuzen-ji in Aka, a village in Fukuoka Prefecture.

Related News