Greeting from The President and Founder of Heiwa PRF

Rev. Dr. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki (TK)

Thank you for visiting our website! The Heiwa Peace and Reconciliation Foundation of New York Ltd. is a newly formed non-profit organization, incorporated by the State of New York in March 2018.

Rev. Dr. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki (TK)

I believe that we need more peace organizations in this world. Each organization can light the flame of peace. The more peace-light we can create, the brighter this world will become. I am planning to make this light bright and strong by developing inner peace and outer peace.

Creating an organization from the scratch is a challenging experience. My inspiration to do this came from all of my experiences as a Buddhist priest. I have organized the annual Interfaith Peace Gathering Commemoration of Hiroshima & Nagasaki Atomic Bombings in New York City since 1994, and my Buddhist practices and interfaith activities for 24 years in New York have been focused on peace. So, it feels very natural for me to form a peace organization and to join in with the activity of peace building in my own way.

New York City was home to the Manhattan Project, a research and development undertaking during WWII that produced the first nuclear weapons which were ultimately dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Therefore as New Yorkers, we need to be more responsible and attentive towards nuclear non-proliferation. Ways that we can fulfill that responsibility include developing peace education, and reducing and eliminating nuclear weapons from this earth. In that way, I often think of my organization as a “Manhattan Project for Peace.” World peace should begin and be amplified from Hiroshima, Nagasaki and New York. We imagine that the circle of peace and reconciliation will continue to grow, as we nurture and strengthen the seeds and roots for peace and reconciliation. Bigger trees need stronger, wider and deeper roots. That is our proactive peace building and the focus of this organization. I hope that you can join in our effort to build a peaceful society and support the Heiwa Peace and Reconciliation Foundation of New York. It is just like a new born baby and needs your kind care and attention.

  “Healing our mind and body with wisdom, love and compassion,
   Emancipating ourselves from bias, greed and violence,
   I shall do something for peace and reconciliation in my own way.
   We are ordinary people, sometimes smart, and sometimes dumb,
   And therefore, we listen and learn from each other to build a peaceful world.”

(“Heiwa” poem by TK) TK stamp