Dragon Palace Temple patron Noriko Ogawa no more
| Date :05-Sep-2019 |
Noriko Ogawa
Staff Reporter :
Noriko Ogawa, the patron of Dragon Palace Temple at Kamptee in Nagpur district, breathed her last on Monday early morning in a hospital in Tokyo (Japan). She was 74. A pall of gloom descended over her admirers and the Dragon Palace Temple family, when the news of her demise reached here. Adv Sulekha Kumbhare, former Minister of State and founder of Dragon Palace Temple, was very close to Noriko Ogawa. In fact, Dragon Palace Temple at Kamptee was established in the year 1999 by Mother Noriko Ogawa Society of Japan in association with Adv Sulekha Kumbhare.
Ogawa and Kumbhare had a strong bond of friendship, which also reflected Indo-Japanese friendship. Soon after receiving the news of Noriko Ogawa’s demise, Adv Sulekha Kumbhare rushed to Tokyo. On Tuesday, Kumbhare visited Ogawa’s residence and paid floral tributes to the departed. Ogawa’s son Kinya, daughters Takako and Reiko, and other family members, as well as Buddhist fraternity were present on the occasion. The funeral of Ogawa is scheduled on September 8 (Sunday) at 10 am at Yaha Hata Sanjo in Japan. The last rites will be performed as per Japanese Buddhist tradition. Bhikku Sangh, Adv Kumbhare, and Buddhist Upasak and Upasika will attend the funeral.
In her reaction circulated to media on Wednesday, Adv Sulekha Kumbhare recalled her association with Noriko Ogawa. “She loved me like a real sister. She trusted me even when we did not know each other well. Later, this entrepreneur donated a huge sum and gave me an opportunity to create Dragon Palace Temple, which is a world famous place now,” Kumbhare stated in her condolence message. Noriko Ogawa also donated huge sums of money for erecting Gautam Buddha’s statue at Bodh Gaya, and a Japanese Buddha Vihara at Kushi Nagar in Sarnath in India. Besides, she constructed a memorial at Saipan as a mark of respect towards 2,500 Japanese soldiers who died during World War-II. “The world will remember her as the leading Buddhist Maha-Upasika who had dedicated her life to promoting the Buddha’s message of peace, friendship, and human welfare,” stated Kumbhare.