Overview
- Police charged 28-year-old trainee Yoshinobu Morinaga with arson on Monday, July 6, accusing him of setting the June 30 fire that gutted Entsu-ji in Imari, Saga.
- Authorities say Morinaga confessed and told investigators he lit the blaze because he felt his life had become unbearable and he was unhappy with the amount and strictness of his training.
- The fire destroyed the wooden main hall and adjoining two-story kūri where residents lived, with everyone on site able to evacuate and no injuries reported.
- Morinaga had been living at the temple since April of last year and received daily lifestyle guidance as part of its role as a Rinzai Nanzen-ji sect zazen training dojo.
- The arrest puts new focus on how training is supervised at specialized meditation dojos and what safety measures and oversight may be needed to prevent similar incidents.