Searching of Moriyama Daigyo Roshi

Zuigakuin (April 20, 2011)

Moriyama Daigyo Roshi, the teacher of Zuigakuin Zen Monastery, is still missing to this day, May 16, 2011. If you have any information regarding his whereabouts, please kindly contact Tessan Abe. 

For your information, I have summarized events before and after Roshi's disappearance and the searching activities took place here in Japan. With regard to practice in Zuigakuin, it is yet to be determined. We will post practice schedule and/or a new teacher in Zuigakuin as soon as it is decided.

Events before and after the disappearance 

• Feb. 9: Roshi canceled Brazil trip just before the planned departure date of Feb. 11 due to sudden sickness.
• Feb. 16: Roshi traveled from a home where he had been trying to recuperating from his sickness in Morioka, a town in northern part of Japan where hit by the big earthquake and Tsunami on March 11, to a temple in Shimoda which is south of Tokyo, an area unaffected by the earthquake.
• Feb. 17: Roshi left the temple without telling where to go. Later it was found that he took a taxi from the temple to a train station nearby.
• Feb. 18: Roshi's cell phone was turned off or out of the range. Nobody seems to be able to make contact with Roshi since this day.
• End of March: Roshi didn't show up at a temple ceremony in which Roshi was expected to play an important role in the ceremony without prior announcement.
• Early April: A search request was filed in a police.  

Roshi's behavior

      He left the temple where he was staying without telling where to go. He didn’t tidy his Futon, sleeping spreads or turned off Kotatsu, electric heater. It appeared he left in a very hurry. According to the abbot of the temple, Roshi seemed somehow little weak a day before his disappearance.

Things Roshi carried
     We believe he carried a note book, in which all contact information of close friends was recorded, and a driver license in his bag. It is his usual style when traveling. On the other hand, he didn't have his passport and health insurance card, which were found at disciple's houses where he stayed before his disappearance.

After the disappearance
     By checking various bill statements sent to Zuigakuin, we found Roshi had not been using his credit cards, cell phone or he did not withdraw any cash from his bank account since his disappearance.

Searching activities conducted until today

Friends
     First we tried to contacted Roshi's relatives, friends, and any person whom he may contact as many as possible. No one seems to make contact with Roshi after Feb. 18 or has any information on his whereabouts. We are still trying to reach some of Roshi's friends in hoping the person in question may know some information or even be living with Roshi.

Police
     We filed a search request in a police station in the beginning of April. We waited until April for we hoped Roshi may show up at a temple ceremony scheduled in the end of March, in which Roshi promised to play an important role in the ceremony. Failing to appear at the ceremony without notice was very unusual of Roshi. In Japan we cannot expect from the police so much in search of missing persons. All the police does is to perform matching against persons who are arrested or questioned by the police or involved in accidents or crimes. The police will not conduct any investigation unless there is clear evidence that the disappearance is a result of criminal activity or the missing person is in life threatening danger. The police considered that Roshi’s disappearance does not apply to such a case.

Traveling abroad
     Roshi did not carry his passport at the time of disappearance. It is unlikely Roshi traveled outside Japan. Besides, none of disciples or friends outside Japan informed us Roshi’s visiting.

Accident or violence
     At the time of disappearance, Roshi carried his note book which kept all contact information of close friends and driver’s license. Thus, even if he was unconscious when admitted to a hospital due to sickness or accident, the hospital or police will certainly contact one of his friends based on his belonging. Worse than that, even if all his belongings were lost when admitted to a hospital, the hospital would notify the police and the police could identify Roshi based on the search request we filed. Unfortunately, we have not yet received such a call until now.

Hospitalization
     At the time of disappearance, Roshi did not carry valid health insurance. It would be very difficult to stay in a hospital for a long period of time. Roshi has chronic back pain, but he did not tell us he has any terminal serious sickness. If he had to be hospitalized, we believe he would certainly call some of his friends to seek help.

Earthquake and Tsunami
     We cannot completely eliminate the possibility that Roshi was injured or killed by the earthquakes and/or tsunamis on March 11. However, Roshi did not have any close friends in the stricken area before the disappearance. We have checked available data (Google Person Finder) on missing persons due to tsunamis, but no person in the name of Moriyama Daigyo was found. 

Hermit life
     It is possible Roshi decided to retire completely from the world, and intentionally cut all contacts with us to start a hermit life somewhere in Japan. If that is the case, his wish should be respected and no further search would be necessary.

GPS and call records of Roshi’s cell phone
     Considering his hasty manner of leaving the temple on the day of disappearance and traveling from Morioka to the temple before full recovery from the sickness, it seems Roshi wanted to meet someone urgently in an area close to the temple or Tokyo area. If we could obtain call records or GPS data indicating where Roshi traveled just before his disappearance, many questions may be answered. Unfortunately, the regulation regarding privacy information becomes very strict in these years. We talked a phone company and tried several means to obtain such information, but no success until today. We discussed this possibility with the police. But the police turned down our request because the police is opinion of that there is no clear evidence of immediate danger of Roshi’s life or involvement of accident or violent crime.

Suicide
     We believe Roshi is not suicidal by nature. The possibility of his committing suicide must be minimal.